Formosa: the Beautiful. In the 16th century, when approaching the coast of a verdant island, the Portuguese sailors exclaimed with admiration, "Formosa,” later to be the former name of Taiwan. Inspired by the abstract beauty born from land and lore, Lin Hwai-min's new creation FORMOSA for Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan uses gesture, script and song to create a lustrous universe--a playground of love and life, mediated by tragedy, hope, and rebirth--against a backdrop projected with Chinese characters coming together and breaking down like waves to imply writing as a precarious vehicle for memories. A coproduction of National Performing Arts Center – National Theater & Concert Hall, Taiwan, R.O.C.; National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying), Taiwan, R.O.C.; Sadler's Wells, London, UK; Theatre de la Ville – Paris, France; and Carolina Performing Arts, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA; FORMOSA is already scheduled to be presented in USA, Germany, UK, France, Portugal, Russia and more in 2018 and 2019.