Lin Mei-hong (born 1959) is a Taiwanese

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

. Lin began dancing with the Lanyang Dance Troupe in Taiwan, then moved to Italy and Germany for further training. She has spent the majority of her career in Europe, with the Ballet in

Plauen Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the Sa ...

Theater Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and ope ...

, and

Staatstheater Darmstadt The Staatstheater Darmstadt (Darmstadt State Theatre) is a theatre company and building in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany, presenting opera, ballet, plays and concerts. It is funded by the state of Hesse and the city of Darmstadt. Its history began in ...

. In 2013, Lin became artistic director for the ballet of the Austrian

Landestheater Linz The Linz State Theatre (german: Landestheater Linz) is a theatre in Linz, Austria. References External links * Theatres in Linz Buildings and structures in Linz Tourist attractions in Linz Clemens Holzmeister buildings and struct ...

. Lin has produced adaptions of ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' ( es, La casa de Bernarda Alba) is a play by the Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with '' Blood Wedding'' and '' Yerma'' as a "rural trilogy". Garcia Lorca did not i ...

'', ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'', and ''

Carmina Burana ''Carmina Burana'' (, Latin for "Songs from Benediktbeuern" 'Buria'' in Latin is a manuscript of 254 poems and dramatic texts mostly from the 11th or 12th century, although some are from the 13th century. The pieces are mostly bawdy, irreveren ...

'', among others. She has also choreographed ''Die Brautschminkerin'', which was nominated for a

Der Faust ''Der Faust'', officially ''Deutscher Theaterpreis Der Faust'', is a German theatre prize, a national prize from 2006. It is awarded annually by the organizations Deutscher Bühnenverein, , Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste and the state ...

award in 2011.

Life and career

Lin was born in

Luodong Luodong Township () is an urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong is the smallest township in the county. Naming Its name and former name () derive from the Kavalan word '' rutung'', meaning "monkey", referring to a ...

Yilan County, Taiwan Yilan County, alternately spelled I-lan, is a county in northeastern Taiwan, Republic of China. Name The name ''Yilan'' derives from the Taiwanese indigenous peoples, indigenous Kavalan people. Other former names in reference to this area i ...

, in 1959. As children, the four Lin sisters took ballet and piano classes. Lin Mei-hong then participated in the first classes held by

Gian Carlo Michelini Gian Carlo Michelini, M.I. (born 7 July 1935) is an Italian-Taiwanese Roman Catholic priest. He moved to Taiwan in 1964, where he founded the Lanyang Dance Troupe. In 1996, Michelini helped establish the Yilan International Children's Folklore an ...

's Lanyang Dance Troupe, founded in 1966, and joined the troupe itself around the age of 10. Aged 16, she pursued further study at the , where she was trained in ballet. Near the end of her time in Italy, Lin attended a performance by the

Tanztheater Wuppertal Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...

, led by

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mo ...

. Lin subsequently enrolled at the

Folkwang Hochschule The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in E ...

, where she graduated in 1989. That year, Lin returned to the Lanyang Dance Troupe as choreographer. Lin began as director in 1991 of the . Between 1997 and 2002, Lin served as artistic director of the ballet at

. She joined

as artistic director in 2004. While affiliated with Staatstheater Darmstadt, Lin was also director of Lanyang Dance Troupe. In 2006, Lin received the German Artist of the Year Award. In 2013, Lin began work as artistic director of TANZLIN.Z, of the

in Austria. While at the Landestheater Linz, she has worked with Taiwan-based artists, such as the Romanian choreographer Constantin Georgescu.

Works

In 2003, Lin produced an adaption of ''

The Beautiful Game The Beautiful Game ( pt, o jogo bonito) is a nickname for association football. It was popularised by the Brazilian footballer Pelé, although the exact origin of the phrase is disputed. Stuart Hall, an English football commentator, used it as ...

''. In her tenure with Staatstheater Darmstadt, Lin has produced adaptions of several widely known works, such as ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' (2005), ''

The Juliet Letters ''The Juliet Letters'' is a studio album by the British rock singer and songwriter Elvis Costello. It was released on compact disc as Warner Brothers 45180. The instrumental backing is provided by the Brodsky Quartet. Costello described the alb ...

'' (2006), ''

Ainadamar ''Ainadamar'' (Arabic for 'Fountain of Tears') is the first opera by Argentinian composer Osvaldo Golijov. The libretto was written by American playwright David Henry Hwang and translated from English into Spanish by the composer. It premiered i ...

'' (2007), ''

'' (2008), and ''

Hôtel du Nord ''Hôtel du Nord'' is a 1938 French drama film directed by Marcel Carné that stars Arletty, Louis Jouvet, Annabella (actress), Annabella, and Jean-Pierre Aumont. It tells the story of two couples in Paris, one being a prostitute and her pimp and ...

'' (2008). Lin's original works, such as ''Violett, Lila, PurPur'', have also been performed by Staatstheater Darmstadt. The 2010 performance of a second original work ''Schwanengesang'' (''Swan Song'') during the Taiwan International Festival, was the first time Lin had staged a dance in Taiwan since starting her career in Europe. In 2011, Lin premiered ''Die Brautschminkerin'' (''Bridal Makeup''), based on Li Ang's ''Rouged Sacrifice'', in turn inspired by Taiwan's February 28 incident. ''Die Brautschminkerin'' was nominated for the German Theatre Association's

award. Her second performance in Taiwan took place in 2018. ''The Little Mermaid'' linked the

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consist ...

story of the same name with

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

's '' The Birthday of the Infanta''. Lin returned to Taiwan in 2019 to perform ''Die Brautschminkerin''. Writing for the ''

Taipei Times The ''Taipei Times'' is the only printed daily English-language newspaper in Taiwan, and the third established there. Online competitors include the state-owned '' Focus Taiwan'' and '' Taiwan News''; '' The China Post'' was formerly a compe ...

'' in 2019, Diane Baker observed that full-length contemporary ballet performances were rarely staged in Taiwan, naming Taiwan natives Allen Yu and Lin, as well as

Ballet Preljocaj Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. Early life Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanian descent. Career His choreographic work is steeped i ...

Hong Kong Ballet The Hong Kong Ballet () is a classical ballet company founded in 1979. History The company was created in 1979. Since 1997, The Hong Kong Ballet has concluded more than 30 tours to 10 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia. I ...

, and Ballet am Rhein in the full list of performers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lin, Mei-hong 1959 births Living people Taiwanese choreographers Taiwanese women choreographers 20th-century dancers Taiwanese female dancers Taiwanese dancers People from Luodong, Yilan County, Taiwan Taiwanese expatriates in Austria Taiwanese expatriates in Germany Taiwanese expatriates in Italy Folkwang University of the Arts alumni