Ljuzem Madiljim is the Founder and the Artistic Director of Tjimur Dance Theatre. Upon her graduation from the Dance Department at Tainan University of Technology, she returned to her hometown, Tjimur Village in Pingtung County, where she started her career teaching and dancing more than 15 years ago. Now, she is pursuing her master’s degree in the Graduate Institute of Cultural Creative Industries at the University of Pingtung. In the summer of 2006, Ljuzem established the Tjimur Dance Theatre, the first modern dance company in Taiwan dedicated to the presentation and promotion of the aesthetics and philosophy of ancient Paiwan culture. From 2009 through 2018, she was the producer for 2009 Kurakuraw – Yearning for the Feather, 2010 Mananigai – Warrior, 2011 Kavaluan – Longing for the Lily, 2012 Kavulungan – the Living Forest, 2013 Kurakuraw – Dance of the Glass Beads, 2013 Gaze of the Kavaluan, 2013 Umaq – Slate House, 2014 Qai~I – the Sigh of Memory, 2015 As Four Step, 2016 2 Gather (co-production with Black Grace, New Zealand), 2017 Varhung-Heart to Heart, 2018 Calisi-The Wedding on The Hillside, and 2019 ai~sa sa. In 2014, after seven years of the establishment of Tjimur Dance Theatre, she choreographed and presented her first dance piece for the dance theatre, Qai~i – the Sigh of Memory, which was nominated for the 13th Taishin Arts Award. The piece was praised by the juror, “Uncovering, polishing, and refining the everlasting essence of Taiwan’s indigenous dances and melodies, Tjimur melted this essence into the struggles of human relations illustrated in this performance. It then came the most soul-stirring piece in Taiwan’s contemporary indigenous theatre in recent years. The time for traditional indigenous dance and music to bloom in professional theatre has finally come.” It has been a motto as well as a lifelong promise for Ljuzem that she must keep learning and paving the way for the indigenous kids to come back to their hometown. This has prompted her to have established the first professional dance company in Pingtung and to have toured in many indigenous villages to share their passion and inspire the wider audience in the south tip of Taiwan.
Organizer/ Tjimur Dance Theatre Supervisors/ Ministry of Culture Sponsor/ National Culture Arts Foundation Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation Pintung Culture Foundation Office of Maolin National Scenic Area Management Sandimen Townshop Office Pintung County Government Co-organizer/ IMCCI at Taipei National University of the Arts X USR Hi-Five Plus: 從北投平埔族群到屏東原住民的國際藝術對話