Taiwan Review
Date: November 1, 2015
By: KELLY HER
Austin Wang sets the stage as a master of theatrical design.
In the final minutes before a Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan performance begins,
The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan production Moon Water features a visually captivating stage design by Austin Wang. (Photo by Liu Chen-hsiang)
the house lights dim and the audience slips into silence. Patrons sit in hushed anticipation, waiting to witness something beautiful, frightening or even otherworldly. For the next few hours, the stage becomes a universe unto itself.
Founded in 1973 by celebrated choreographer Lin Hwai-min (林懷民), Cloud Gate has won critical acclaim at home and abroad with productions like Songs of the Wanderers (1994), Moon Water (1998), Bamboo Dream (2001), Smoke (2002) and Cursive II (2003). And at the heart of these productions are the mesmerizing stage designs of Austin Wang (王孟超).
Lauded by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of Germany’s leading daily newspapers, for stage designs that “create a magical room that unfolds a poetry of its own,” Wang has been involved in more than 100 productions. He has collaborated with nearly 30 Taiwanese performance groups including Contemporary Legend Theatre, Creative Society, Golden Bough Theatre, Guoguang Opera Company and Tai Gu Tales Dance Theatre. [FULL STORY]
