Experience depth and musical connection through this extraordinary performance
This is an exceptionally beautiful performance that offers musical virtuosity, traditional percussion, martial arts, dance, and meditation. The work combines the rhythmic power of drums and gongs with the visual poetry of movement and choreography.
The musicians perform barefoot in long white tunics, surrounded by a visually striking stage design of drums and gongs. Some small, hung like ornaments from trees, which are ceremonially wheeled across the stage in choreographed formations. Precision is the ensemble's signature: every strike, whether on drumhead or wood, is perfectly controlled, creating a rich tapestry of clicks, cracks, and rhythmic steps, while hands occasionally muffle the sound mid-resonance. Solo musicians dressed in black, playing xiao, erhu, sheng, yangqin, cello, and flute, stand in counterpoint to the drummers, while the largest drum, the master drum, is played by a man with his back to the audience, a demanding feat that requires extraordinary physical strength.
Light and shadow deepen the atmosphere: instrument silhouettes are cast across the walls, diagonal compositions cut through blue light, and moments of stillness give way to sudden cries, rushes of movement, and whirling dervish-like dances. Awakening of the Mountain is a work of complete mastery, a ritual of gesture and sound in which the flute and oboe seem to address the sky itself, hands tell stories, and outstretched arms trace the horizon.
About the ensemble:
The troupe was founded in 1988 by Ms. Liu Ruo-Yu and is internationally renowned.
Since 1993, percussionist and artistic director Huang Chih-Chun has incorporated meditation into the troupe’s work, and the performers are trained in tai chi chuan. The ensemble is based in the hills of Taipei, which provide an ideal environment for concentration, discipline, and mindfulness. “Awakening of the Mountain” (the name of the ensemble) is an ode to the surrounding nature, where their training center is located on Laoquan Mountain.
Important:
- Dress code: smart casual
- No intermission
- The purchased tickets cannot be returned or exchanged.
- The price includes a service fee of 3,7 € (100,- CZK)
Visit the Powder Gate tower nearby.
