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Inspired by Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire, Compania Nacional de Danza’s modern dance piece Alas revolves around the character Damiel, an angel who longs to become human so that he can feel, sense and love. Nacho Duato, the troupe’s artistic director and an influential choreographer in Spain, plays Damiel and choreographs the piece.
▲National Theater, Taipei City
▲Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$2,500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The Two Gentlemen of Verona is the latest installment of Tainaner Ensemble’s (台南人劇團) Shakespeare series, which started with Romeo and Juliet, followed by Hamlet and Macbeth. The troupe is following the same approach that has proven successful in previous productions, updating the bard’s centuries-old scripts and localizing them to appeal to contemporary Taiwanese audiences. [See story on Page 15.]
▲National Experimental Theater,
Taipei City
▲Today at 7:30pm, tomorrow at 2:30pm and 7:30pm, and Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Based on Tennessee Williams’ play of the same title, The Glass Menagerie by Godot Theater Company (果陀劇場) stars veteran actress Tan Ai-chen (譚艾珍), seasoned stage actress Yan Chia-le (顏嘉樂) and television actor Shih I-nan (施易男).
▲Guoguang Hall (國光廳) in the Chinese Petroleum Building (中油大樓), 3 Songren Rd, Taipei City (台北市松仁路3號)
▲Today at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$800 to NT$2,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
The Comedy Club presents Baron and Servant (佑男爵與珊僕) featuring freestyle rapper Birdy and guitarist/funnyman Yellow Blue White (黃藍白) in a play about a young handsome master and his corruptible servant.
▲Comedy Club, B1, 24 Taihsun St, Taipei City (台北市泰順街24號B1)
▲Today, tomorrow and Sunday at 8pm
▲Tickets are NT$250 at the door, includes one drink
Divine Performing Arts, a New York-based Chinese dance and music company that aims to breathe new life into ancient Chinese art forms, brings to Taiwan its latest touring show of lavishly presented classical dance and music.
▲Chung Hsing University Huisun Auditorium (台中中興大學惠蓀堂), 250 Kuokuang Rd, Taichung City (台中市國光路250號)
▲Today at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm and 7:30pm
▲Tickets are NT$500 to NT$5,000, available through ERA ticketing or online at www.ticket.com.tw
Classical
Curtain Up! — Highlights of the Musical (幕啟之時 — 歌舞劇精選) is a family-oriented concert by the Taipei Symphonic Band (台北青年管樂團). The music includes selections from Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Sunset Boulevard and Alfred Reed’s Curtain Up!
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Novel Hall (新舞台), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
▲Tickets are NT$300, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Taipei Science Fiction (科幻北市國) has the Taipei Chinese Orchestra (臺北市立國樂團) under conductor Li Ying (李英) and in conjunction with Music Forum (十方樂集) presenting a program of new works by local composers designed to showcase the potential of traditional Chinese orchestral music.
▲Tomorrow at 7:30pm
▲Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei City (台北市延平南路98號)
▲Tickets are NT$200 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The Adventure of the Bear Cub (小熊歷險記) presents the National Chinese Orchestra performing music designed for children and their parents under conductor Wen Yi-jen (溫以仁) with hosts Brother Watermelon and Sister Butterfly.
▲Sunday at 2:30pm
▲Novel Hall (新舞台), 3-1 Songshou Rd, Taipei City (台北市松壽路3-1號)
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
The Razzle-Dazzle Strings (風雲再現) is a concert by seven members of the National Symphony Orchestra (國家交響樂團) in a program that includes Chesky’s American Bluegrass for String Orchestra, Glazunov’s Saxophone Concerto in E-Flat Major, Op. 109, Chung Yiu-kwong’s (鍾耀光) Peony Pavilion for String Orchestra, and Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, arr. for String Quartet No. 8.
▲Thursday at 7:30pm
▲National Concert Hall, Taipei City
▲Tickets are NT$400 to NT$1,000, available through NTCH ticketing or online at www.artsticket.com.tw
Contemporary
The Taipei County Government’s Bitan Music Festival (碧潭音樂節) continues every weekend until March 29 with free outdoor performances at the Bitan riverside area outside of Xindian MRT Station. Canadian/UK folk and roots group The Dana Wylie Band splits the bill with Yerboli Ahmethan (葉爾波利), a Kazakh musician originally from China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region. Ahmenthan and his band, who appear tomorrow and Sunday, mix traditional Kazakh folk with modern rock. [See story on Page 15.]
▲The festival takes place at the Bitan riverside area, just outside of Xindian MRT Station (新店捷運站)
▲Shows go from 3pm to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays until March 29
▲The event is free. For more information and a full schedule visit www.2009bmf.com.tw
Tonight VU Live House hosts Space Funk a collective of musicians from Taiwan, North America and the UK who play R ’n’ B, electro-disco, hip-hop and swing with a funk edge, and Taichung funk supergroup The Money Shot Horns. [See story above.]
