Theater
Sister Trio (三姐妹) by Shakespeare's Wild Sister (莎士比亞的妹妹們的劇團), an experimental play inspired by the Chinese classical tale Legend of the White Snake (白蛇傳) that weaves a tale which explores the different levels of female relationships. This is the first show of the 12th Crown Art Festival (第十二屆皇冠藝術節), and cements director Hsu Yen-ling's (徐堰鈴) repu-tation as a skilled interpreter of lesbian relationships. At the Crown Theater (皇冠劇場), 50 Lane 120, Dunhua S Rd, Taipei.
● Tickets are NT$350 and are available through Taipei Dance Forum, call (02) 2514-8486 X101, or from Crown Theater, call (02) 2716-8888 X110.
● Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
Ching Chung Topples the Brass Flag (秦瓊倒銅旗), a performance of beiguan (北管) theater, featuring both luotan (亂彈) performances and puppet performances, as part of the 2006 Taipei Traditional Arts Festival. The show provides an invaluable showcase of the beiguan style which dominates traditional theater in Taiwan, and includes performances by one of the nation's best known puppet masters, Huang Hai-tai (黃海岱) and beiguan musician Chiu Huo-rung (邱火榮). At the Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平南路98號).
● Tickets are NT$200 to NT$800 and are available through NTCH ticketing or at the venue.
● Wednesday 7:30pm
Little Place (小地方), part of the Sixth Sense in Performance Art Festival (第六種官能表演藝術季), is an attempt to transcend the limitations of "theater for the blind," and includes blind, mentally handicapped and regular performance artists, whose circumstances have forced them to have a radically different perspective on the world. At the Guling St Theater (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Ln 5, Guling St, Taipei (台北市牯嶺街5巷2號).
● Tickets are NT$300 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
● Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; Sunday at 2:30pm
Music
Formosa Singers 2006 Concert (福爾摩沙合唱團九五年系列音樂會) bases much of its music on Aboriginal and Taiwanese folk songs as well as coral music and will include Durufle's Quatre Motets, excerpts of Francisco Feliciano's coral works, and Taiwanese Aboriginal songs in the performance at the National Concert Hall (國家音樂廳). The Formosa Singers, a mixed choir of about 40 members, was remodeled from the Taipei Philharmonic Madrigal Choir in 1995 by conductor Julian Su (蘇慶俊) and is dedicated to "expressing the essence of Taiwan in songs."
● Tickets are $300 to $1000 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
● Tomorrow at 7:30pm
Ju Percussion Group's Spring Concert (朱宗慶打擊樂團), by a group devoting itself to performing, education and percussion since 1986, will perform the theme of Listening, Smiling (聆聽微笑) to pay a tribute to the migrant workers in Taiwan at Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中中山堂), 98, Hsuehshi Rd (學士路98號). The program will include Soeng Lsan's Humron-gyana from Thailand, Go Thi Nhip's Tro Ve Taynguyen from Vietnam, Dinuy-ya's Tinikling from the Philippines, and Kebyar Legong's Ketiak from Indonesia. In this concert, many rare instruments will be introduced, including the Thai gong, Indonesian Gamelan, Vietnam Bamboo Xylophone, and the Philippine Angklung.
● Tickets are $300 to $900 and are available through NTCH ticketing.
● Sunday at 7:30pm
Chen I-lin (陳宜琳) will present her fifth consecutive year of Violin Recitals at the National Recital Hall (國家演奏廳). Now in her late 20s, she is already a superb violin virtuoso, holds a MFA degree in violin from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester, and is the founder of the Elegant Art Chamber Orchestra (絃琴藝緻室內樂團). The program this year will include Franck's Sonata for Violin in A Major, Ravel's Tzigane, Chiang Chia-chen's (江佳貞) Dance, and Brahms's Violin Sonata in D Minor no.3, op. 108.
● Tickets are $300 and $400 and are available through ERA ticketing.
● Monday at 7:30pm
Rueibin Chen (陳瑞斌) charity concert sponsored by BMW Taiwan will take place at Taichung Chungshan Hall (台中中山堂), 98 Hsuehshi Rd, Taichung City (台中市學士路98號), and a portion of the ticket sales will be donated to charity. Chen, a Chinese pianist who only appeared on the musical scene 20 years ago, has been called a musical genius. He has toured and performed at famous performances venues around the world, including the Sydney Opera House, Disney Hall and Ambassador Theater in Los Angeles.
● Tickets are $500 to $3600 and are available through ERA ticketing.
● Monday at 7:30pm
All Star Trio (巨星三重奏), featuring pianist Yafim Bronfman, violinist Gil Shaham, and cellist Truls Mok, all Grammy Award winners, are a strong team for this joint recital at the National Concert Hall (國家音樂廳) playing a program that includes Schubert's Piano Trio No.2 in E-flat Major, D.929 and Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio in A Minor In Memory of a Great Artist, Op. 50, which was first performed in 1882 after the funeral service for Nikolai Rubenstein, founder of the Moscow Conservatory.
● Tickets are NT$500 to NT$3000 and are available through ERA ticketing.
● Thursday at 7:30pm
Pop, rock, jazz
The Wall (這牆) Juanes (璜斯) Colombian political activist, singer and Latin Grammy-winner Juanes was selected as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine and has sold over 5 million records worldwide. Call (02) 2500-8921 or visit www.juanes.net or www.the-wall.com.tw.
● Tonight at 6pm
The Chairman (董事長樂團) The eight-year-old rock combo returned with a new a line-up and new sound for its Looking for a New World (找一個新世界) album released late last year. The band has grown up, ditched the more punk/rock elements and honed a repertoire of sophisticated post-rock tunes.
● Tickets are NT$400.
