When the COVID-19 pandemic resurged in 2021, Lei Dance Theater began reconsidering the possibilities of artistic creation. Seeking to reduce the risk of performance cancellations and infection arising from indoor gatherings, the company shifted the stage toward more flexible everyday landscapes—places closer to people’s daily lives. From this rethinking emerged Strolling Through the Windy City, an experimental site-responsive theatre project.

In 2018 and 2019, Lei Dance Theater created Impressions of the Bamboo Country: Four Scenes and Impressions of the Bamboo Country II: Wandering, two productions that explored Hsinchu as both an ancient city and a young, evolving urban centre. In 2022, the company brought its choreographic process back into ordinary, naturally occurring cityscapes.

Five distinctive sites were selected as the performance settings for Strolling Through the Windy City: the plaza in front of Hsinchu Railway Station; the historic Yingxi Gate and the underpass at the East Gate Roundabout; the century-old Dongmen Market; and the widely known Hsinchu City God Temple. Moving between these locations, the work invited audiences to walk through the city and encounter familiar places anew through dance.