Press Release: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan perform Lunar Halo at Sadler’s Wells on Thursday 30 November - Saturday 2 December 2023

[Jan McNulty]

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan  Lunar Halo Sadler’s Wells Theatre, EC1R 4TN Thursday 30 November - Saturday 2 December 2023 Tickets: £15 - £55 Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com     Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan returns to Sadler’s Wells Theatre this autumn with the UK premiere of Lunar Halo, a collaboration with Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós, choreographed by the company’s Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung. The company, founded in 1973, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and these are the first UK performances since 13 Tongues/Dust in 2020. Cheng took over from company founder Lin Hwai-Min in 2020, and this is the 2nd time he has toured the company to Sadler’s Wells. As a child, he sold slippers on the streets of Taipei. His experiences of street life and folk and religious cultures have shaped his choreographic style, known for its vivid engagement with the richness and diversity of human experience.   Cheng first observed a lunar halo - a sparkling ring around the moon - in the sky over Iceland. The phenomenon is said to predict an impending storm and, on a deeper level, forebodes a time of considerable change.    In Lunar Halo, Cheng explores the changes that are shaping the world, in particular our reliance on new technology. Performing to an other-worldly soundtrack by Sigur Rós, the dancers interact with each other - in pairs, groups, or as an ensemble in front of huge LED screens filled with moving shapes, colours, and images. The soundscape includes music taken from the band’s back catalogue, which has been twisted, bent, broken, and added to, specially for this performance. Sigur Rós released an LP to accompany the performance called 22° Lunar Halo. Visual design and direction is by Jam Wu, lighting design is by Shen Po-hung, video design is by Ethan Wang, and costume design is by Chen Shao-yen.   A post-rock titan, Sigur Rós has been renowned for crafting ethereal soundscapes with melodic, classical, experimental, and minimalist elements and has received many accolades since its debut in 1994. Released in 1998, the band’s second album, ‘Ágætis Byrjun’ is still deemed “the last great album of the 20th Century.” by Q Magazine. They are well known for the iconic song ‘Hoppípolla’ (‘Jumping into Puddles’) which featured in the BBC’s Planet Earth and Planet Earth Two.    Cloud Gate Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung said, “Sadler's Wells stage has a magical power that has always drawn me into the world of dance. Following the pandemic, I’m really looking forward to visiting London in our 50th anniversary year, and I hope that Lunar Halo shows the audience a different side to Cloud Gate.” NOTES TO EDITORS Listings Information Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan Lunar Halo         Sadler’s Wells Theatre, EC1R 4TN  Thursday 30 November - Saturday 2 December 2023  Tickets: £15 - £55 Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com  About Sadler’s Wells Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring close to 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage. In 2023 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the Choreographic School and Hip Hop Theatre Academy.  Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.  Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.    www.sadlerswells.com Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media Facebook: @SadlersWells Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells Instagram: @sadlers_wells YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre   About Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan  Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China. In 1973, choreographer LIN Hwai-min adopted this classical name and founded the first contemporary dance company in the greater Chinese-speaking community. In 2020, CHENG Tsung-lung succeeded LIN as the company’s Artistic Director. In 2023, Cloud Gate ushers in its 50th anniversary.      Cloud Gate has set out to engage with local history, culture, and subject matter and draws on classical, folk, and modern dance from Western and Asian traditions. Its dancers receive training in meditation; Qi Gong, an ancient breathing exercise; internal martial arts; modern dance; and ballet. Under the leadership of CHENG, the training has expanded to more dancing styles, such as street dance. The company manifests in choreographies and transforms ancient aesthetics into a thrilling and modern celebration of motion.     Cloud Gate has toured worldwide with frequent engagements at the Next Wave Festival in New York, the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London, the Moscow Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Russia, the Movimentos International Dance Festival, and the Internationales Tanzfest NRW, then directed by Pina Bausch in Germany. The international press acclaims the company as “Asia’s leading contemporary dance theater” (The Times), and “One of the best dance companies in the world” (FAZ). Cloud Gate is also honored as the “Outstanding Company” for the 2018 National Dance Awards, UK.    About Cheng Tsung-Lung  CHENG Tsung-lung became the Artistic Director of the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in 2020 when he succeeded founder LIN Hwai-min.     As a child, he sold slippers on the streets of Taipei. His experiences of street life and folk and religious cultures have shaped a choreography known for its vivid engagement with the richness and diversity of human experience.     CHENG has been honoured with prizes internationally and at home and has collaborated with companies worldwide. Recent examples of his work in the Cloud Gate repertoire include 13 Tongues (2016), which draws on his experiences of street life; Lunar Halo (2019), in which he collaborated with Icelandic musicians Sigur Rós; Sounding Light (2020) which grew out of a period of enforced isolation during the COVID pandemic; and Send In A Cloud (2022) which displays in shifting colors a panorama of dancers’ personal life journeys.     CHENG is a fixture in Routledge’s respected annual survey of leading practitioners of dance, Fifty Contemporary Choreographers (2020), alongside the likes of William Forsythe, Akram Khan, and other leaders in the field.    About Sigur Rós An Icelandic post-rock titan, Sigur Rós has been famed for crafting ethereal soundscapes with melodic, classical, experimental, and minimalist elements and has received tremendous accolades since its debut in 1994. The band has released seven albums and five Eps since its formation. Published in 1998, the band’s second album, “Ágætis Byrjun,” is still deemed “the last great album of the 20th Century.” Sigur Rós means victory rose, named after the singer Jonsi’s little sister.