Perth Moves
“Perth Moves” is a dance exchange and workshop program, initiated by STRUT Dance in Perth, WA. It is a project to promote the development of dance in West Australia, and at the same time serve as a platform to invite top international artists and instructors to provide workshops, experimental rehearsals and career sharing for young Australian and international dance artists. The project aims to build up experience transfer and understanding between generations of artists, helping young artists to establish career possibilities and expand their horizons. In response to the success of the previous years of workshop programs, 2024 Perth Moves has extended to be a three-week long Workshop Series as one of the collaborative programs of the 2024 Perth Festival. Taiwanese artists Chou Kuan Jou and Chen Yi En were nominated and supported by Thinkers’ Studio and STRUT Dance to travel to Perth and work with dancers worldwide for three weeks in the workshops. There, they are exposed to different kinds of dance and career development courses. Both have also shared and exchanged their dance and creative experience in Taiwan at the “Make-shift Evenings” event initiated by WA artist Lara Dorling where they spend time closely with local artists, art audiences and festival attendees. Apart from taking workshops, Artist Chen Yi-En was also selected to perform in Italian choreographer Michele Rizzo’s program “Coalescing Towards” at the Perth Festival during the workshop. The performance is beautifully shown in the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia alongside dancers from all over the world.
In early 2023 Singapore, Thinkers’ Studio started the conversation with Australian-based art organization STRUT Dance, trying to build a cross-country platform for Taiwan-Australia collaboration and exchange network to support young artists’ career development. In February 2024, STRUT Dance initiated the Perth Moves- Workshop Series, which served as a platform for inviting international professional artists to offer a series of workshops, experimental rehearsals, and career sharing to young dance artists in Perth, WA.
2024 Perth Moves also served as one of the collaborative programs of the Perth Festival. Holding a three-week international workshop to connect cross-generation artists worldwide and expand the dance and exchange horizons from Australia to Asia. Alongside with the workshop, STRUT Dance also organized public performances, free physical classes, and exchange activities under the same program title for artists and local citizen. Taiwanese Artists Chou Kuan Jou and Chen Yi En were nominated and resource supported by Thinkers’ Studio and STRUT Dance to participate in this three-week intensive program of creative experimentation, rehearsal and networking activities in Western Australia, providing them with a more diverse international learning experience.
Chou Kuan-Jou is a native of Taipei, Taiwan, specializing in body-based creative work, performance, movement design, and dance education. In recent years, she has devoted herself to the artistic practice of the “Lust Body” employing the fluidity of sexuality as a strategy to loosen boundaries. Through tactile perception, she expands into a dance-based dialogical space, concentrating on the manifestation of bodily politics. Her practical methods include but are not limited to body practices, workshops, and performances.
She has been invited to international events such as CND Camping 2019, Tanzmesse 2022, Tjimur Arts Festival Residency 2022, da:ns lab 2023 at Dance Nucleus, and Perth Moves 2024. In 2021, she co-created the “Nyu Shu Movement” project with artist Chen Yi-Chin. This project was showcased at the SEA: Residency in the CLOUD in Taiwan, Loei Art Festival in Thailand, and the BUoY Art Festival in Tokyo. In 2022, her work “TOMATO” was selected for the Taiwan Season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, receiving a five-star review and several awards, including The Bobby Award.
Chen Yi En is a dance creator, erformer, Choreographer in Taiwan. At the age of 19, Chen received a scholarship to attend the American Dance Festival, as well as support from several youth creative platforms in Taiwan. In 2018, he was granted a residency in Paris through the Ministry of Culture’s artist-in-residence program, and later won awards in Poland and Japan. While working as a full-time dancer at Cloud Gate 2, Chen received support from Cloud Gate’s ‘ART MAKERS Project’ to create choreography. He also performed in works by Artistic Director Cheng Tsung-Lung. Born and raised in Yilan, Taiwan, Chen aiming to capture deep feelings within his works. He also has a strong passion for collaborating across different performance fields.
STRUT Dance is a non-profit independent dance center founded in 2002. With the aim of fostering and sustaining a community of diverse dance artists and connecting artists with audiences. STRUT Dance promotes a diversity of voices, experimental practices and multidisciplinary collaborations. They are also committed to supporting artists’ creativity in presenting their work on a diverse range of platforms, and to opening up new pathways of exchange between emerging artists in Perth, Australia and around the globe.
International Development Adviser: Kao Yi Kai
International Manager and Administration: Lee Tsz Wai, Vivien
Promotion: Chen Chun Chi
Artists: Chou Kuan Jou, Chen Yi En
Sponsor: National Culture and Arts Foundation