衛武營國家藝術文化中心 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying)

Ｗelcome to the Snowflake Kingdom

Weiwuying's Winter Gift - Snowflakes take flight, inviting you to enter the magical world of The Nutcracker.

Adapted from TCHAIKOVSKY's classic ballet The Nutcracker, renowned dancer YEH Ming-hwa, conductor CHANG Yin-fang, and Nan Yi  Ensemble Studio collaborate to present a contemporary rendition of the Nutcracker story for this generation. YEH, a masterful interpreter of the encounters between people and time-space through physicality and the senses, employs contemporary narrative techniques to guide the audience through reality and the story of The Nutcracker: Christmas celebrations, meeting the Nutcracker Prince, battling the Mouse King, and the vibrant Snowflake Kingdom. The fantastical scenes mirror the harshness and beauty of reality. This magical journey will transport adults back to their childhood and ignite boundless imagination in children. The performance showcases a chamber orchestra of 16 musicians who join Taiwan's elite dancers for a captivating feast of music and ballet.

Synopsis

The protagonist, a quiet yet keenly perceptive girl, consistently feels out of place among her peers at school. One day, while flipping through a pop-up book, she embarks on a dream-like adventure, encountering the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy. Throughout this enchanting journey, the trio confront their fears and embrace hope together.

About Into the Fantasy of Nutcracker

"The complexities and beauty of reality are mirrored in the dream world. Some aspects appear more beautiful, while others take on a darker tone; everything transforms into characters and plotlines within the story. Growing up is akin to The Nutcracker, imbued with "courage" and "fantasy," with people and events along the way adding diverse hues to the journey. Through the companionship of fairy tales, the magic seeps into reality, supporting us step by step as we continue to grow and learn. In wondrous winter, we all embody the spirit of the girl who meets the Nutcracker, allowing the story to infuse us with limitless courage."——YEH Ming-hwa

About TCHAIKOVSKY and PETIPA's The Nutcracker

In 1891, TCHAIKOVSKY composed the music for the ballet "The Nutcracker" based on HOFFMANN's The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. The ballet choreographed by PETIPA evolved into the widely known modern version, exuding warmth and childlike wonder. The story of The Nutcracker unfolds during the hope-filled Christmas season when the protagonist, Clara, receives a Nutcracker as a gift. Once everyone has fallen asleep, the Nutcracker transforms into a prince, and he embarks on a fantastical journey with Clara. Together, they battle the Mouse Army, defeat the Mouse King, and explore the enchanting realms of the Snow and Sugar Plum Kingdoms. Amid the feasts and celebrations, Clara gradually awakens to find it was all a dream. For over two centuries, the story of The Nutcracker has captivated people with its sincerity and mystical allure, serving as a key that unlocks the boundless world of imagination.

Act I - Class is in Session

She serves as both the principal of the art school and the conductor of the school's orchestra, diligently leading rehearsals of Christmas pieces with the musicians. In the bustling environment of class preparations, teachers and students are busy at work. Among them is a girl, known for her clumsy nature... In ballet class, she's gently looked after by a considerate little boy who always seems to be watching over her. Her clumsiness continues in fencing class, where she accidentally bumps into the instructor, and she seems overwhelmed by the unbridled colors of art class. The day culminates in a music lesson, where she remains silent. Unable to withstand the snickering of her peers, she flees from the classroom.

  Pre-talk  

12/23(Sat)19:00-19:20 Concert Hall 3F Lobby

12/24(Sun)14:00-14:20 Concert Hall 3F Lobby

  Program  

Act I - Dreamland Awaits

The principal reveals a magnificent pop-up book, none other than the girl's favortie story, "The Nutcracker." As soon as they flip through its pages, they are whisked away into a dreamland, where the teachers and students morph into characters straight out of the story.

In the story's pivotal moment, where the Nutcracker faces off against the Mouse King, the girl summons her courage and plunges into the heat of the battle. Alongside her, the Sugar Plum Fairy and the little boy anxiously wanting to provide aid.

It's a scene where righteousness seems to conquer villainy. Together, the girl, the Nutcracker, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the little boy traverse a white landscape, journeying towards the enchanting Snowflake Kingdom.

---------------------Intermission---------------------

Act II - Welcome to Snowflake Kingdom

On their journey, the Mouse King and Mouse Queen captures the little boy who has strayed from the group. The girl, drawing on her courage, manages to defeat them both, overcoming her own fears in the process.

After these difficult trials, the girl arrives at the Snowflake Kingdom, where she is greeted by a beautiful Christmas concert.

The climax of the concert features a magnificent dance with snowflakes swirling around, creating a serene, silver-white wonderland. Is this all just the girl's imagination, or actually happening in "The Nutcracker"?

