Taipei, Oct 3 (CNA) The Cloud Gate Dance Theater to become the first Taiwanese group to participate in World Ballet Day, a series of live online events hosted by the world’s largest dance companies, on October 19 .

Established in 2014 by the Australian Ballet, the Royal Ballet London and the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, World Ballet Day offers a glimpse into the daily activities of dance groups around the world, including morning classes and rehearsals, as well as exclusive previews of upcoming performances. , according to the site of the event.

Cloud Gate Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung (鄭宗龍) said in a statement Friday that it was an honor to have the chance to dance at the same event as some of the world’s greatest artists.

“Along with how the performing arts have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, such a global event shows the important role of the arts in bringing people together,” Cheng said.

Cloud Gate, one of nine groups making their debut this year on World Ballet Day, plans to show a live rehearsal in its 40-minute slot, which is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. on October 19 and can be watched via Cloud Gate YouTube. Channel.

A total of 47 groups will participate in this year’s event, with members of the public encouraged to share a video clip of them dancing online using the hashtag #worldballetday, according to Cloud Gate.

For dance enthusiasts in Taiwan, Cloud Gate will present “Dance Express” at its New Taipei headquarters on select weekends before November 21st.

According to the Cloud Gate website, the interactive demonstration takes participants through a “time warp of the dance and Cloud Gate’s daily training in ballet, modern dance, Tai Chi Dao Yin as well as martial arts.”

As part of “Dance Express”, Cloud Gate dancers will also perform excerpts from the group’s past works, including “Moon Water” and “White Water” by group founder Lin Hwai-min (林懷民) as well as “13 Tongues “from Cheng. Tickets are available through the Tiki Poki service.

In addition, the group said it will organize free community workshops in Keelung, Yilan, Miaoli, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Changhua, as well as introductory events in schools in rural areas and the outer islands of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu before the end of the year.