Cursive II is a masterpiece by Lin Hwai-min, choreographer of the highly acclaimed Moon Water and Bamboo Dream. Inspired by the aesthetics of Chinese calligraphy, this work is both commanding and seductive. The superb Cloud Gate dancers, trained in meditation, Chi-Kung and martial arts, touch you with original movements, fierce as striking thunder or soft as flowing ink on rice paper. The complexity of energy is further enhanced by the music of John Cage, while the blown-up images of ‘ice crackles’ from Sung porcelain shimmer with delicate beauty. This production exquisitely filmed by dance expert Ross MacGibbon captures the meditative aura of the dance. It excites. It mesmerizes. You can never turn away an eye for one second.

Choreography Lin Hwai-min, Music John Cage

Plus
Dragon Flying and Phoenix Dancing - an introduction to Cursive II with Lin Hwai-min

Floating on the ground - a documentary by Reiner E. Moritz, portraying Lin Hwai-min, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan and Cursive II in the context of the company’s history, including interviews with the choreographer, dancers and creative crew.

Reviews
‘Cursive II defines the beauty and poesy of dance… It is of a disturbingly, almost achingly painful beauty.’ Ballet International

‘An exquisite exercise in the balancing of opposites, presented in an aura of uncluttered simplicity… The dancers perform with a palpable intensity… More than just a display, it is also a spiritual exercise.’ The Age

‘The work is so visually simple and entrancing that there is no choice but to enter the meditative world of the dance.’ Sunday Herald Sun

'No company in the world dances like Cloud Gate. It presents a distinct and mature Chinese choreographic language. The importance of this evolution in Asian dance is no less profound than the impact of Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt on European classical ballet.' Dance Europe

'When you're talking about Cloud Gate, magic is not too strong a word.' Time Out, London

CAT NO: OA 0952 D
FORMAT: All Formats
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 147 Mins
SOUND: DTS SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT (Extra Features only)
RELEASED: 01/04/2006
NO OF DISCS: 1