Cheng-Chieh Yu created her latest work, “Hood, Veil, Shoes,” especially for the vibrant, Taiwan-based Sun-Shier Dance Theatre, founded by alumni of the internationally-acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. Through Yu’s kinetically-charged choreography, action-charged scenarios of overcrowded, Southeast Asian traffic culture become trials of the divine body. Dancers become exhaust-veiled heroes morphing to the tensions of social and interpersonal violence. How does the sweat of waiting at the intersection mix with the sweat of desire? The audience is enveloped in a deeply evocative world of gender in motion, fueled by the convergence of libidinal myths that resonate universally.
Yu’s dance theater works illuminate diasporic issues intrinsic to contemporary culture. Her bold kinetics and provocative imagery are built from the acute corporeality of postmodern dance techniques, fused with the martial arts of Tai Chi Chuan and Ba Gua Zhang. Cheng-Chieh Yu’s work challenges the notions of an Asian and Asian-American profile, crisscrossing issues such as gender ascription, socio-political perspectives, and cultural boundaries. Her work has been presented by Dance Theater Workshop, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, PS122, and many others.