  Music  

P. TCHAIKOVSKY: The Nutcracker, Ballet in two acts, Op.71 (arr. Ronald Kornfeil)

Act I

1. Overture

2. Scene 1 - The Christmas Tree

3. Scene 2 - March

4. Scene 4 - Dance Scene & Arrival Of Drosselmeyer

5. Scene 5 - Scene & Grandfather's Dance

6. Scene 6 - The Magic Spell Begins

7. Scene 7 - The Battle Between The Nutcracker & The Mouse King

8. Scene 8 - Scene In The Pine Forest(Journey Through The Snow)

9. Scene 9 - Waltz of The Snowflakes

Act II

10. Scene 11 - Clara & The Prince

11. Scene 12 - Divertissement, Chocolate - Spanish Dance

12. Scene 12 - Divertissement, Coffee - Arabian Dance

13. Scene 12 - Divertissement, Tea - Chinese Dance

14. Scene 12 - Divertissement, Trepak

15. Scene 14 - Pas de Deux - Dance of The Prince & the Sugar-Plum Fairy

16. Scene 14 - Variation I- Tarantella

17. Scene 14 - Variation II - Dance Of The Sugar-Plum Fairy

18. Scene 15 - Final Waltz & Apotheosis

  Creative and Production Team  

Production Consultant｜CHOU Shu-yi

Choreographer & Playwright｜YEH Ming-hwa

Artistic Consultant & Costume Consultant｜LIN Ching-ju

Conductor｜CHANG Yin-fang

Stage Designer｜CHOU Chih-wei

Lighting Designer｜KUO Chien-hao

Costume Supervisor*｜YEN Liang-su

Costumes*｜

YANG Kai-lin、TSENG Yu-hsuan (Mouse King、Mouse Queen)

Wang You-zheng、NG Hoi-yan、Liu Bi-sheng (Nutcracker Prince、Sugar Plum Fairy、Little Girl、Little Boy)

WANG Jo-hua、CHANG Chi-wen、LIN Po-tai (Snowflake、Nutcracker、Mouse、Dance Teacher、Art Teacher、Music Teacher)

WU Chi-jui、CHEN Yu-jen、HSIEH Lian-yu

Ensemble｜Nan Yi Ensemble Studio

Rehearsal Assistant｜WONG King-hei

Dancer: 

Dance Teacher、Sugar Plum Fairy｜KUO Jung-an

Fencing Teacher、Nutcracker、Nutcracker Prince｜SHIUE Ren-kai

Art Teacher、Mouse King、Snowflake｜TANG Wan-yu

Music Teacher、Mouse Queen、Snowflake｜SU Tzu-ting

Little Girl｜CHENG Tzu-tung

Little Boy｜CHIU Po-sheng

Girl、Snowflake、Mouse｜LAI Ming-yueh、LIN Yi-chi、LIN Yu-jhih、TSAI Yi-tsen、HO Yu-chieh、WANG Yun-ching

Introduction

Musicians

Violin I｜CHEN Ming-han

Violin II｜SUN Meng-ching

Viola｜LIN Huan-ling

Cello｜HUANG Ping-chieh

Double Bass｜PAN Yung-pei

Oboe｜CHUNG  Hsiao-hsuan

Flute｜HUNG Tsui-yi

Clarinet｜WANG Kuan-chieh

Clarinet / Bass Clarinet｜LUO Zhi-yuan

Bassoon｜OU Yi-hsin

Horn｜WEN Yu-ying

Trumpet｜LIU Yu-chun

Trombone｜KAO Tsung-wen

Harp｜KUANG Yi-wen

Percussion｜YEH Chia-an

Percussion｜WU Kuo-hsuan

Celesta｜TSAUR Ming-tsang

*Costumes are co-produced through the Project of Ballet Costume Design and Produce, by the collaboration between National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) and Dept. of Theatrical Design & Technology, TNUA.

  Teams Introduction  

Production Consultant｜CHOU Shu-yi

From a corporeal perspective, CHOU Shu-yi uses dance as a language to communicate with the world and attentively observes the relationship between people and social environments. In his past creations and actions, he maximized the uniqueness of interdisciplinary thinking, which was well reflected in his depictions of the publicness of the arts. His creation focuses on a strong inquiry into the value of life, expresses different statuses of an individual or a crowd within different social contexts, provides a "corporeal lexicon peculiar to Asia," and manifests itself in the forms of theater, non-conventional theater, and dance video art. He continues to travel around different places through artist residencies. Invited to be Weiwuying Artist-in-Residence since 2020, he has been appointed as the curator of Taiwan Dance Platform for 2022 and 2024.

