After the pandemic closed many performance venues, many performing art artists turned to explore the possibilities in virtual space, site-specific creations and outdoor settings. The Taiwan Academy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO-LA) partnered with Western Arts Alliance (WAA) to present a webinar event titled “Performance Beyond the Proscenium” which will be held at 4 PM PDT on Nov 22, 2021. Horse Dance Theater will be invited to share their outdoor production “FreeSteps – NiNi” with performing arts professionals in the U.S. and discuss the future role of non-traditional venues in the post-COVID-19 era. This event will be held through Zoom while livestreaming on WAA’s YouTube channel and Facebook. For registration and more information, please visit: https://www.westarts.org/news-updates/register-now-extending-our-reach-jy4nc.
This webinar will be hosted by Erin Boberg Doughton, Artistic Director and Curator of Performance at PICA. Wen Huang, an independent producer based in Taiwan, is invited to present the production “FreeSteps – NiNi” by Horse Dance Theater - a dynamic dance project in which one lamp, one dancer and one small square stage come to people in their daily life. In January 2022, while the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) and the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) conferences takes place, “Contemporary Dance Festival: Japan + East Asia” will feature this production at the New York Japan Society. Other panelists include Azul Amaral, the creative director of Grand Performances which is hailed as the “Best Free Outdoor Summer Concert Series” by Los Angeles Magazine and presents various dance and music performances in downtown; Christopher Rountree, the Artistic Director of modern music collective “Wild Up,” and the artistic director for a series of performances titled as “SILENCE” at Descanso Gardens; brooke smiley, an indigenous (Osage) artist and dance maker whose creations and workshops are mostly site-specific and close to nature.
It is the first time that TECO-LA partners with WAA to present a series of webinars titled “THE NEXT STAGE.” There are 5 sessions taking place from April to November 2021. The invited Taiwanese panelists include Cheng Tsung-lung (Artistic Director, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan), Lin Ting-Chun (Director of Programming and International Development at the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei), Chou Tung-yen (Artistic Director of Very Theatre), Kuen-Yean Hwang (Senior Member of Ju Percussion) and Austin Wang (Director of Taipei Performing Arts Center). To watch the previous 4 webinars of “The Next Stage” series, please visit:
Episode 1: Creation in Isolation - Adversity Meets Innovation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iQGcO3Z6JQ
Episode 2: Extending Our Reach - Performance in a Digital Age
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVyKMuYq6uE
Episode 3: Rethinking Residencies
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDwhJVQmKxI
Episode 4: International Collaboration in a Global Pandemic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV_51QUGug4