2018 We Island Dance Festival：Hsinchu Jump

The 2018 We Island Dance Festival invited the people of Hsinchu to “jump in” and the people across the whole island to “jump with them”, immersing visitors in the charm of dancing across Taiwan. Directly organized and curated by HORSE, the festival was a first for HORSE in taking on a community-based art event on such a scale.

Counting on its own influence and years of experience in performing arts, HORSE chose to break away from a conventional dance festival and the public’s imagination for dance. Instead of inviting existing productions, the 2018 version connected with 20 independent choreographers from various age groups and art fields gathering in Hsinchu. The central message was to “deconstruct” dance. Through a series of experimental events, including workshops, seminars and newly produced performances, we rediscovered the process, interpretations and imaginations of dance. We sought the possibilities of audience participation and wanted them to leave with a new understanding and experience of dance.

This time, everyone had a move to make. Secretly envy those who can dance but being afraid to take your first step? Are you a seasoned dancer wanting to challenge yourself with unfamiliar dance styles?

An ambitious series of 21 workshops satisfy your imagination for dance in all possible ways, with topics ranging from ballet to Taiwanese contemporary dance and from physical development to advanced skills. The event features four chapters: general public, classmates, family and senior. Want to move your body? Start from Hsinchu!

《Five Days in Choreography #rehearsal》

For five days, five choreographers are put in a room. What kind of works can come out of it?

Can’t figure out contemporary dance and feel frustrated? Curious how dance is made? Want to open the brains of choreographers and see what’s inside?

Five young choreographers, Huang Huai-de, Lin You-ru, Yu Yan-fang, Tien Hsiao-tzu and Shai Tamir, each with their unique set of skills, put themselves in a room at the Hsin Chu City Art Site of Railway Warehouse for five straight days. The five choreographers will show their best to challenge and even “hurt” each other. This is a dance exhibition, a six-day reality show. We invite visitors to step in to see how dance takes place.

《I Am My Body》

The body is a dancer’s business card. On the journey of dancing, there are many landscapes to share. It is worth dancing and speaking or even doing both at the same time.

In an unprecedentedly bold plan, 16 groups of artists and their teams are each given 15 minutes to share their journey of dancing through dance, speeches and a Q and A session. Why did they embark on a path to become a dancer? What has been the most difficult thing about dancing? What made them particularly frustrated? And what made them particularly happy?

This time, leading dancers from across the field gather in Hsinchu to talk to you in person. No question is off limits!

A Forum-style Dance Event 16 Groups of A-List Dance Artists

《Clash of Motions》

When track and field athletes meet modern dance, can they outpace dancers? When street dance meets ballet, can they merge into a new style of dance? Two camps of performers who were physically trained in very different ways are now colliding each other to create a new landscape.

In the past, when one martial arts sect sent its members to another sect to learn their skills, it wasn’t called an apprenticeship but a “clash”. Clash of Motions brings people with different physiques together like a barbecue skewer – different ingredients and tastes, all delicious, in one bite.

When Street Dance Meets Ballet

Renowned ballet instructor WU Su-fen collaborates with WU Yu-xian, a dancer specializing in hip hop and locking, for the first time. They deconstruct conflicting elements from ballet and street dance and turn into an amazing new flavor of dance.

When Track and Field Meets Dance

Athlete-turned-choreographer Fangas Nayaw and independent choreographer Dong Yi-fen meet sport-major students from Hsinchu County’s Cheng Gong Junior High School. When sports bump into dance, what can come out of the clash?

《Body Across Borders-The Dance Beyond Your Imagination》

Dance seems far away from people’s everyday life. At a seminar titled Body Across Borders-The Dance Beyond Your Imagination, you will find out that dance reflects the world we live in. Dancers use their body to fight gravity and challenge known frameworks with artistic concepts. Dance represents a choreographer’s courage to face the world.

Body Across Borders-The Dance Beyond Your Imagination invites four artists to speak about their anxiety for dance, the relationship between dance and the society and that between dance and sports.

《Have You Danced in Hsinchu?》