Billy Chang & Tara Catherine Pandeya

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Billy Chang, a former protagonist dancer of Cirque du Soleil who returned to his hometown in 2012, said that he should use his body and dance to write about the beautiful land of Taiwan. After returning to Taiwan, various performance invitations continued, and he also took the initiative to participate in several choreography planning. In 2018, he served as a guest performer and artistic director of the Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Festival. This year, he choreographed and directed the large-scale live show for the "2022 Pingtung Lantern Festival". Whether it is artistic creation or commercial activities, he successfully interprets different styles. 

Besides performing on stage, Chang was also active behind the scenes. Some of his directorial involvements included an experimental yoga retreat in the fields of Nanao, Yilan and a Buddhist scripture inspired dance for the year-end celebration of the Buddhist Compassion Relief of Tzu Chi Foundation. He also ventured outside of his comfort zone to join the Golden Melody Awards and Netflix production 1,000 Walls in Dream.

Chang has been promoting drama therapy as a business owner and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. He said Taiwan is brimming with energy and has the potential to become a relaxing vacation destination like Bali. To test his theory, Chang has worked with holiday resorts in Miaoli and Wulai to create therapeutic experiences such as drumming, tea tasting, and zen dancing.

Tara C. Pandeya was an outstanding dancer of "Cirque du Soleil".  She is also an experienced Performer, Choreographer, Speaker, Independent Dance Scholar, and Educator with 20 years of experience working in cross-cultural dance settings across 5 continents in over 35 countries.  Tara will perform together with Billy Chang at the Festival.  

Tara has studied dance since childhood and has been involved in the research and performance of Central Asian dance for 20 years. She has traveled to Urumqi "Xinjiang Art Institute", Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and India to study Central Asian dance, and participated in the performance of "Taji Korola National Dance Troupe". Active in the West Coast of the United States, she is committed to promoting Central Asian dance, and often performs in collaboration with Abbos, a Uzbek tambourine master in the United States. From 2010 to 2015, she toured 170 cities on five continents with "Cirque du Soleil", with more than 1500 performances.