title : Dances for Wu-Kang Chen (2020) 攏是為著 ‧ 陳武康
concept : Jérôme Bel
directed and performed : Wu-Kang
Chen
director's Assistant : Ming-Hwa Yeh and Ho-Ju
Wu
costume advisor : Yu-Fang
Teng
local guest : Kuo-Hao Chen and Yin Han
estimated duration : 90 minutes
language : Mandarin
commissioned and produced by Taipei Performing Arts Center
special
Thanks to HORSE
This performance received the Taishin Performing Arts Award for the year 2020.
R.B Jérôme Bel is supported by the Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d'Ile-de-France, French Ministry for Culture
R.B. Jérôme Bel :
artistic advice and executive direction : Rebecca Lasselin
production manager : Sandro Grando
website : www.jeromebel.fr
A year ago - for ecological reasons - my dance collaborators and I stopped all air-travel. Instead, I started contemplating new practices in choreography. Last year, for Taipei Performing Arts Festival, we put together via visioconference, the performance The show must go on with an all-local cast and co-directors Ming-hwa Yeh and Wu-Kang Chen. It was a truly satisfying process. But still, I wish to go further by writing solo dance scores which are eloquent transmissions, so that I do not have to meet the dancer. Whilst I was formulating the dance scores, the Coronavirus crisis started spreading fast across the globe. This project thus became all the more urgent and necessary, especially since theatres everywhere were shutting down. Curator Tang Fu Kuen and I decided to carry out this experiment in the Festival, perhaps the only summer platform to remain open in this exceptional year. Very quickly, I thought the ideal dancer would be Wu-Kang Chen. This new piece entails someone like him who is both skilful and open to new experience.
Jérôme Bel, April 2020, Paris