Artists

Photo Credit: NIU Chun-Chiang

Tseng Ching-en

Tseng Ching-en is from Taoyuan, Taiwan, and holds an MFA in Dance from Taipei National University of the Arts. Her practice spans dance, installation, and moving image, focusing on solitude, imbalance, and relational tension within highly urbanized environments. Her choreographic language is both poetic and structurally composed. Through the arrangement of objects, space, and sound, she creates field-like experiences charged with critical awareness and sensory tension, while continuing to examine the dynamic relationship between the body and its surroundings, as well as the shifting mechanisms between performance and spectatorship.

In 2018, Tseng was selected for the Chinlin / American Dance Festival Scholarship Program. She has presented works on major platforms including the Taipei Fringe Festival and Kuandu Arts Festival, and her works have also been shown at the National Taichung Theater, Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center, and the Globe Playhouse at Taipei Performing Arts Center. These experiences have allowed her to develop a cross-contextual practice across different performance venues and artistic platforms. Her works have been recognized by the Leap Dance Competition and selected for several youth creation programs.

In recent years, Tseng has focused on developing interdisciplinary approaches to creation, integrating bodily practice, moving image, and live installation to construct layered sensory structures. Through this practice, she continues to expand the boundaries between performing arts, visual art, and new media. In 2024, she was selected by the Ministry of Culture for a residency exchange in the United States, where she continued to deepen her creative research and international connections.

Artist
Statement.

I attended the American Dance Festival's (ADF) International Choreographers Residency (ICR) program in 2024.

During the 5-week residency program, ADF arranged daily technique classes, master classes, performance viewings, and weekly meetings. I trained in the Countertechnique class led by Verena Pircher and Joy Davis. Countertechnique is a movement system founded by Dutch choreographer Anouk van Dijk. Based on anatomy and body dynamics, this class guides students to explore the tension and flow between the body and space. I also took part in the rehearsal and performance of the American choreographer Kate Weare's dance piece "Sweet Song". Kate’s choreography brings out dancers' intents and emotions. Her nuanced approach to movement and music is deeply inspiring.

During my residency, I created a dance piece titled "Others", which explores how people build relationships with one another when language fails to serve its function. In this piece, I used the act of "holding hands" as a new way of communication. Two dancers perform this duet to show that physical contact can transcend language to rebuild understanding, trust, and connection. The dancers improvise in their respective native languages without understanding the literal meaning of each other's words. The duet is an investigation of how tone, intonation, and emotion can convey meaning when language fails.

After watching nearly 20 performances, I started thinking about how choreographers manage to create unique artwork without losing their personal style. How do they invite the audience into their artwork while building meaning through movement?

Living in a foreign land has made me more aware of my bond with Taiwan and led me to reflect on the following ideas. For example, what does a "Taiwanese body" mean? How does Taiwanese cultural context manifest within creative practice? For me, these questions are probably the most valuable takeaways from this journey.

Author: Tseng Ching-en
Edited: Brix

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