Choreographer & Playwright｜YEH Ming-hwa

Born in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, Ming-hwa received her BFA in Dance from Taipei National University of Arts in 2006. Ming-hwa maps the dimensions of time and space through the body and senses. In 2019-2020 she was invited in Museum of Human Emotions Project, presented by Centro per la Scena Contemporanea, Bassano del Grappa (IT), La Briqueterie CDCN, Val-de Marne (FR), Saison Foundation (JP),  and National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) (TW) performed in public space. The House Behind the Wall was commissioned by Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan at Wang Da Hong House Theatre in 2020 and won the Grand Prize of 19th Taishin Arts Award in 2021. Dancing Ballet, in collaboration with Kaohsiung City Ballet, commissioned the creation of Taiwan Dance Platform, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying) in 2022.

Artistic Consultant & Costume Consultant｜LIN Ching-ju

As a renowned senior costume designer in Taiwan, Ching-ju Lin has worked in theatre for more than forty years. The over three hundred productions she has participated in show a great diversity ranging from modern theatre, traditional theatre, opera, dance theatre, puppet theatre, children's theatre, and interdisciplinary collaboration, in which she amazes us with her impressive creativity. Her recent devotion includes training a younger generation of theatre technicians, while she also spends a great amount of time sharing her experiences of art and theatre.  

In 1992, Sponsored by Fulbright Scholarship and Cultural and Arts Foundation, Lin studied and traveled in New York that year, while during the trip she also worked in the costume department in productions of New York City Ballet as well as the 50th anniversary production of New York City Opera. She was the recipient of the 10th National Cultural and Arts Award in 2006.

Conductor｜CHANG Yin-fan

CHANG Yin-fang was assistant conductor and resident conductor of the Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO) from 2006 to 2022. She is good at various cross-industry collaborations, all of which are well received. In addition, CHANG is actively involved in the publication of contemporary Asian music works. In 2018, she was invited to conduct the opening concert of the Asia-Pacific Music Festival and premiered the works of several composers. Her recent appearances include conducting new productions, such as The Man with the Compound Eyes and Tannhäuser (chamber version). In recent years, CHANG has been invited to cooperate with Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong , Taipei Chinese Orchestra, Taiwan Philharmonic (NSO), Tainan Symphony Orchestra and Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra.

Stage Designer｜CHOU Chih-wei

Graduated from National Sun Yat-sen University Master of Art in Department of Theater Arts, specializing in stage design, set production, and stage technology. Used to be a full-time lecturer in the Shu-Te University Department of Performing Art, set production technical director of Taipei Theater Stage Design and Production Company, and a professional theater design and technical worker. Began to work in 2002 and has participated in more than 300 performances in technology and design coordination.

Stage design includes SONG SONG SONG Children's & Puppet Theater Le Petit Prince, SOMATIC THAETER COMPANY Stay with You, Shu-Te University Department of Performing Art production The Rocky Horror Picture Show, ANATAHAN, 2018KSAF Pulcinella, 2019KSAF Atlantis, HSU CHEN WEI DANCE COMPANY Sunboom.

Technical director includes 2008 MING HWA YUAN ARTS & CULTURAL GROUP Penglai Daxian, Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group Serenade, SMAP X SMAP, National Chinese Orchestra Taiwan Frozen Peony, Nan-Yi Musical Theater Industrial City, WEI WU YING production In Love with Gezaixi, Dancing Granny, Taiwan NOW Taiwanese Opera Aphrodite, BenFeng Music Productions The Turn of The Screw.

Lighting Designer｜KUO Chien-hao

KUO Chien-hao discovered his first lighting design at the National Taiwan University of Arts where he graduated in drama, and later received his MFA degree. He holds over 20 years' experience as a professional lighting technician and designer. His lighting design works include Summer Jazz, Opera-Studio series for NTCH, TEDx Taipei, Kaohsiung Spring Arts Festival -Verdi's La Traviata, The Hero Academy I & III, 2017-2021 Concert of the Presidential Office, Weiwuying opening season - Bernstein's Candide, and National Symphony Orchestra Opera Concert - Lehar's Die lustige Witwe, Puccini's Madama Butterfly. KUO's work "La traviata" and dance production "Identity" were selected for 2017 and 2022 World Stage Design, Professional designers-Lighting design category. He is now the head of the lighting team in National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying).

Nan Yi Ensemble Studio

Nan Yi Ensemble Studio was founded in 2010, dedicated to interdisciplinary collaboration, music education performances, and providing tailored shows for schools, businesses, and various events. The ensemble is based on Western classical chamber music, seeking inspiration from various topics and paying attention to local culture, presenting Western music in a new form to the audience. Currently, the team focuses on developing music theater forms, community art development, and promoting art education. They also release new works by Taiwanese composers through interdisciplinary collaboration. Since 2017, they have collaborated with Zone Sound Creative Technology to explore the application of interactive technology in performances, and continue to release new productions. In 2018, they initiated the Fengshan Art Festival, providing a platform for interdisciplinary artists to collaborate and create, while promoting local art and cultural equity development.

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