Founded in Taiwan by choreographer Chen-Wei Hsu, Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company creates emotionally resonant contemporary dance rooted in ritual, spirituality, and the human condition. Drawing from Hsu’s unique upbringing in a family involved in traditional funeral practices, the company’s work is deeply informed by themes of mortality, transition, and the cycles of life and death.
At the core of the company’s artistic practice is a physical language that transforms the body into a vessel of memory, emotion, and cultural symbolism. Hsu's choreography explores how movement can embody quiet resistance, introspection, and spiritual release. His creative research often engages with Taoist philosophy, East Asian ritual forms, and intimate personal narratives, offering a distinctive choreographic voice from Taiwan.
The company is known for its minimalist yet potent aesthetic—works that combine precise bodily composition with atmospheric soundscapes, shadow-like lighting, and emotionally charged stillness. Instead of aiming for spectacle, the company invites audiences to witness transformation through subtle shifts, lingering silences, and collective breath. Each performance becomes a space of contemplation, ritual, and renewal.
In addition to its theatrical productions, Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company also values community-based engagement and interdisciplinary collaboration. The troupe regularly works across generations, leading workshops in healthcare settings, with elders, caregivers, and individuals seeking healing through movement. These participatory projects extend the reach of contemporary dance beyond the stage into meaningful social spaces.
The company has toured extensively in Europe and Asia, presenting works at international festivals and venues. Recent productions such as Sàng Tsáu have received critical attention for their refined physicality and culturally grounded dramaturgy. The company continues to expand its international presence through artistic exchanges, co-productions, and festival appearances.
By bridging the personal and the ceremonial, the local and the universal, Hsu Chen Wei Dance Company offers audiences around the world a poetic and deeply human experience of contemporary Taiwanese dance.