Taiwan's world-renowned Cloud Gate Dance Theatre is marking its 45th anniversary with a vintage poster exhibition in New Taipei City and gala show of the troupe's classic choreography that will go on tour across the country starting Nov. 16.
Staged at the dance group's headquarters in Tamsui District, the exhibition kicked off Nov. 6 and runs through June 23 next year. It features 28 posters marking important moments in Cloud Gate's history, such as the billboard for its first-ever Taiwan show in 1973 and first European tour "The Tale of the White Serpent" in 1981.
The two-hour gala performance is a retrospective of the best-known works by the theater's artistic director and founder Lin Hwai-min, including "Cursive," "Moon Water" and "Rice." Running for one month until Dec. 16, the program will be held in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Tainan.
Lin has announced that he will be stepping down at the end of 2019, and the tour pays respects to his pivotal role in creating Cloud Gate and his long-term contribution to the evolution of Taiwan's dance and arts scenes.
Cloud Gate was founded in 1973 as the first professional modern dance troupe in the country. Over the decades, it has cultivated a global reputation for innovative works incorporating local cultural elements such as calligraphy, history as well as Hakka and indigenous music, and embarked on international tours across Asia, Europe and North and South America.