Luna

Glistening moonlight above the mountain mists – alone and in small groups workers from the
Bunun tribe walk into the forest in the early hours of the morning chanting fascinating polyphonic
songs that make their heavy labours in the forest easier. On stage these men are represented by the dancers of the acclaimed indigenous Bulareyaung Dance Company (BDC). This is named after its founded and principal choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava. To research this project, they travelled together deep into the mountains of central Taiwan to learn how to survive in the mountain forests from the Bunun tribe in the village of Luluna. They worked together with the Luluna Bunun Choir, singing ancient Bunun songs together that are listed as part of Taiwan’s cultural heritage. The choreographer Pagarlava has integrated choral works ranging from everyday working songs to the “songs of glory” of traditional hunters into his choreography – his company delight with their physical presence, their dancing technique and angelic voices. The triumphant progress of “Luna” – a work commissioned by the National Taichung Theater – was abruptly halted by the pandemic. As a result, this masterwork is only now arriving for its German premiere. BDC is an indigenous, multi-ethnic dance company – a project comparable to the Tjimur Dance Company, which, however, recruits exclusively from the Paiwan people and performed in Weimar last year to great acclaim.