Taiwan’s renowned Cloud Gate Dance Theater will premiere its latest work, All Ears, in Taipei on October 23. The production explores the connection between sound and movement, asking audiences to engage deeply with auditory perception.
The Taipei run will feature four performances, continuing through October 26 at the National Theater Hall. Following this, the show will travel to the National Taichung Theater on November 7 and 9. Finally, it will appear at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts on November 15 and 16. The National Theater and Concert Hall confirmed these dates in a recent press release.
All Ears highlights listening as an active and emotional experience. The audience will not only hear the music but also see sound expressed through the dancers’ bodies. Every gesture and step emerges in response to auditory cues, emphasizing that sound shapes movement as much as movement shapes sound.
Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-lung explained that hearing differs from vision. “You cannot consciously turn off hearing,” he said. In this production, sound functions as the structural core, directing rhythm, energy, and the dancers’ interactions.
The creative team built a unique soundscape for All Ears. Veteran Taiwanese sound artist Tu Duu-chih collaborated with his son, marking their first theater project together. Tu brought fifty years of film sound experience but reversed his usual workflow. Instead of creating audio after visuals, he centered sound and imagination, letting them guide the stage.
Additionally, French composer Esteban Fernandez joined the team. During a two-week residency in Taiwan earlier this year, he installed advanced sound-processing rigs. These rigs allow real-time editing and audio generation, precisely synchronizing sound with the dancers’ breath and movements.
The result offers audiences an immersive, cinematic experience. Just as a film’s editing guides visual pacing, sound directs the flow of movement on stage. Through All Ears, Cloud Gate invites spectators to see, feel, and emotionally engage with sound.
By repeating the key phrase All Ears, the production emphasizes listening as both a theme and a practice, reminding audiences that every sound can inspire motion and emotion.
