Hagay Dreaming is based on a story connected to the Truku Indigenous culture of Taiwan. In her dreams, a hunter meets a group of spiritual non-binary beings called ‘Hagay’ and they pass on ancestral knowledge of living, weaving and hunting. On stage, performers move within intricate light beams projected by a choreography of lasers.
This new theatrical production is an artistic collaboration by Taiwanese-American artist Shu Lea Cheang and Truku artist and practicing shaman Dondon Hounwn. Connecting Cheang’s new media practice with Hounwn’s inheritance of tribal ballads and rituals, Hagay Dreaming combines advanced technologies with traditional ways of performing tribal culture. Using lasers and motion-capture technology in its staging, tribal legends and personal stories are told in new ways.
Shu Lea Cheang often creates sci-fi narratives and in Hagay Dreaming the pair present an artistic vision for a future reality based on the Gaya living principle of the Truku people.
Hagay Dreaming is an Elug Art Corner production directed by Shu Lea Cheang with artistic direction by Dondon Hounwn.
Presented by Tate and Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
These performances are part of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels festival running across London from 12 March to 8 April 2025. Built on the values of creation, transmission and education, this wide-reaching celebration of choreography features 15 modern and contemporary dance performances highlighting both major repertoire works and new productions.
Shu Lea Cheang
Shu Lea Cheang (b.1954) is an artist and filmmaker who engages in genre-bending, gender-hacking art practices. Celebrated as a net art pioneer with BRANDON (1998-1999), the first web art commissioned and collected by the Guggenheim Museum, New York, Cheang represented Taiwan with the mixed media installation, 3x3x6, at the Venice Biennale in 2019. Crafting her own genre of Sci-Fi New Queer Cinema, she has made four feature films: FRESH KILL (1994), I.K.U. (2000), FLUIDø (2017) and UKI (2023). In 2024, she received the LG Guggenheim Art and Technology Award. In 2025, she will have a survey show at Haus der Kunst, Munich.
Dondon Hounwn
Truku artist Dondon Hounwn (b. 1985) was born in the Dowmung tribe in Xiulin Township, Hualien County, Taiwan. Hounwn’s work cuts across media, generational and cultural lines, blending ancestral knowledge with avant-garde, cross-gender aesthetics. An inheritor of tribal ballads, instruments and rituals, he works in performance, installation, video and environmental theatre. In 2015, Dondon Hounwn founded Elug Art Corner where indigenous youths research Truku cultural heritage. Since 2023, Dondon Hounwn holds the annual GAYA Cosmos gathering with artists and researchers in exploring Gaya living principles.
Director｜Shu Lea Cheang
Artistic Director｜Dondon Hounwn
Singer｜Shan Shan Chen
Performers｜Dondon Hounwn, Sinkuy Katadrepan, Temu Masin, Pilaw Uraw, Dremedreman·Ljaculjingiljing, Kiyu Pahauran, Sayun Chang
Choreographer｜Dahu (Wei Yao Chiu)
Laser Artist｜aka_chang
Music Producer｜Sayun Chang
Costume Design｜Shao Yen Chen
Stage Design｜Hsien Yu Cheng
Stage Manager｜Chien Huan Hsu
Administration｜Cheng Hsuan Weng
Producer｜Ping Yi Chen
This Elug Art Corner production sponsored by | National Culture and Arts Foundation (Taiwan) and Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC)
The performance will be audio-described and we are pleased to offer discounted tickets for visitors with visual impairments. Find further information and book audio-described tickets here.
The performance duration will be 90 minutes without an interval.
The first 10 minutes of the performance will be standing in the Turbine Hall, before walking a short to the South Tank to be seated.
The performance will contain laser lighting. There will be fluctuations in lighting and sound levels.
Ear defenders will be available for those who would like them.
Spaces will be reserved for wheelchair users and companions. Please let us know if you would like a space reserved for you.
You will be seated for the performance. Seats are hard, some of which have arms for additional support.
The performance takes place in the South Tank, on Level 0 of the Blavatnik Building at Tate Modern. Entrance is via the Turbine Hall entrance on Holland Street.
Accessibility at Tate Modern
All Tate Modern entrances are step-free. You can enter via the Turbine Hall and into the Natalie Bell Building on Holland Street, or into the Blavatnik Building on Sumner Street.
There are lifts to every floor of the Blavatnik and Natalie Bell buildings. Alternatively you can take the stairs.
- Fully accessible toilets are located on every floor on the concourses.
- A quiet room is available to use in the Natalie Bell Building on Level 4.
- Ear defenders can be borrowed from the Ticket desks.
To help plan your visit to Tate Modern, have a look at our visual story. It includes photographs and information about what you can expect from a visit to the gallery.
For more information before your visit:
- Email hello@tate.org.uk
- Call +44 (0)20 7887 8888 (daily 10.00–17.00)
