★★★★★ A Young(ish) Perspective
★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★ Seeing Dance
★★★★ NeuroDiverseReview
l Showcased at Taiwan Dance Platform 2020, National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts - Weiwuying
ICE AGE is an emotionally thrilling, physically integrated quartet co-choreographed by RIDT’s Artistic Director Chung-An Chang and French dance maker Maylis Arrabit. The 55-minute piece is performed by two dancers in wheelchairs and two standing dancers. As the world locked down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the work took shape—to explore the different ways that people navigate and connect in their own cultural environments. It evokes the coexistence between parallel realities, separated by space-time and at the same time, united by it. Ice Age challenges external forces and shows us the potential of a physically, mentally, and emotionally integrated world. “All the things that make up daily life and relationships are changing. That’s the main concept,” says Chang. Ice Age is “a choreographic experiment to uncover, recognize, and relate to this new moment of change in motion not just for some, but for us all.”
“ICE AGE is a triumph of cross-cultural connection. Chang is partially sighted, Arrabit is a wheelchair user, they live on opposite sides of the world and for much of the rehearsal process, could only meet online. Yet the results are wonderful. Able-bodied dancers Yi-Chen Juan and Shih-Yun Fang are as fluid as water as they traverse the space. Whether they’re dancing alone, dueting with each other, with Arrabit or her fellow wheelchair user Yo Cheng Cheng, their polished technique is captivating.” (4 stars) – The Scotsman
關於疫情所帶來的巨變、懼怕，我們都曾經歷過，甚至還陷在其中。有人默不關心、有人不引以為意、當自己身在其中時，也許是染疫者、也許是親人染疫、也許是因為疫情帶來的種種限制，生離死別、人與人之間的關係又更複雜而現實。 《冰河時期》說的故事是疫情殘酷真實下我們相互依存的溫暖、人性的正直、積極的展望！
冰河時期探討新冠疫情使世界陷入停頓並對每個國家產生了不同的影響，當疫情蔓延而各國有不同的限制與規範，處於不同文化環境中的人們，如何相互支持、一起找尋生存方式與出口。 由來自屏東視障編舞家張忠安和法國身障編舞家Maylis Arrabit進行國際合創的全新共融編舞，由蘇格蘭國家舞蹈中心Dance Base藝術總監Morag Deyes擔任藝術顧問、英國獨立音樂作曲家Thomas William Hill量身定制音樂。我們自2019年開啟作品發展與對話，卻因疫情巨變、國際旅行受限，期間以線上及科技協助的方式進行跨國合作。在這個過程中，藝術家們探索兩個平行現實之間的共存，既被時空隔開，同時又被它結合。而在這樣嶄新而充滿挑戰的合創方式，每一個動作質地、結構概念與思考面向都顯得更為重要。