Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist 

FreeSteps-murmur, as the final chapter of SU Wei-Chia’s FreeSteps series, not only holds significant meaning in that the choreographer performs in it himself, but also illustrates his method of “nearly pulling, entangling, and possessive gaze and sculpting.” Starting with Su’s solo performance under the lights, the work transitions to former dancers CHEN Pei-Jung and FANG Yu-Ting emerging from the darkness as lamp-bearers, transforming what might appear to be a solo dance into scenes of competition, complementarity, and suppression between the soloist and the observers, resembling specters. This artistic exploration of “freedom yet unfree” is deeply entwined with the eternal dilemma haunting a dancer’s body: the struggle and coexistence of physical mastery and an ailing body that is losing control. (Commentator / FAN Xiang-Jun)

Artwork Introduction  

FreeSteps-murmur concludes a decade-long choreographic project launched by SU Wei-Chia in 2013 and serves as an answer to his long-term exploration of the essence of dance. Drawing on extensive physical practice and experience, it focuses on refining trajectory, form, and perception, ultimately returning to the body itself. The stage features a “light-bearer” as a symbol of choreographic intent, transforming the relationship between viewing and authority and highlighting the artist’s introspection and dialectics, thereby raising the fundamental question: “What, exactly, is a choreographer?”

About the Artist 

SU Wei-Chia, born in Kaohsiung in 1981, is a co-founder of HORSE. He received the Taishin Arts Award for Velocity in 2007. In 2012, he collaborated with CHEN Wu-Kang on 2 Men, which won both the First Prize and the Audience Award at the Kurt Jooss Preis. He was invited by American ballet master Eliot Feld to join Ballet Tech. Inspired by Feld, he launched the ten-year project, FreeSteps, in 2013, examining the utmost boundaries of the body through elements such as trajectory and texture. Recently, his work has increasingly engaged with the social practice of dance.

HORSE, established in 2004, was co-founded by choreographers and performers, including CHEN Wu-Kang and SU Wei-Chia. Renowned for its boundless collective creativity and precise dance and physical expression, it embodies a unique dance-theater style. The New York Times praised it as “a charming and imaginative young all-male dance troupe from Taiwan.” In 2008, their work Velocity received the Taishin Arts Award; in 2013, 2 Men secured the First Prize and the Audience Award at the Kurt Jooss Preis. Since then, their creative direction has shifted toward introspection, continually seeking breakthroughs and revisiting dance form and vocabulary.

Production Team

Production / HORSE

Choreography & Performance /  SU Wei-chia

Untitled /  CHEN Pei-yung、FANG Yu-ting

Artistic Director /  CHEN Wu-kang

Producer /  LIN Nung

Lighting Design / LIU Chia-ming

Music Design / Blaire KO

Lighting Technical Director /  LEE Pei-hsuan

Theater Technicians /  Huang Chih-hsien、 YU Wan-chen、 LIU Xing-hai

Carpentry / RIVERWW3

Rehearsal Assistants /  CHEN Pei-yung、FANG Yu-ting

Executive Producer / FANG Yu-ting

Promotional Video /  QianMo Studio

Performance Documentation /  CHEN Kuan-yu

Photography /  FANG Yu-ting

Company Manager /  KUO Shu-yin

Administrative Director /  CHIANG Yi-hsuan

Administrative Coordination /  WU Ho-ju、CHEN Spring、 YEH Ming-hwa、 LI Wei-han