▲B1, 77, Wuchang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1). Tel: (02) 2314-1868
▲Show begins at 11pm
▲Entrance fee tonight is NT$350, includes one drink
Tonight Peppermint (薄荷葉) takes its post-rock sound to The Wall (這牆). Tomorrow is one for metal heads with Infernal Chaos, Hekate, Nevermore and Beyond Cure. Afterwards Science of Sounds and Back 2 the Future take over the venue with a party presided over by DJs Lupen and M.Ross of Barcelona and Database and Spykee Fat. [See Vinyl Word.] On Sunday, Japanese screamo band 2side1BRAIN visits as part of its world tour, with local bands Faded Moment (凋零瞬間) and Hindsight (光景逍逝) opening.
▲B1, 200, Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.thewall.com.tw for more information
▲Starts at 8pm tonight and tomorrow, the DJ party tomorrow starts at 11:30pm, Sunday’s show starts at 8pm
▲Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight and NT$600 for the early show tomorrow. Tomorrow’s DJ party is NT$500 for men and NT$350 for women. Sunday’s show is NT$400
Koumis plays a solo acoustic set tonight at Witch House (女巫店). Tomorrow it’s indie-folk and pop band 929. Indie bands The Tic Tac and Daxiaojie (大小姐樂團) appear on Thursday.
▲7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). For more information, call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org
▲Performances start at 9:30pm. Restaurant/bar with queer/feminist bookstore and large collection of board games open 11am to midnight Sundays through Wednesdays; 11am to 1am Thursdays through Saturdays
▲Entrance fee for music shows is NT$300, includes one drink
Metamorphosis (變形蟲爵士樂團), one of the first groups in Taiwan to perform and record original jazz music, plays tonight at Riverside Cafe (河岸留言). All-female alt-rock quartet Cherry Boom (櫻桃幫) and Rock Bang (洛客班) play tomorrow. On Thursday, Puyuma guitarist and singer Hao-en (昊恩) shares the stage with the Nanwan Sisters (南王姐妹花), a trio of singers from Taitung who recently released an album produced by award-winning songwriter Pau-dull (陳建年).
▲B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei City (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1), next to Taipower Building (台電大樓). Call (02) 2368-7310 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲Show starts at 9:30pm tonight and 9pm tomorrow and Thursday
▲Entrance fee is NT$400 tonight, tomorrow and Thursday, includes one drink
Riverside Live House (西門紅樓展演館) this weekend belongs to singer and actress Kay Huang (黃韻玲), who appears tonight and tomorrow.
▲177 Xining S Rd, Taipei City (台北市西寧南路177號). Call (02) 2370-8805 or visit www.riverside.com.tw for more information
▲Shows start at 8:30pm
▲Entrance fee is NT$700 tonight and tomorrow or NT$1,200 for both shows, admission includes one drink
Grace’s Jazz Quartet appears tonight at Sappho de Base. The sound is electro-rock tomorrow night, with multimedia band Gross Fugue. On Tuesday it’s T and T Jazz Trio. On Wednesday Sukhena plays Indian and European fusion music. Rock band Double J appears on Thursday.
▲B1, 1, Ln 102, Anhe Rd Sec 1, Taipei City (台北市安和路一段102巷1號B1). Call (02) 2700-5411 (after 9pm) or visit www.sappho102.biz for more information
▲Performances begin at 10:30pm on weekends, 10pm on weekdays
▲No admission fee
Every Wednesday night at the Cosmopolitan Grill there’s a blues open mic held by the Blues Society on Taiwan.
▲1F, 218 Changchun Rd, Taipei City (台北市長春路218號1樓). Call (02) 2508-0304 or visit www.cosmo.com.tw for more information
▲8pm to 11pm every Wednesday
▲No admission fee
EZ5 Live House hosts Mando-pop singers backed by a live band every night. Julia Peng (彭佳慧) graces the stage every Tuesday and is always a major draw. Other highlights this week are Liu Wei-zen (劉偉仁), on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Hsing Lung (辛隆) tomorrow.
▲211, Anhe Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市安和路二段211號). Call (02) 2738-3995 or visit www.ez5.com.tw for more information
▲Music shows run from 9:45pm to 12:30am
▲Entrance ranges from NT$600 to NT$850, depending on the performer, and includes two drinks VIEW THIS PAGE
The year was 1991. A Toyota Land Cruiser set out on a 67km journey up the Junda Forest Road (郡大林道) toward an old loggers’ camp, at which point the hikers inside would get out and begin their ascent of Jade Mountain (玉山). Little did they know, they would be the last group of hikers to ever enjoy this shortcut into the mountains. An approaching typhoon soon wiped out the road behind them, trapping the vehicle on the mountain and forever changing the approach to Jade Mountain. THE CONTEMPORARY ROUTE Nowadays, the approach to Jade Mountain from the north side takes an
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have flourished in recent years. However, not everyone is pleased about the growing friendship between the two countries. Last month, an incident involving a Chinese diplomat tailing the car of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in Prague, drew public attention to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) operations to undermine Taiwan overseas. The trip was not Hsiao’s first visit to the Central European country. It was meant to be low-key, a chance to meet with local academics and politicians, until her police escort noticed a car was tailing her through the Czech capital. The
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and