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Hello everyone
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I am Lin, Hwai-Min
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I feel I am like a piece of restless rock
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always looking around
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hoping to see a brighter sun
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If tomorrow and today are totally the same
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then I'll definitely not want to wake up
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When I was a freshman in college, I majored in Law at NCCU (National ChengChi University)
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A year later I switched to Journalism
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When I moved to US, I continued to study journalism
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After one semester, I transferred to a creative writing class
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and started dancing
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At the age of 25, I returned to NCCU to teach
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I was perhaps the youngest lecturer at NCCU
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In my second year of teaching, I got myself into trouble
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That's when I started the “Cloud Gate Dance Theatre"
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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"Cloud Gate" is the first professional dance group in Taiwan
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Before us, no one chose contemporary dance
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as a source of making a living
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So, many thought of me as
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"He is a fine young man… but why this?"
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People were incredibly surprised by my decision
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My friends even asked, "Are you out of your mind?"
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My father simply said the following to me:
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"Among all artists, dancers are the most awe-inspiring
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since they have the toughest profession
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of creating art using the entire body
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However, this is probably a job for the beggars!"
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Ten years ago when my mother passed away
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my family sorted through her belongings
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and found a bankbook under my name
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There was over a million NT Dollars in that account
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That's when I realized
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that even after 30 years
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my mom was still concerned with
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this son of hers in the performance arts field
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So she pinched and scraped to save money for me
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None of my siblings caused her such worries
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Why did I pursue dancing?
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When growing up, my parents taught us to serve others
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I grew up in the 60's
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60's was an era of emerging youth subculture
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The Beatles, hippies, anti-war slogans,
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Dr. Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech
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It was an era of rising civil rights movement
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Folks back then accomplished a number of milestones
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The 60s' taught young men and women the sense of responsibility
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Everyone had the ability to change the society and the world
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When I returned to Taiwan, I met some girls who loved dancing
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and I thought, Taiwanese enjoy seeing these dance performances
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but we don't have a local dance group
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We need to form our own groups
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It's easier said than done
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But at that moment, what we had in mind
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was not found in New York, London, Paris, or Moscow
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Our concept was simply a small group around ten people or so
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who can perform for students at schools
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or even at the community level for the general public
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Because of my parents' impression of dance performers
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their warnings, actually
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when I started this journey I knew that
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I would not be able to afford a house in this lifetime
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However "insane" I seemed, I kept moving forward
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On September 29th, 1973
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'Cloud Gate' opened its first show in Chung-Hsing Hall, Taichung city
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I just realized this morning that
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today marks the 40th anniversary of this very first performance
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(Applause)
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Thank you
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So, after Taichung, our next stop was in Taipei's Zhongshan Hall
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We sold over 3000 tickets, and there were even scalpers outside
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Everyone was excited, but for about 3 months I was incredibly neurotic
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Gate Cloud was the first professional contemporary dance troupe
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There were no precedent or similar cases in Taiwan
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More importantly, even though I had some knowledge in dancing
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I had never choreographed
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I don't know where I got the courage to make it this far
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So from that point on, I focused on practicing the art of choreography
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Throughout these years, I learned from the dancers
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the elements of a 'human figure'
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and the fundamentals of 'movements'
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I learned from the audiences' reaction
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how to compose a dance which enable us to communicate
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But, my sole job at Cloud Gate was not just to choreograph dances
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In this kind of environment, the 70's the 80's
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Ugh, I had to take care of administrative tasks and raise funds
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To me, these responsibilities were somewhat difficult to handle
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The need to go out and ask people to sponsor, to give you money
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Oh right, my father did say it's a beggar's job
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However, in my transition from a young novelist
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who was suddenly forced to leave the house
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and proactively rally volunteers and sponsors for support
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I feel I have gained so much in this process
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The feeling is like walking out from this red circle
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It's an amazing adventure because as I started to approach people
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I got to know so many of them
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When people turned me down,
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I would still keep my composure and my spirits up
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When I was 14, my novels got rejected quite often
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Rejection was part of the process
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But when there's one person willing to help, cherish the kindness shown
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One should be forever grateful
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Because even if people come to me, I might not say yes
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I'm also aware of the expectations
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that come with each and every donation or gift
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So with this in mind, I kept our team moving forward
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Sometimes I worked over 18 to 20 hours a day
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Even today I'm putting in about 16 hours of work
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My work consists of not only choreography
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it also includes learning how to lead my own lifestyle
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and adding more dimensions of creativity
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Why?
