Program

Beginning and ending with the sound of a single hand bell, the music accompanying 13 Tongues ranges from Taiwanese folk songs to Taoist chant, to electronica. The stage is awash with projections of brilliant colors, shapes and images, as the dancers gather, interact, separate and re-gather in a thrilling representation of street life. As the religious heritage of ancient Bangka fuses with the secular space it is today, time appears to dissolve. The spirit realm and the human realm also coalesce as the audience is taken on an immersive journey—recalling the art of legendary street artist and storyteller “Thirteen Tongues”—through centuries of human endeavor, behavior, and belief Beginning and ending with the sound of a single hand bell, the music accompanying 13 Tongues ranges from Taiwanese folk songs to Taoist chant to electronica. The stage is awash with projections of brilliant colors, shapes and images and the dancers gather, interact, separate and re-gather in a thrilling representation of the clamor of street life. As the religious heritage of ancient Bangka fuses with the secular space it is today so time appears to dissolve. The spirit realm and the human realm also coalesce as the audience is taken on an immersive journey - via imagination and storytelling that recalls the art of “Thirteen Tongues” - through centuries of human endeavor, behavior, and belief."