Returning to Taiwan for the first time since 2016, Australian-based Shaun Parker & Company is thrilled to be showcasing its latest work ReMOTE at the 2019 Kuandu Arts Festival this week.
The invitation to perform came from the National University of the Arts in Taipei with the aim to bring innovative Australian talent to local Taiwanese audiences. The university’s dance lecturer, Xiao Xiong Zhang, wants to show how international talent is creating varying forms of dance theatre.
Developing relationships with the international art world is very important to Shaun, with the company having toured 19 countries since it begun almost a decade ago. Shaun Parker & Company’s previous visit to Taiwan was on invitation from the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, and this latest marks the first time the company will showcase ReMOTE to an international audience. For Shaun, this week’s trip to Taiwan will support the vision to develop a new range of small-scale works for the Asian market that reflects modern Australia through a global lens.
ReMOTE is a fast-paced 20-minute solo performance, choreographed by award-winning choreographer Shaun Parker. Created last year with the aim to strengthen the emotional resilience of young people, ReMOTE is a fresh, non-verbal Australian contemporary dance work for young people and their families.
Performed by Western Sydney dancer Libby Montilla, who fuses hip-hop with gaming technology, the show will take audiences into the world of limitless imagination inspired by video gaming and escapism. The stunning sound worlds that are created range from to bird-filled skies, heaving oceans and gaming-inspired environments, to immersive live music, crunchy electronica, atmospheric strings, and funky drum loops, all intrinsically linked to Libby’s outstanding body animation. Through the use of AirSticks – groundbreaking technology that creates live sound through movement – ReMOTE tells a story and shows the audience that they are much more in control of their own emotional responses than they may have thought.
Looking forward to presenting ReMOTE to the Kuandu Arts Festival audience, Shaun says, “As a young kid growing up in regional Australia, I would never have imagined that this international dream could be possible. I can’t wait to see how Taiwanese audiences respond to ReMOTE. At Shaun Parker & Company we aim to ignite the imagination of our audiences and we hope our latest performance does just that!”
2019 Kuandu Art Festival
ReMOTE at 2019 Kuandu Art Festival:
When: 8 pm on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th October
Where: Dance Theatre, National University of the Arts, Taipei, Taiwan
Find out more: https://kdaf.tnua.edu.tw/2019/
This post was written by the author in their personal capacity.The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of The Theatre Times, their staff or collaborators.
This post was written by Shiya Lu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.
