I like to watch Cloud Gate dances, whether I understand or not. As far as I am concerned, understanding is not the prerequisite for watching dance, liking is.

The first Cloud Gate dance I saw was “Nine Songs” in 2009. Before I bought the ticket I received an e-bulletin from Cloud Gate every few days, “reaching out” to me. The image narrative was lively and the image of the traveler passing through the myth was just too clear, so I finally surrendered and booked a ticket

I arrived at the theater early and went to a book shop next door to pass the time. One book on the shelf, “Dancing Nine Songs” by Jiang Xun,corresponded to the performance I was going to see. I asked myself before opening the book “ Is it right to have preconceived ideas before seeing the dance?” I turned a few pages and read about the East Emperor,Madam Xiang, Celestial in the Cloud and war wounds  not really understanding what I was reading  but, looking at the various interjections in the book, from that instant I transcended time and space. Only when looking back at a classic did I realize the context of the dramatic changes the characters undergo and, on the stage, what true emotions are fermenting behind the movements of the dancers.

This half an hour reading led me into the plot in advance and gave me a feeling for the dance so, when the performance began, the movements of the dancers on stage seemed to guide my breathing and heart beat;the witch purified her body and became possessed as if driven by some unknown force; heaven and earth opened and the East Emperor appeared, showing his power and courage; the fire red sacrificer and the gods fell into a love-hate tangle, the person in the white robe tapped the floor with a stick and the whole scene was suddenly permeated by a solemn atmosphere

When the first half was about to end, the heavy breathing, the shouting, every sound called out to the audience. At this point three Taipei First Girls High School students began to furtively discuss what the characters on the stage were actually doing; at the other side, two women identified each god as they appeared one after the other, while, on the back row, a young woman said to her boyfriend “Do you know what they are doing? I can never understand Cloud Gate dances.”

I pondered on the question of whether I understood or not but, before I could answer, the performance began again. On stage, minor and major overseers of destiny controlled the limbs of sentient beings, deciding birth and aging, sickness and death in  the human world; Madam Xiang waited  on the river bank, elegant and frail, for a long time;the Celestial in the Cloud rose up and descended amidst the cloud stood on two people; the mountain ghost ambivalently incited a mysterious atmosphere in the forest, the warrior fought heroically, the warrior fell, the mother cried tears of grief, then a line of candle flames leads to stars

The performance lasted just a few hours and the time flew by, however, the feeling has stayed with me and fermented ever since. I don’t know how much of it I understood but, in the process of watching, I was moved by the story portrayed on the stage.

A few days later the scenes I had seen on stage were still vivid in my mind. I went online to try to find more images and sounds and found my way to the -Cloud Gate Dance Theater Dance Digital Archives Project website.

I began by looking for information related to “Nine Songs” and quickly found basic information and some extended reading in the shape of several articles by dance critics; I also found photographs, films, programs and posters that allowed me to revisit the actual performance. Even having seen a dance, watching a film of it at home is a different experience, the movements can be seen in more detail and the dancers’ expressions are clearer. These archives and materials that have been carefully arranged  allow me to acquire a deep understanding of Cloud Gate’s dances and, with a click of the mouse, I can read Lin Hwai-min’s introduction to a dance while having a dialogue with him in my mind. 

The website has dances I have seen and ones I missed, together with basic information, performance information, films and critics’ reviews, seemingly providing a view of the entire creative process. Since finding the website I always visit it before seeing a Cloud Gate performance.

I always look for more information to help me get to know Cloud Gate better and I occasionally visit the website to listen to Lin Hwai-min talk about his creative work and, after seeing a performance, refresh my memory.