LIMITLESS – The 2023 DAGUAN International Performing Arts Festival

An Exploration of the Infinite Energy Hidden within the Dailyness.

“ The clear sky carries the floating clouds as it renders the poetry-painting from the ancient days. The landscape is beyond the magic of the brushwork of the master Wu Dao Zi, but you shall not envy, for that poetry also surrenders before it. The clouds with their constant transformation surge like the sea, while the scattered stars are words that shine in infinity.  When we sit down to contemplate the sky, being inspired and aspired, the grandeur of the universe expands in the borderless mind. ” 

— A Contemplation on the Sunny Evening
 

     The poem is written by Snow Hut Old Man (Li Ping-Nan, 1891-1986) as he looked at the sky and turned the words into painterly images.  Indeed, poetry is the visualization of one’s thoughts and contemplation, transforming artistic momentum between forms and styles with mutually responsive techniques to capture the soul, as we feel the clear blue sky, the immense sea, and the boats in the shimmering water to reflect the floating clouds.   

When Arts and Creativity Ripple the Sensitivity.

There is a similar transition in performing arts to express thoughts and concepts, especially the realization triggered by sensory experiences, thus affecting the hearts with its diverse creativity. Taiwan is such a place with diverse cultures and a multi-layered history, while the conflicts and integrations of different scales offer the framework of the programming of DA GUAN International Performing Arts Festival, which adopts new and different forms, ensemble work, and dialogues between media to fulfill its artistic creativity and humanity-based purpose. These art works channel the narrative of the festival to create a much deeper effect, culturally nourishing the society to build a future legacy. 

As our daily life resumes and readapts the paces in the post-pandemic world, we are looking forward to your presence at the festival, titled as “LIMITLESS” to offer some spiritual nourishment for life. The event, as usual, takes place at the NTUA Performing Arts Center. We expect it to be a “sensory place” for arts to converge as it is also a creativity hub without boundaries, and it will bring together the things and emotions that make us feel alive. Theatre becomes a place to cure and participate, visualizing thoughts to evoke a realization when one’s inner self is touched by the beauty of arts. Similar to the fight for survival during the tough pandemic times, there is some faith that carries us beyond rational experiences and prompts us to march forward -- it is the “beautiful thing” we should bring near to us as a daily practice.

An All-inclusive Experience of the Five Senses

This year’s festival features the contemporary ballet piece SWAN LAKE by the world-renowned BALLET PRELJOCAJ from France, the profound but yet amiable Root-Route as a cultural journey of the history of Korean music carefully structured by the School of Korean Traditional Arts at Korea National University of Arts, and three other productions presented by one or more colleges at the National Taiwan University of Arts -- All about Drama - Cross-field Artistic Imagery 4.0, Sounds of Formosa, Mix⁵ -- to bring you the unique charm of Taiwan via theatre, music, dance, and experimental interdisciplinary work.  

We sincerely invite you to join us at Limitless – The 2023 DAGUAN International Performing Arts Festival, to experience the “limitless creativity” that floats like poetry and painting in contemporary theatre.