Tickets for the 2009 World View Series: Japan Only, which opens in October with Tadashi Suzuki’s Cyrano de Bergerac, went on sale Wednesday. The World View Series is an annual event sponsored by the National CKS Cultural Center featuring the performance art of a single country. It has proved enormously successful in bringing high-profile artists to Taiwan, while retaining a place for non-mainstream artists as well, giving Taiwan’s audiences a peak at the whole spectrum of foreign performance art.
The series opens with some heavy guns: Suzuki is one of the powerhouses of Japanese theater and the developer of the notoriously demanding Suzuki method of acting. Drawing on traditional Japanese Noh and Kabuki theater, he has sought to extend their influence into the 20th and 21st centuries. The level of recognition he has achieved for his integration of traditional and modern performance art is one that many Taiwanese artists aspire to.
In presenting his adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s classic, Cyrano de Bergerac, a piece that was immortalized in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed 1983 production starring Derek Jacobi in the title role, Suzuki offers further insight into the dangers (and pleasures) of mixing dramatic traditions. Cyrano de Bergerac will play at the National Theater from Oct. 9 to Oct. 11.
Another big name likely to attract sellout crowds is Ryoichi Kurokawa. For the World View Series, Kurokawa, one of the world’s foremost multimedia artists, will be collaborating with local composer Wang Sue-ya (王思雅) and percussionist and Ju Percussion Group (朱宗慶打擊樂團) director Wu Shih-san (吳思珊) to produce Celeritas (Oct. 22 to Oct. 25).
Those with an interest in contemporary dance may want to see Hiroaki Umeda. A rising star in the Japanese dance scene, Umeda will present his mix of choreography and multimedia effects titled While Going to a Condition and Accumulated Layout (Oct. 9 to Oct. 11), in which “the poetic body meets the technological stage.” Dance will also be showcased by Noism, a group of young dancers that are credited with pushing the remarkably flexible boundaries of modern dance (Oct. 16 to Oct. 18).
In music, the Yoshida Brothers will perform Tsugaru Shamisen, a production that integrates traditional shamisen music with rock ’n’ roll rhythms (Oct. 25).
For the more traditional-minded, there will be two concerts under the umbrella of Musical Journey of Japan: one spans the history of Japanese music from the Edo period to the recent past while the other takes a geographic theme, showcasing music from various regions. (Nov. 5 and Nov. 6).
A rare opportunity to see authentic Kabuki can be found in the Kabuki Lecture Demonstration (Oct. 10 and Oct. 11), in which short performances will be followed by explanations of the traditions and skills that these selections illustrate.
Details and ticketing information can be found at www.artsticket.com.tw.
April 28 to May 4 During the Japanese colonial era, a city’s “first” high school typically served Japanese students, while Taiwanese attended the “second” high school. Only in Taichung was this reversed. That’s because when Taichung First High School opened its doors on May 1, 1915 to serve Taiwanese students who were previously barred from secondary education, it was the only high school in town. Former principal Hideo Azukisawa threatened to quit when the government in 1922 attempted to transfer the “first” designation to a new local high school for Japanese students, leading to this unusual situation. Prior to the Taichung First
The Ministry of Education last month proposed a nationwide ban on mobile devices in schools, aiming to curb concerns over student phone addiction. Under the revised regulation, which will take effect in August, teachers and schools will be required to collect mobile devices — including phones, laptops and wearables devices — for safekeeping during school hours, unless they are being used for educational purposes. For Chang Fong-ching (張鳳琴), the ban will have a positive impact. “It’s a good move,” says the professor in the department of
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
RSS