One Night in Taiwan

Mr. pappilon

Lin Yi Chien

Taiwan

Choreographer: Chien Lin Yi
Music: Patina – Peter Gregson, Bloss – Ori Lichtik
Music Editing: Kris Tsao
Costume Design: Huang Chih-Yang
Tattoo Design: Huang Po-Chia
Special Thanks: Stray Birds Dance Platform, ChinLin Foundation for Culture and Arts

Mr. Papillon is inspired by the 2018 film Papillon and the butterfly tattoo on the protagonist’s
chest. This work uses intense physical language to express the artist’s deep longing for freedom and the struggle to break free. Created during the COVID-19 lockdown and born out of a state of
extreme isolation, the dancer moves within a compressed space, using explosive motion, sharp rhythms, and tearing energy to express an instinctive drive for escape.
The dancer appears like a butterfly about to emerge from its chrysalis—repeatedly crashing at the edge, tearing clothing, flinging limbs—releasing a near-primitive survival instinct. This energy stems from resistance against physical and mental confinement, as well as a period of deep introspection during the pandemic, eventually becoming a call to rediscover and realize one’s truest self.

Lin Yi Chien

CHIEN Lin-Yi graduated from the School of Dance at Taipei National University of the Arts. He is the director and performer of 01 Dance Production. He was a full-time dancer with Japanese dance company Noism between 2013 and 2016, and with Hung Dance between 2017 and 2019. During that time, He participated in LAI Hung Chung's works Birdy and Watcher, which won numerous international choreography awards. His first solo work, Mr. Jo, was premiered in Taiwan’s New Choreographer Project (2016). The second piece, Mr. Papillon, was premiered at the Stray Birds Dance Platform in Taiwan (2021) and the Goyang International Dance Festival in Korea (2023), praised by CNB News for its “uncontainable longing for freedom.” From 2021 to 2024, his works have been featured for four consecutive years at the Kaohsiung Spring Arts Festival. He has also worked as a project dance critic for Performing Arts Review in Taiwan.