Sound speaks as dance listens in ‘All Ears’
《關不掉的耳朵（All Ears）》聲音發號施令，身體應聲而動
| TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Cloud Gate Dance Theater will premiere its latest production, “All Ears,” in Taipei on Oct. 23, exploring auditory perception and the interplay between sound and movement.
The Taipei debut will feature four performances through Oct. 26 at the National Theater Hall. The production will then tour to the National Taichung Theater on Nov. 7 and 9, followed by the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts on Nov. 15 and 16, according to a press release from the National Theater and Concert Hall. “All Ears” magnifies the act of listening, inviting audiences to see, feel, and emotionally engage with sound through the dancers’ bodies. The performance is built on the premise that sound is ever-present — penetrating the body, stirring emotion, and inspiring motion. Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍) said that unlike vision, hearing cannot be consciously turned off. In this work, sound becomes the core structural force, guiding the dancers’ rhythm and energy. The result is an immersive, cinematic experience where sound shapes the stage in the same way a camera and editing shape a film’s pacing. The sound design was developed by veteran Taiwanese sound artist Tu Duu-chih (杜篤之) in collaboration with his son — their first joint theater project. With five decades of experience in film sound, Tu said this production reversed his usual workflow by placing sound and imagination at the center, rather than using visuals as a starting point. French composer Esteban Fernandez also joined the project, completing a two-week creative residency in Taiwan earlier this year. He installed multiple sound-processing rigs to edit and generate audio in real time, aiming to synchronize precisely with the dancers’ breath and movement. |
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| Charlotte Lee Taiwan News, Staff Writer | |
| 2025-08-06 |