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Because I am ultimately responsible for
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my dancers' future
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When their schoolmates started their own dance studio,
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these folks can afford cars and mortgage payments
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on luxury apartments
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My dancers, on contrary, didn't choose the conventional path
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they dance 8 hours a day and are severely underpaid
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To me, I couldn't disappoint them
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In addition, those people who kindly helped Cloud Gate
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I couldn't fail them as well
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Perhaps what's most important is that
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I should not subject myself to the "insane" label
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that people gave me when they heard of my ambitions
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I need to go out and prove that I am not "out of my mind"
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I have to show that it's YOU who are insane!
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(Applause)
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However, Cloud Gate was placed on hiatus in 1988
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Ever since I graduated and started working
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working in a brand new line of business like Cloud Gate
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I always felt like falling into a washing machine
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and was placed on a perpetual spinning cycle
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Was I happy?
I'd never thought about it
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But I was getting by
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that's what I thought
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I always saw myself as a chess piece
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a cog in the wheel of Cloud Gate
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The "Lin Hwai-Min" that one sees in the newspaper or media
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is not part of me at the end of the day
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My days are still the same
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I still work on my own job
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Because if I become too arrogant from the publicity, the awards
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Taiwan might not be big enough for my ego
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Then I might have to leave Taiwan
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I can't imagine how artists from other countries think
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since their lifestyles and work ethics are unlike Taiwanese
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In Taiwan's work environment
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I am just a small cog
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And this is the way I produce work
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But even a cog may be worn out
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In 1983, I initiated the Dance department at TNUA (Taipei National University of the
Arts)
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Between Cloud Gate and teaching
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I'd been burning the candle at both ends
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By 1988 I was completely exhausted
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Meanwhile I needed to face the reality that my founding team members
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those dancers who committed years of their hard work
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are also starting their own families
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and I wasn't sure how to provide the means to repay them
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When I was already this busy
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could I still have the energy to design better choreographies for them?
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Hence, in 1986, I made the decision to suspend Cloud Gate performances
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When the news broke out in 1988, it was a sad day for our fans
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The general public also felt our sadness
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Looking back, my decision to suspend Cloud Gate
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is one of my best works so far
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This painful decision was carefully planned
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after some soul-searching and self-realization on my part
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It took two years for us to finish executing this suspension project
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We made sure that all team members have an exit path
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We arranged new jobs for the founding members
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As for the junior members, we sent them to US to continue their studies
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When Cloud Gate was officially on hiatus
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We still had performance invitations from eight other countries
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It was a record for Cloud Gate
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However, still no regrets
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as more invitations merely mean more trips abroad
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After these trips we're still left with exhausted souls and little money
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In 1990, on the second day after I returned to Taipei from US
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A taxi driver asked me:
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"Why are the Cloud Gate performances suspended?"
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I replied: "Running a performance art company in Taiwan is difficult"
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And I told him my story and the difficulties I'd faced
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The driver expressed his understanding and sympathy
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But before I got off his car
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He said to me : "Mr. Lin,"
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"It's also hard to make a living driving around Taipei as a taxi driver
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All jobs have their hardships
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But Taiwan needs Cloud Gate"
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And when he left, he yelled: Mr. Lin, You can do it!
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I stood by the curb
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incredibly ashamed
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What I had abandoned were not only
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my initial dreams and aspirations
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I'd forgotten the Cloud Gate supporters
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and the promise I made during my younger years
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of serving the general public
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So in 1991, we brought Cloud Gate back
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At this moment, we found
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undoubtedly that
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this is our best work
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The hiatus turned out to be Cloud Gate's biggest blessing
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During the three year break
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I traveled around East South Asia
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to expand my creative path and to enrich my personal life
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Our technical director Lin Keh-Hua went to study at Yale
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Operations director Wen Hui-Wen got a Master in Fine Arts degree in US
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When we returned, we were not crazy and compulsive young adults anymore
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We seemed to have matured a bit
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We seemed to have more trainings in our line of expertise
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And, the greatest thing is
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since we had disbanded before
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the worse we can do now is to disband again!
