HUNG DANCE
Named after the Chinese word "HUNG (翃)" in the aspiration to fly
Named after the Chinese word "HUNG (翃)" in the aspiration to fly
HUNG DANCE is a Taiwanese contemporary dance company founded in 2017, led by choreographer LAI Hung-chung as Artistic Director. The company’s name, “HUNG (翃),” means to “soar,” reflecting its artistic vision.
Drawing inspiration from the poetry of daily life, HUNG DANCE translates inner emotion and physical states into dance, sensitive to the quiet relationships between bodies, communities, and the world they move through. Its creations blend elements of Tai Chi and Peking Opera with contemporary thought and physicality, cultivating a distinctive and evolving choreographic vocabulary.
The British newspaper, The Scotsman, has praised the company as “elegant yet powerful, distinctly personal yet deeply moving… one of the purest and most captivating examples of contemporary dance.” Their work SEE YOU received five five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Since its founding, HUNG DANCE has brought its work to audiences in over 300 performances across 25 countries and 67 cities. This includes sold-out performances of SEE YOU (2022) and BIRDY (2023) at the Festival Off Avignon, both warmly received by audiences and critics alike.
To nurture the next generation of dance artists, the company also established the “Stray Birds Dance Platform”—an initiative that supports young international choreographers and actively builds global connections, bringing fresh vitality into Taiwan’s contemporary dance landscape.
BIRDY
A universal outcry for liberation—stretching from the personal to the political. Dark, yet dazzling; silent, yet thunderously resonant.
Push and Pull
An internationally award-winning duet exploring the delicate tension between connection and distance, resistance and surrender, and the endless negotiation of human relationships.
BIRDY
BIRDY, a captivating dance piece by LAI Hung-chung, explores the interplay of freedom and limitations within Taiwan’s communities. LAI delves into the subtle influences of emotions and historical echoes on social harmony through a blend of societal dynamics and personal narratives. Using a cage and dreamer metaphor, LAI bridges personal struggles with broader societal contexts. The deconstruction of traditional Peking opera props, like the spear transformed into a cage-like “Rattan pole,” symbolizes life’s constraints. Incorporating the “Ling Zi” pheasant feathers, traditionally signifying warrior might, LAI reinterprets their meaning to empower individuals to redefine their consciousness. This exploration of freedom and self-awareness is visually depicted through the imagery of the “Ling Zi,” subtly suggesting life’s delicate balance between limitations and aspirations.
">The themes of BIRDY—freedom and oppression, and the impact of individual actions on society’s equilibrium—are more timely and essential than ever. The piece was created in Taiwan’s specific cultural context, but it’s universally relevant as we grapple with global conflicts, the climate crisis, and our own personal responsibility.
—Gillian Jones, Executive Director, Dance Victoria
This piece resonates deeply with anyone who has ever not felt free to be themselves, It has no language barriers. It’s just a remarkable piece of work. And gorgeous, gorgeous dancers. It’s really the whole package.
—Meg Booth, President & Chief Executive Officer, Performing Arts Houston
Lit like an oil painting, the new work from Taiwan’s Hung Dance makes endless, sophisticated play with the feathered headpieces of ancient Chinese opera, recasting them as living contemporary artworks. Polished and visually stunning, the work has sold out at festivals around the world.
—Janet Smith, Stir Arts & Culture
Push and Pull
Push and Pull begins with the simplest human gesture — a door marked “PUSH” or “PULL.” From this moment of hesitation emerges a meditation on connection, distance, and the delicate balance between assertion and diplomacy.
Choreographed by Lai Hung-chung, the duet unfolds from memories of his mother, a quiet yet resilient figure, expanding into reflections on emotional structure and social tension. Two modular tables, two chairs, and a trembling water lamp form the ever-changing landscape of the piece, as breath and water shape its soundscape.
Through minimal yet powerful movement, Push and Pull captures the universal rhythm of giving and receiving, resisting and yielding. It is a quiet fable about resilience and tenderness — reminding us that sometimes, yielding itself is a way forward.
The Taiwanese choreographer Lai Hung-Chung’s piece Push and Pull was simply stunning, limbs moving faster than the eye could follow. Sometimes, one no longer saw a human limb moving, rather a fluid ethereal body taking on impossibly light or fluid qualities. Hung-Chung presents a duet of incredible skill in Hanover.
—TANJA LIEDTKE AWARD, 39th Choreography Competition Hannover
He (LAI) has an intriguing voice with a bold approach to exploring the body and its contradictions. With this duet, we were invited into a poetic investigation of the emotional complexity of being human. We look forward to the possibilities of our collaboration with him, and to supporting the evolution of his creative curiosities.
—NDT Partner Award Jury, Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition Partner Award
North America Tour
Europe Tour
Europe Tour
USC Visions and Voices, Los Angeles, CA, USA
White Bird / Patricia Reser Center for the Arts, Portland / Beaverton, OR, USA
Port Theatre, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Salle Pierre-Mercure, Montreal, QC, Canada
Chilliwack Cultural Centre, Chilliwack, BC, Canada
Kelowna Community Theatre, Kelowna, BC, Canada
Meany Center for the Performing Arts, Seattle, WA, USA
Calgary (Venue TBC), AB, Canada
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, AB, Canada.
Dance Festival Malta, Valletta, Malta
25th Anniversary Gala of the Burgos & New York International Choreography Competition, Burgos, Spain
NYU Skirball, New York City, NY, USA
Le Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur (FASS), Saint-Sauveur, QC, Canada
Dance Festival Malta, Valletta, Malta
Zant Festival, Ulm, Germany
Festival Vildanza, Vilches, Spain
Glanced Crack
The Peter Pan
See You
Formless Erosion