● Tonight at 8pm
DreamRoute (愛夢露) Playing two sets, the band is a local pop/rock group that has put out tracks under the independent Willin label.
● Tickets are NT$400.
● Tomorrow at 8pm
Goodbye!Nao! (再見奈央) Scheduled for a three-hour set, the band's sound is difficult to pin down, but their sampler, available on the Internet, was well-received. The crew first appeared in October last year, and have a playful repertoire that spans the rock spectrum. The band's bumph states its music is the murmurings of the unconscious, and sudden melancholy.
● Tickets are NT$300.
● Sunday at 7pm
Location: B1, 200, Sec 4, Roosevelt Rd, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路4段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw.
Witchouse (女巫店) Zhang Yizhen (張宜蓁), the traveler's musician will play a gig inspired by Central Asian mysticism, Chinese poetry and Argentine melancholic music. Jazz meets world music.
● Tickets are NT$300.
● Tonight at 9:00pm.
Peppermint (薄荷葉), formed in Oct. 1998 at the Chinese Cultural University, joined Springscream and Formoz Festival in 1999 and released a debut album in 2002. Well-honed, girl-fronted pop-rock music: sweet vocals juxtaposed with screaming agony.
● Tickets are NT$300.
● Tomorrow at 9:00pm
Location: 7, Ln 56, Hsinsheng S Rd, Sec 3 (新生南路三段56巷7號). Call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org.
The Living Room (小客廳) Black Sheep is one of the nation's few fully local blues acts. The Taipei-based outfit plays electric blues in the manner of Stevie Ray Vaughn.
● Tickets are NT$200
● The show starts at 10pm tonight
The Big Brass Balls Band, a three-piece rock n' band formed just over a year ago plays cover songs and some original tracks which have earned the crew a reputation for strumming songs with a political and humorous slant.
● Tickets are NT$100
● Tomorrow at 10:00pm
Sonic Dead Horse and Open Eyes (歐噴愛). One man, one guitar and a laptop put to melodic effect with reference to The Smiths. Open Eyes, formed in April 2004, melds disco, jazz, rock and folk genres.
● Tickets are NT$100
● Tuesday at 8:30pm
JOKER, began life as a band that emulated Japanese pop outfits such as X Japan and Judy and Mary; they translated the Japanese lyrics into Chinese and consider this songwriting. Now they're doing their own stuff and have just released their first EP.
● Tickets are NT$50
● Wednesday at 8:30pm
The Scooters, Taiwan's only all-male, all-Western Acapella do-wop group. No complicated background music here, just a focus on the vocals.
● Tickets are NT$100
● Thursday at 9:00pm
Location: 3F, 8, Nanjing E Rd, Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787 4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
Exhibition
City Mambo -- International Exchange of Stone Villa, Sydney vs. Shin Leh Yuan Art Space, Taipei (城市曼波 -- 台北新樂園藝術空間、雪梨Stone Villa交流展), a joint exhibition of multi-media art works of diversity by nine artists from Australia and 25 local artists contemplates history, time and cultural. The display is a result of the consolidated sisterhood between two cities, Taipei and Marrickvill Council, Australia, and an exchange of art works between two groups, Stone Villa and the Shin Leh Yuan Art Space. Shin Leh Yuan Art Space (新樂園藝術空間), 15-2, Ln 11, Sec 2, Zhongshan N Rd, Taipei (中山北路二段11巷15-2號).
● Open Wednesday to Sunday from 1pm to 8pm. Call (02) 2561 1548.
● Until June 4
Reflection - Korean Contemporary Art (投影 -- 韓國當代藝術展), is an ongoing exchange exhibition between National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Guando Arts Museum (關渡美術館) and Gwangju Art Museum in South Korea. It displays works by 31 Korean artists in their 40s and 50s, and whose aesthetic energies stemmed from the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Uprising in 1980. They have since participated in popular art movements that gave birth to a new genre called Minjung Art. National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung (國立台灣美術館), 2, Wuchuan W Rd Sec 1, Taichung (台中市五權西路一段2號).
● Open Tueseday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (04) 2372-3552
● Until June 4
A Solo Exhibition by Yi Yi Wan - Repression, Release and Beyond (萬錦珠個展:逾越 -- 壓抑與釋放), a series of poetic photographic works explore the issues of the objectification of women and female liberation. The artist employs a pinhole camera as a device to invite visitors to see behind and beyond the patriarchal society in which the female body is rendered pornographic through collective voyeurism. Taiwan International Visual Arts Center (台灣國際視覺藝術中心), 1F, 29, Ln 45, Liaoning St, Taipei (台北市遼寧街45巷29號1樓).
● Open Tuesday to Friday from 11am to 7pm; Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. Call (02) 27730-3347.
● Until May 24
Spirit of Youth and Passion - Wang Wan-chun's Paper-Cut Art (青春與激情的招魂術 -- 王萬春的剪紙藝術). An artist of versatile styles who rarely repeats himself, Wang transforms the traditional paper-cut art to portray his sometimes bizarre and agitated, sometimes passionate and liberal.
● Chi-Wen Gallery, 3F, 19, Ln 252, Dunhua S Rd, Sec 1, Taipei (台北市敦化南路一段252巷19號3樓). Call (02) 8771-3372.
● Until June 24
New Media Collection 1965-2005 Centre Pompidou (龐畢度中心新媒體藝術展). Curated by Christine Van Assche, the director of New Media Art of France's Pompidou Center, the must-see exhibition brings to local museum-goers more than 30 classical video art works from the center's collection including those of pioneering masters such as Nam June Paik, Bill Viola, Gary Hill and Tony Oursler.
Taipei Fine Arts Museum (台北市立美術館), 181, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市中山北路三段181號).
● Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30am to 5:30pm. Call (02) 2595 7656.
● Until July 23
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
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