Dance performances in and around Taipei this weekend offer something for almost all ages and fans of different techniques.
Fans and students of contact improvisation have been meeting at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park’s Song Yan Creative LAB in East Building 2F (松山文創園區 — 東向製菸工廠2樓) and other spots since Tuesday as part of this year’s “I-dance Taipei” organized by choreographer Ku Ming-shen (古名伸) and her troupe, Ku and Dancers (古名伸舞蹈團).
“I-dance Taipei” consists of workshops, a showcase, a roundtable discussion and five nights of performances under the banner “Spectrum of Dance Improvisation.”
Photo Courtesy of Jade Dance Theatre
Each show boasts a different line-up: tonight is Taiwan-based Israeli dancer Shai Tamir, Kirstie Simson, an associate professor of dance at the University of Illinois and Kim Bong-ho from South Korea; Kim, Ku’s group and something called “The Wandering Baby’s Fantastic World” tomorrow; and Simson and Chico Katsube and Shoko Kashima from Japan for Sunday’s “gala.”
■ Tickets for each show are NT$700 and more information on “I-dance Taipei” is available at www.idancetaipei.tw/en/events.
At the Taipei City Shuiyuan Theater (台北市羅斯福路四段92號10樓), the Jade Dance Theatre’s (肢體音符舞團) youth section is performing To grin like a Cheshire cat (70種笑).
To grin like a Cheshire cat was choreographed by Lin Chun-hui (林春輝), and the inspiration was the “tears behind the smiles” — how people cover up their feelings of helplessness and grief in everyday life with smiles.
Daniel Cheng (鄭乃銓) created the music and digital design, using “FaceOSC” facial recognition technology to create sounds from the five dancers’ expressions.
■ Tickets are NT$600 and NT$800.
In New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), White Dance Studio (白蹈場) will be performing Gray (灰) in collaboration with the band Elephant Gym (大象體操) at the Bamboo Curtain Studio (竹圍工作室).
Hsinchu-born dancer/choreographer Lee Zi-da (李治達) mines daily life and experiences for inspiration for his choreography. Gray is about the lack of absolute answers in today’s world.
■ The Bamboo Curtain Studio is at 39, Ln 88, Jhongjheng E Rd Sec 2, New Taipei City (新北市淡水區中正東路二段88巷39號), next to the bicycle path by the Tamsui River and is about a 10 minute walk from the Zhuwei MRT Station (竹圍捷運站).
■ Tickets for Gray are NT$600.
■ Tickets for all three shows are available online at www.artsticket.com.tw, at convenience store ticket kiosks or at the door.
May 6 to May 12 Those who follow the Chinese-language news may have noticed the usage of the term zhuge (豬哥, literally ‘pig brother,’ a male pig raised for breeding purposes) in reports concerning the ongoing #Metoo scandal in the entertainment industry. The term’s modern connotations can range from womanizer or lecher to sexual predator, but it once referred to an important rural trade. Until the 1970s, it was a common sight to see a breeder herding a single “zhuge” down a rustic path with a bamboo whip, often traveling large distances over rugged terrain to service local families. Not only
Ahead of incoming president William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration on May 20 there appear to be signs that he is signaling to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that the Chinese side is also signaling to the Taiwan side. This raises a lot of questions, including what is the CCP up to, who are they signaling to, what are they signaling, how with the various actors in Taiwan respond and where this could ultimately go. In the last column, published on May 2, we examined the curious case of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweight Tseng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) — currently vice premier
The last time Mrs Hsieh came to Cihu Park in Taoyuan was almost 50 years ago, on a school trip to the grave of Taiwan’s recently deceased dictator. Busloads of children were brought in to pay their respects to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正), known as Generalissimo, who had died at 87, after decades ruling Taiwan under brutal martial law. “There were a lot of buses, and there was a long queue,” Hsieh recalled. “It was a school rule. We had to bow, and then we went home.” Chiang’s body is still there, under guard in a mausoleum at the end of a path
Last week the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) released a set of very strange numbers on Taiwan’s wealth distribution. Duly quoted in the Taipei Times, the report said that “The Gini coefficient for Taiwanese households… was 0.606 at the end of 2021, lower than Australia’s 0.611, the UK’s 0.620, Japan’s 0.678, France’s 0.676 and Germany’s 0.727, the agency said in a report.” The Gini coefficient is a measure of relative inequality, usually of wealth or income, though it can be used to evaluate other forms of inequality. However, for most nations it is a number from .25 to .50