Solo Dance
2021 | Documentary | 83 min | Taiwan | Color | English Subtitles
Synopsis“Dance represents the society at the moment.” This seemingly simple wisdom took Lin Ssu-tuan 80 years.
In the 1950s, post-war Taiwan was in white terror and poverty. She went from a factory worker to the world of painting and embarked on the journey of art for a lifetime. She started as the one and only nude model in Taiwan at 16 and had a first glance at the beauty of the art, but she had to face the scorns of society. Ultimately, she cleared her name as a female model for art. The exhibitions of nude portraits and nude photography in 1961 and 1965 were shocking to the silent society in Taiwan and became important events in art history.
She fought against the objectification of female models, turned her body into active expressions with dance, and worked with artists such as Yang Yuyu and Dai Hung-xuan to launch the very first solo modern dance performance in Taiwan. It took place when the whole country was mourning the passing of Chiang Kai-shek , therefore it was lost in the history of dance in Taiwan.
In middle age, she started to delve into the meaning of art creation. In the early 1980s, she advocated for the feminist movement and dance movement, hoping that elite dance creation would find its way into the lives of ordinary people. It created a trend unexpectedly; even though it went against the dance world’s mainstream point of view, it became an important practice of the feminist movement’s body liberation.
On her study tour in New York, modern dance guru Alwin Nikolais’ advice shocked her when he said: “Your dance is not yours.” When she got back to Taiwan, she decided to stay true to herself and to find her way back into her body’s energy. She began to consolidate the art of dance and engaged herself in the education of disabled people to enforce art equality.
She went from a famous model surrounded by painters to an activist who’s fighting for dance equality. After 80, she is still dancing with people.
“Dance represents the society at the moment.” This seemingly simple wisdom took Lin Ssu-tuan 80 years.
In the 1950s, post-war Taiwan was in white terror and poverty. She went from a factory worker to the world of painting and embarked on the journey of art for a lifetime. She started as the one and only nude model in Taiwan at 16 and had a first glance at the beauty of the art, but she had to face the scorns of society. Ultimately, she cleared her name as a female model for art. The exhibitions of nude portraits and nude photography in 1961 and 1965 were shocking to the silent society in Taiwan and became important events in art history.
She fought against the objectification of female models, turned her body into active expressions with dance, and worked with artists such as Yang Yuyu and Dai Hung-xuan to launch the very first solo modern dance performance in Taiwan. It took place when the whole country was mourning the passing of Chiang Kai-shek , therefore it was lost in the history of dance in Taiwan.
In middle age, she started to delve into the meaning of art creation. In the early 1980s, she advocated for the feminist movement and dance movement, hoping that elite dance creation would find its way into the lives of ordinary people. It created a trend unexpectedly; even though it went against the dance world’s mainstream point of view, it became an important practice of the feminist movement’s body liberation.
On her study tour in New York, modern dance guru Alwin Nikolais’ advice shocked her when he said: “Your dance is not yours.” When she got back to Taiwan, she decided to stay true to herself and to find her way back into her body’s energy. She began to consolidate the art of dance and engaged herself in the education of disabled people to enforce art equality.
She went from a famous model surrounded by painters to an activist who’s fighting for dance equality. After 80, she is still dancing with people.
Blogger Comment
Facebook Comment