‘13 Tongues’ and Fast Feet

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s 13 Tongues at the Granada brought the sights and sounds of Taiwan’s legendary night markets to life in all their human and spiritual dimensions.

Mixing traditional storytelling with futuristic imagery and shifting between folk, classical and electronic music sources, the energized production, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, delivered an unforgettable experience of contemporary dance art at its most innovative and spectacular.

Drawing on childhood memories of a famous street performer from 1980s Taipei, artistic director Cheng Tsung-lung and the Cloud Gate dancers wove a spectacular tapestry of ancient and modern images set to a dazzling dance of musical idioms.