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So the future of Cloud Gate is to continue on a sustainable path
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Around the time, Taiwan's economic situation was favorable to the arts
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more corporations were pitching in to support Cloud Gate
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So today, after 40 years since we first opened our show
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Cloud Gate 2 regularly performs in rural areas
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We have classes in universities
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Under the support of Cathy Financial Holdings
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Cloud Gate has been hosting outdoor performances for the past 18 years
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Each show we receive at least 30,000 attendees
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Some shows even peaked at 80,000 attendees
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This is perhaps the largest dancing performance in the world
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After each of these performances
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our attendees left orderly and with no garbage behind
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Taiwanese people are amazing
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From this it shows how our attendees
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have a desire and the discipline for quality lifestyle
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I feel the need to do better
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When I was staying overseas, people asked:
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"You take your shows to rural villages down south or east of Taiwan
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For these areas, do you perform an abridged version of the show?"
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No
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It's the same show one sees in New York, Moscow, and Paris
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Because Taiwan is limited in size
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I must say, after 90's
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More and more folks around the world think of me as a good choreographer
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My training comes from the hundreds of thousands of attendees to my show
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Why from them?
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Because there is no bad audience
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There's only bad performance
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Especially in an outdoor production
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if you don't offer a spectacular show
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kids will start to whine
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and adults will walk away
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I need to keep my audience members in their seats
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So they became my biggest challenge
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If tens of thousands of outdoor attendees like to stay and watch my show
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then I think even New York Times would love my productions too
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Yes
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My training is from the general public
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This April
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I joined the Da Jia Matsu Incense-Carrying Pilgrimage
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near Shi-Chou, at 3AM in the wee hours of the morning
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a farm lady arrived and held my hand
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She said: "Thanks for your beautiful art"
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Thanks for your beautiful art
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A simple heartfelt sentence from a blue collar lady
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I thought
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Ah… 40 years of hard work
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If we can get what we ask for
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and to age in this way
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this is what I would call happiness
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Couples years ago, I went to India
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made pilgrimage to Buddha-gayā, where Buddha became an immortal figure
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The branches and leafs of the local scared fig trees spanned this big
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When I left a temple after its closing
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a man behind me suddenly asked
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"Are you from Taiwan?"
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I turned to see, oh, he's a spiritual master (Lama)
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He spoke perfect Mandarin
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I asked him to join me for some tea nearby
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He told me he's from Shandong, China
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To become a Lama teacher,
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he spent couple years taking on various jobs
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Once he arrived in Lhasa, he began helping out at temples
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Later on, he wanted to meet His Holiness Dalai Lama
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so he walked from Lhasa in the direction of Nepal
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At the border, he was thrown in prison by the People's Liberation Army
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After one year, when he was released, he started walking again
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But he got caught again and was put into prison for another year
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His third attempt to cross the border was successful
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He arrived at Dharmsāla and saw Dalai Lama
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Then I asked him, "What are you going to do now?"
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He said: " I want to go back to Tibet"
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I asked, "Didn't you get caught by the Liberation Army last time?"
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Why take the risk of getting caught and be thrown back in prison?
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He replied: "It's all the same wherever we are"
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When I left, I turned around to see him
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He was helping to clear the table
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And in the freezing January weather in India
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this Lama teacher laid down under a tree
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wrapped his Kasaya garment around, and slept
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It's all the same wherever we are
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When his own personal desires have been lowered to an absolute minimum
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nothing is impossible
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In life, there's no limit
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When we are young
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there's a need to rebel, to challenge
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to go through these lessons to understand who we are
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Yes, don't set a limit in life
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Unless you are constructing obstacles for yourself
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It's my pleasure to meet so many young friends here today
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As we say from this experienced fellow
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We need to believe that
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Throughout history, there are different challenges for each generation
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but that challenge depends on how you perceive the problem
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It should not be what others have define for you
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I have some last words to say to the young folks here:
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Youth is synonymous with 'bravery'
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Be bold.
Never be afraid
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(Applause)
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Thank you.
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.