Lin Hwai-min is an award winning choreographer who founded the highly rated Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in 1973. Cloud Gate marks its first visit to Malaysia with a performance of Lin’s ‘Songs of the Wanderers’ at Istana Budaya this February.
 
What is the highlight of your career so far?
I founded Cloud Gate with a very humble dream of providing dancers with a stage and sharing our beloved art with audiences. I feel very blessed that, after almost 39 years, we are still doing that.

What can we expect from ‘Songs of the Wanderers’?
‘Songs of the Wanderers’ was inspired by my visit to Bodhgaya, India, where Buddha attained his enlightenment under a bodhi tree. I was overcome with joy and felt a quietude that I had never experienced before, and I hope to share with the audience the serenity I brought back from Bodhgaya.

Are you a fan of ‘So You Can Think You Can Dance’ and ‘Got to Dance’?
I rarely watch TV, and so I don’t know the programmes you mentioned.

Do the Cloud Gate dancers have a grueling training regime?
They train in disciplines from the East and the West, and through different philosophies of moving, they acquire very sensitive bodies with which I create works that have made critics acclaim that ‘no company in the world dances like Cloud Gate’.

How does one become a dancer for Cloud Gate?
The dancers enter the company through auditions. I love dancers who move with personality, and they must love dancing because they dance eight hours a day. Every season we explore new ways of moving, of expressing because we don't like repeating ourselves, so they have to be curious and adventurous as well.

You have been chosen as a mentor for the 2012/2013 ‘Rolex Mentor and Protégé Art Initiative’. What are your plans for your protégé?
I am invited to serve as a mentor in dance like what William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián and Trisha Brown have done in the past. I plan to make friends with my protégé, show him the environment and culture that have shaped my creations, that is, Taiwan. Of course, we will also engage in activities of movement. I hope he will be enriched by this experience and find his own voice in choreography.

What advice can you give aspiring choreographers and dancers?
Work on small projects and leave room for growth. Keep everything simple with simple costumes and simple lighting and concentrate on choreography. Learn from other forms of arts and learn from your audience. Also, mingle with people from all walks of life; after all, dance is about life.

‘Songs of the Wanderers’ will be staged at Istana Budaya on Feb 16 & 17. For more info, see listings. Photo courtesy of Ice.