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Company Of The Year In Germany Four Years In A Row -- Ballett Am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg Asia Debut At Weiwuying-- “7” Speaks Of Life, Challenges And Strength
Ballett Am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg, one of the most successful modern ballet troupe, is making its very first debut outside Europe! Martin SCHLÄPFER, the artistic director and chief choreographer who was voted “Choreographer of the Year” by Tanz magazine, is taking the “Company Of The Year” to Taiwan. They will be performing with Taipei Symphony Orchestra (TSO) led by conductor and executive and artistic director of the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) CHIEN Wen-pin. On March 2nd and 3rd, they will greet the audience at Weiwuying Opera House with the captivating Stage photo:Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg“ 7 ”.
Celebrated composer MAHLER wrote many mainstream symphonies for modern orchestra music. Martin SCHLÄPFER choreographed to MAHLER’s Ruckert-Lieder in 1995. Twenty years later, he produced another dance act to Symphony No. 7 by MAHLER. The dance received great reviews at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2015. CHIEN Wen-pin, the former Kapellmeister of Deutsche Oper am Rhein persuaded his old friends to debut “7” at Weiwuying, as their first stop of the Asian tour. This is a one of a kind opportunity for Kaohsiung, home to many dance talents in Taiwan.
Symphony No. 7 is considered to be mysterious and cryptic even by MAHLER’s standard. There are in total five movements of music that takes the audience on a trip from dusk well into midnight. CHIEN Wen-pin points out, “Mahler, as a prestigious conductor and composer, has a true understanding of what conductors are looking for in music pieces. performing Mahler’s work on stage has always been a genuine challenge for both the conductor and the orchestra; however, it always comes with true gratification and euphoria.”
Martin SCHLÄPFER translates Symphony No. 7 into modern ballet with great effort. Dancers stomps on stage in heavy boots, stretches in pointe shoes or sometimes go bare foot interpreting the scenes, jumping and springing as if weightless. The dancer’s body language conveys strong and contrasting images. These image collages piece together a dreamlike magical atmosphere, filling the blanks in the symphony with dance moves, and adding a back story to Symphony No.7.
Aside from the creative work of Martin SCHLÄPFER, heavy weight conductor CHIEN Wen-pin will be performing Symphony No. 7 by Gustav MAHLER together with TSO in “7”. CHIEN Wen-pin has worked with Martin SCHLÄPFER in many productions in the past. In his words, though both Martin SCHLÄPFER and LIN Hwai-min know nothing about reading sheet music, they, without a doubt, have the best ear for music out of all the choreographers he’s ever met. Martin SCHLÄPFER is looking forward to meeting LIN Hwai-min this trip to Taiwan. They will greet the audience at Weiwuying Master Talk— Dancing with Gustav Mahler—LIN Hwai-min x Martin SCHLÄPFER x CHIEN Wen-pin on February 28th.