The 11 works featured from Friday to Sunday at the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Festival this year were created under the theme of "Memos for Taiwan - in Memory of the August 8th Flood Victims."

Children dancers from a dance troupe in Linbian Township, Pingtung County, one of the most seriously damaged areas in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, presented the short dance piece "Thank You."

"Our brothers and sisters," "Chase," and "New Construction," three signature dance works created by Tsai Jui-yueh, the founder of Taiwan's modern dance were included in the 3-day festival. Tsai passed away four years ago in Australia aged 84.

Orita, one of Japan's most important modern dance choreographers presented her solo piece -Eternal Moon, set to music by Cyril Scott's Lotus Land.

The dance begins with the striking imagery of Orita dressed in a flowy white dress. Her dance moves are swift, light, and exude energy and powerful emotions. She succeeds in sustaining the power and energy throughout her performance.

"I never endeavor to over-explain my dance moves," Orita said in an interview with the Taiwan News prior to Sunday's performance. "Dance is for the audience to 'feel.' It is not a product for sale, nor is it a propaganda tool."

Orita gives a lot of thought to the relationship between humans and nature in developing her moves. City dwellers fight against each other for space and their own interests, forgetting that their lives are inter-connected with nature, she said.

"Leaders of each nation are like giant cruise ships that sometimes lose direction; individuals are like small boats, and through dance, lead the way for their country."

For Orita, modern dance is a reflection of one's inner world, and she believes that each human being has the innate power to dance. "Natural disasters are unavoidable, but when I saw the children dancing at the festival, I felt their power and knew that they had recovered."

Orita, now 72, daughter of Ishii Midori, is an acclaimed dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. She was the recipient of the Dance Critic Association Prize in 1978 and the Dance Art Prize in 1997, and was conferred by the Japanese government its highest honor - the Order of the Rising Sun in 2009. She has performed overseas in Asia, the United States, and Europe, and currently runs the Ishii Midori and Orita Katsuko Modern Dance Institute.

Ishii Midori, who passed away in Japan at the age of 95 last year, was the daughter of Ishii Baku - the founder of Japan's modern dance. Tsai Jui-yueh had studied under Ishii Baku and Ishii Midori for 10 years in Japan.

Orita said she is always very excited and happy to take part in the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Festival every year. Taiwanese choreographers and dances are good at turning abstract ideas into concrete images, and their dances very often contain strong messages, she said. "Japanese dances usually don't have strong messages. Such varying dance styles are caused by cultural and historical differences."

Orita returned to Japan yesterday.