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 (
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
Where: National Theater 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei
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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