Lo Man-fei

Lo Man-fei (Chinese: 羅曼菲; pinyin: Luó Mànfēi; 16 September 1955 – 24 March 2006) was a Taiwanese dancer and choreographer. She was a member of the Cloud Gate Dance Theater, founded by Lin Hwai-min, between 1979 and 1994. Lin subsequently founded her own dance troupe, Taipei Crossover Dance Company, and led Cloud Gate 2 from 1999 to her death.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Lo.
Lo Man-fei
羅曼菲
Born(1955-09-16)16 September 1955
Taipei, Taiwan
Died24 March 2006(2006-03-24) (aged 50)
Taipei, Taiwan
NationalityRepublic of China
OccupationDancer, choreographer
EmployerCloud Gate Dance Theater

Early life and education

Lo was born in Taipei, though she and her family moved to Yilan three months after her birth.[1][2] She had three older sisters, one of which is the singer, Sophie Lo, and one older brother.[3][4] Lo, who began taking private dance lessons at age 5,[5] joined Taiwan's Neo-Classic Dance Company in 1974 while a student at National Taiwan University.[6][7] After she graduated from NTU with a degree in English literature, Lo spent a year in New York intending to further her studies in journalism and creative writing.[6][8] Instead, she returned to Taiwan to join the Cloud Gate Dance Theater in 1979,[2] becoming the lead dancer in White Serpent Tale, Cloud Gate's dance adaption of the Legend of the White Snake, the next year before leaving in 1982 for New York University, where she earned an MFA in dance.[5][7] While in the United States, Lo appeared in multiple performances of The King and I with Yul Brynner and also studied at the Alvin Ailey School of American Dance, Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and the José Limón Dance School.[9]

Career

She graduated from NYU in 1985,[6] and began teaching at Taipei National University of the Arts that year.[2] Lo was named dance department chair in 1992, and later led the graduate dance program at TNUA.[10] She was responsible for launching the school's seven-year accelerated dance program, which develops talent in high school and places candidates into TNUA upon high school graduation.[11] In 1994, she retired from performing with Cloud Gate and started the Taipei Crossover Dance Company with three other Cloud Gate dancers.[5][12] Her first choreographic works were completed in the 1980s.[5] This was followed by more work throughout the 1990s, including, The Place Where the Heart Is, City of the Sky, and Chronicle of a Floating City. Lo wrote Restless Souls in 1999.[7] That same year, she and Cloud Gate founder Lin Hwai-min started Cloud Gate 2, and Lo was named its first director.[13] She also was awarded the prize for literature and arts from the Wu San-lien Awards Foundation.[7] In 2000, the year she wrote The Snake, Lo was honored by the National Culture and Arts Foundation, which named her the recipient of its National Award for the Arts.[7][9]

As a performer, Lo was best known as the lead dancer for Lin's Requiem.[14] In contrast to Lin's East meets West choreographic style,[15] Lo was influenced by Chinese dances and experiences within her personal life.[16]

Later life and legacy

Lo was diagnosed with lung cancer in September 2001. With treatment, the disease stayed manageable until October 2005. Another round of chemotherapy was started at that time, and she was in remission until February 2006.[7] Lo died at the Koo Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center in Taipei at age 50 in March 2006.[2] Her final work, Pursuing the Dream, a collaboration between herself and Sophie, was performed by members of Cloud Gate 2 seven weeks after Lo's death.[4]

Taipei National University of the Arts has named a scholarship in her honor,[17] as has Cloud Gate.[2][18][19] A biographical documentary film, Man Fei, premiered in 2017.[20] On the thirteenth anniversary of her death, the Yilan City Government dedicated 24 March 2019 to Lo.[21]

References
  1. "Dancer | Lo Man-fei". Ministry of Culture. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  2. "Acclaimed dancer Lo Man-fei dies of cancer at 51". Taipei Times. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  3. 胡, 世澤 (24 March 2006). "心繫舞蹈 羅曼菲病逝". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  4. Baker, Diane (1 May 2006). "Dances from the heart". Taipei Times. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  5. "A Dance that Moves On". Taipei Review. 1 February 2003. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  6. Wu, Hsiao-ting (2001). "Lo Man-fei: An Undying Love for Dance". Tzu Chi Quarterly. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  7. "Choreographer Lo Man-fei dies of lung cancer aged 51". The China Post. 25 March 2006. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  8. Chung, Oscar (1 October 2002). "Persevering with Passion". Taipei Review. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  9. Lin, Mei-chun (30 August 2000). "Dancing her way to the top and the biggest prize". Taipei Times. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  10. "Who's Who in the Company" (PDF). Cloud Gate 2 Playbill. Joyce Theater. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
  11. Baker, Diane (27 March 2015). "TNUA student dancers 'shuttling' around Taiwan". Taipei Times. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  12. Cheng, Shu-gi (2011). "Between the Real and the Imagined: White Snake Variations, Front Stage and Back Stage" (PDF). Taipei National University of the Arts.
  13. "Cloud Gate 2 premiers 'On the Road' in New York". Taipei Times. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  14. Mead, David (10 December 2006). "'The Tale of the White Serpent' and excerpts". Ballet Dance Magazine. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  15. Mackrell, Judith (28 February 2014). "Cloud Gate Dance Theatre review – 'Lin Hwai-min's own song of the earth'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  16. Liu, Beatrice (28 September 1988). "Experimental Theater's Lo Sets New Dance Tour". Taiwan Info. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  17. Baker, Diane (14 October 2010). "From Taiwan to Israel, in just a few steps". Taipei Times. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  18. Lin, Lillian (16 September 2009). "Young dancer pursues int'l exposure". The China Post. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  19. Chen, Sunnie (3 April 2010). "Taiwanese choreographers do well in competition in Denmark". Central News Agency. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  20. Li, Lauly (18 September 2017). "FEATURE: Pegatron chief wants to help creative people shine". Taipei Times. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  21. Yu, Ming-chin; Chin, Jonathan (24 March 2019). "Yilan dedicates March 24 to late choreographer". Taipei Times. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
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