Bulareyaung Dance Company

Dancers trek and search in the mountain mist under the moonlight, singing soul-guiding chants while demonstrating a pure body gait of labor. This is the truest form of man.

Choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava and the dancers went deep into the mountains in central Taiwan, to learn how to survive in mountainous forests in the Luluna village of the Bunun tribe in Nantou County. They collaborated with the Luluna Bunun Choir, and sang ancient Bunun chants, which have been listed as a Cultural Heritage in Taiwan. From daily chants to the “exploit-boasting” acts of traditional hunters, they incorporate dance arts into the Bunun culture to reflect the tradition, to reflect the contemporary, and to allow dancers to explore and return to their inner self.

The dance work summons those who have been separated from nature to enter the mountains in which the piece breathes, creating an opportunity for a dialogue between traditional and modern times.

Luna was commissioned by the National Taichung Theater, and enjoyed its world premiere in 2018. In 2019, the Company was invited to perform the work in Fall for Dance North, an international dance festival in Toronto, Canada. In 2022, Luna was the opening show of the Yokohama Performing Meetings (YPAM) in Yokohama, Japan. Luna is the fifth production of the Company, and has won the 2019 Taishin Arts Award Grand Prize.  

What Bulareyaung Pagarlava said about Luna 

In the darkness, there is a flicker of light. Chants gradually start, and traditional Bunun duets surround different mountaintops. Dancers walk in quiet steps, carrying moonlight on their backs. When their backs are straightened up, they are solemn and confident like hunters. When they bow down, they humbly thank the mountain god. At that instant, the theater becomes a mountainous forest. 

Situated at an altitude of 1000 meters, Luluna is the largest tribal village of Bunun in central Taiwan. Shrouded in mist, it owns beautiful and harmonious singing voices that are most unforgettable after listening. Their voices have been listed as a Cultural Heritage in Taiwan, and we are fortunate to have made the encounter, which is also where Luna began. 

The Company has always hoped to travel around all the tribal villages in Taiwan with our dance works. We came to Luluna to look for a venue for our tour. That night, I was attracted by some singing voices and found a group of people singing under a street lamp. With no intention to disrupt the amazing chorus, I hid myself in the corner, but was still caught. The singers graciously invited me to sit with the dancers and listen. It was the Luluna Bunun Choir, a local singing group, that was practicing. We were profoundly moved by the voices. 

After coming down from the mountains and returning to my regular routines for a week, I couldn’t stand it anymore. The voices were still in my head. I felt they had something to tell me. 

We went back to the mountains to learn the songs and the way of life in the high mountainous forests. It is a place surrounded by mountains, where the fog could get so thick that you could not see beyond yourself. Looking at the mountains, you feel awe and peace. The dancers diligently practiced the songs. In the end, when they sang to the Choir and the tribal villagers, everyone had an amazed look on their face. “How could this be? You sing marvelously! My son can’t even sing this!” A mother told us, deeply touched. 

Luna is a historical marker of traditional Bunun chants, which include songs of both solemn rituals and daily routines. Among them, the “exploit-boasting” act is the most classic convention of the Bunun tribe. After returning from their hunts, the hunters are obliged to shout out their gain of the day in a deep voice. The dancers and I have witnessed a live demonstration by a frail elder. When he started his exploit-boasting act, he completely transformed into another person, full of power and aggressiveness, which made us straighten our backs and listen attentively. His words brought us back to that specific hunting ground, intense, nervous, and gory... Later I told the dancers that I could almost visualize the whole hunting scene during the act, and they all agreed. 

But our dancers have no experience in hunting. How are they going to achieve the level of vigor for the shout? 

We discussed with the elder to see if it is possible for the dancers to shout out their own stories and tell who they really are instead when performing the exploit-boasting act. He agreed, and so the dancers wrote down their own lines. When the dancers sang, there were tears in the eyes of the elder. He said, “Performing an exploit-boasting act requires you to say something real about yourself. You cannot fool people. What you just said are indeed exploit-boasting acts.”

As the dancers shout out their own stories, they are genuinely connected with the Bunun tribe, and Luna becomes alive. 

While the dancers were learning to know themselves better through the hunter’s spirit, there are real hunters out there being outlawed by the laws of Taiwan because of hunting*. We have to ask ourselves, if there is no hunting ground, are we still hunters? By the same logic, if there is no stage, are we still dancers? When the venue disappears, how much effort does it take for the spirit to be preserved? We don’t have an answer, so in the dance piece, young dancers hope to raise this question to the audience by using sarcasm and arguments in their dialogues. 

I feel that the quality of the dance piece is up to the audience to judge, but the fact that we stayed at the Luluna village to learn the songs has left a mark on the hearts of the dancers. The process in which you get to know people, allowing cultures to flow and seep into each other, actually enriches our lives. 

The blessings and the high hopes of the tribal elder are still ringing in our ears, “I hope you can take our songs and share them to more people. Travel around the world with the exploit-boasting act of Bunun, and share the most beautiful voices of Taiwan.” We practiced our songs well, allowing them to take us to places. 

*Luna was developed in 2017-2018. At that time there was a heated debate on whether it is illegal for aboriginal hunters to hunt, even though hunting is generally prohibited by law in Taiwan. In 2021, the Grand Justice of the Constitutional Court made an interpretation that incorporated hunting as part of the cultural rights of the aboriginal people and is therefore protected by the Constitution.  

2018/5/19-20 National Taichung Theater, Taichung, Taiwan
2018/6/8-10 Cloud Gate Theater, New Taipei City, Taiwan
2018/10/16-17 National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), Kaohsiung, Taiwan
2019/8/3 Xinying Cultural Center, Tainan, Taiwan
2019/10/4-6 Fall for Dance North—Ryerson Theatre, Toronto, Canada
2019/11/16 Taitung Art and Culture Center, Taitung, Taiwan
2022/12/2 Yokohama Performing Arts Meeting (YPAM) — Kanagawa Arts Theater
2023/7/14-16 The Kuala Lumpur Performing Arts Center (klpac), Malaysia
2023/7/22-23 George Town Festival (GTF) — Cultural Hall (Dewan Budaya), University Sains Malaysia (USM)

ARTiT：Bulareyaung Dance Comany : LUNA
The Star : Taiwan's 'Luna' show shines light on ancient traditions of Bunun tribe
The Malaysian Reserve : 'Luna' dances and sings its way to klpac in July