Behind the Scenes: Creation of 13 Tongues

• Time:

  • Thu 20.8.2026 18:00

  • Thu 20.8.2026 20:00

• Address:

  Dance House Helsinki, Pannu Hall
  Kaapeliaukio 3
  00180 Helsinki

• Tickets:

  The event is free of charge

Event Introduction

13 Tongues, a piece by Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan—one of Asia’s leading contemporary dance companies—will be seen in Helsinki from August 27 to 30. On the Night of the Arts, August 20, there is an opportunity to get to know the background of the piece, as a three-part documentary about its creation is screened at Dance House Helsinki.

In the 1980s, Taipei’s oldest district, Bangka, was known for its vibrant street life, where the religious and the secular, as well as the rich and the poor, merged into one another. In the documentary, Cloud Gate’s Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung brings his childhood memories from the bustling streets of Bangka to life and, together with his creative team, shapes them into a unique piece of performing arts.

The documentary is divided into three parts Body, Sound and Color, which open up the history of the work’s creation. The camera follows how the postures of people on the streets and the gestures of temple deities turn into dynamic choreography in the dancers’ bodies, and how experiments in the rehearsal studio develop into finished stage scenes. In the second part, music designer Lim Giong weaves temple chants, market vendors’ cries, and everyday chatter into a hypnotic soundscape. Finally, art designer Ho Chia-hsing and video designer Ethan Wang open up the visual symbolism of the work.

Free-of-charge and all-ages film screenings in the Pannuhalli hall of Dance House Helsinki on the Night of the Arts, August 20, at 18:00 and 20:00.
Subtitles in English

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