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Diabolo's more than just a game

By Meredith Dodfe
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Aug 26, 2005, Page 13

Diabolo Dance Theater (舞鈴劇場) was one of only five Taiwanese groups invited to perform in Aichi, Japan, at the World Expo 2005 and now the group is back in Taiwan for its first-ever performance at the National Theater this weekend, The Game of Diabolo Dance (嬉遊舞鈴).

Diabolo, which comes from the Greek dia (across) and bale (throw) doesn't give you much idea of the actual object or its history. The diabolo is a toy that was invented 4,000 years ago in China where it was called "hollow bamboo" (空竹). Back then it was made of two hollow bamboo wheels attached in the center and it was spun and tossed about from a string -- like a free-flying yoyo.

English and French travelers to China took the toy back home to Europe with them around 1800, where it was given the name of diabolo. The game gained popularity in the 19th century among aristocrats, who played it like tennis with elegant poses and in dainty white outfits. The object itself underwent a few changes and the hourglass shape emerged (a form that would later gain popularity in China and Taiwan).

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members brought diabolos -- the old bamboo kind -- to Taiwan in the late 1940s. The game found its way into public schools as part of the physical education for elementary students.

"In Taiwan, many people can do it but only a little bit," said Diabolo Dance Theater's artistic director Liu Le-chun (劉樂群).

Liu's idea for a diabolo dance group was born out of a passion for fun. Years ago as an elementary school teacher, Liu's favorite part of the day was the afternoon PE class when he would teach his students to play with the diabolo. The kids got quite good at it, but Liu noticed their movements were quick and tense. He wondered if there was a way to turn playing with the diabolo into a more graceful form of movement, like dance. Pretty soon a club had formed with musicians, dancers and many enthusiastic students.

"At first it was just for fun and we didn't know what it would become ? The most unexpected thing was that the kids themselves wanted to keep up with diabolo."

In 1993, Diabolo Dance Theater was officially founded and Liu left his teaching post to lead the group full time. Until recently, Diabolo has remained relatively low profile in the world of performing arts.

The performers are almost all high school students -- only a handful are salaried performers. While a majority of Taiwan's more prominent dance or acrobatics troupe members have received full-time education in these disciplines, Diabolo's dancers study accounting or other such non-artistic subjects.

"We've surprised many a performing arts professional. They ask, `Who are these people and how did they suddenly appear on the scene?'" Liu said.

Despite little recognition, Diabolo Dance Theater has consistently produced high-caliber performances that bring creativity to the ancient game of diabolo.

According to Liu, the tradition of diabolo performance is strict and formal, with rules about costume, music, makeup and movement that are in line with the tradition of Chinese opera and acrobatics.

Diabolo Dance Theater is a departure from tradition in that it uses a wide variety of costumes, music, movement, lighting and props. For example, their performances have incorporated dramatic lighting aspects such as lasers, black light and huge shadows; costumes that range from fantastical clown outfits to roller skates; and music that is a bit more familiar and fun for a modern audience.

The hard work and creativity has paid off. In 2002, Diabolo Dance Theater was invited to perform at New York's Lincoln Center and last month it went to Aichi World Expo with a delegation of five Taiwanese groups that included Lin Hwai-min's (林懷民) Cloud Gate Dance Ensemble. Lin watched Diabolo's performance and was so inspired by its fresh, youthful spirit that he offered to collaborate on the next performance. A Cloud Gate team including lighting, music and stage designers and director Calvin Wang (汪慶璋) worked with Liu and Diabolo's choreographer, Bian Gwo-hua (邊國華) to create an entirely new kind of production for the group.

The performance will differ most obviously from Diabolo's past performances in the use of classical music -- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Franz Schubert, among others.

"We had never used [classical music] before because its elements are so fine and subtle, unlike more modern music where the rhythm is easier to hear," Liu said.

The idea is that subtler music will help to accent the diabolo dancers' movements, which will be slower and more elegant than in past performances, Liu said. "We thought about why, in its simplest form, is the diabolo appealing, and we started from there."

The performance consists of six "games," each with a different season as its theme, starting with summer and ending with spring. As the seasons progress, the games transform from being carefree childish sports to teenage romance.

According to Liu, this progression represents the length of time that many members stay with the group -- from elementary school, through high school and even college.

"This kind of performance is quite rare. Even in the circus, nobody spends 70 minutes on just the diabolo. So our challenge is how to use such a simple thing as the diabolo to entertain an audience for 70 minutes," Liu said.

Clearly, they have succeeded. As of press time there were less than 100 tickets remaining unsold for each performance.

Performance notes:
What: The Game of Diabolo Dance (嬉遊舞鈴)
Where: National Theater 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei (國家戲劇院,台北市中山南路21之1號)
When: Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
Tickets: NT$350 to NT$1,200, available through Artsticket outlets, (02) 3393 9888 or www.artsticket.com.tw
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