By Bradley Winterton
On the day of a performance he never eats spicy food, avoids cold drinks and, most important of all, keeps clear of air-conditioning in all possible circumstances.

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Xinxin Nanguan Ensemble revisits the eternal themes of love and betrayal with 'Rainbow Skirt and Feather Robe'
By Ian Bartholomew
It was only last month that the National Theater hosted a massive operatic retelling of the love story between the Tang Dynasty Xuanzong emperor (712-756) and his concubine, Lady Yang, in Firmiana Rain. It was an effort to bring the tale of eternal love and betrayal into the 21st century. This weekend, Rainbow Skirt and Feather Robe (霓裳羽衣), a very different rendition of the story, will take the stage at the Novel Hall (新舞台). The story is set in the historical context of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), with ancient music, language and costumes.

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By Noah Buchan
Taiwan's annual Blues Bash began three years ago as a one-day concert featuring six acts in Taichung. That same year, there was a second jam at Breeze Center (微風廣場) that featured as many musicians.

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Compiled by Ian Bartholomew
The One Million Stars (超級星光大道) pop idol "reality" show continues to hold its own in the ratings and the gossip rags as its second season winds up to a well orchestrated climax. Favorite in a field dominated by women is club singer Lai Ming-wei (賴銘偉), who has quietly gained ground in the show, and though no match for showman and super crybaby Aska Yang (楊宗緯), is tipped to win the contest.

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By Ho Yi
In front of an ensemble of traditional musicians playing string instruments with exotic names like rawap, tambur, dutar and satar, performers in gold-laced garb twirl and swing to the choir's soulful crooning. This ancient Turkish folk art is brought to modern audiences by the Xinjiang Muqam Art Ensemble, which kicks off its island-wide tour this weekend.

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By Noah Buchan
Magician Jeff McBride attributed David Blaine's popularity to his ability to remain motionless for long periods of time in a recent interview.

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Top Five Mandarin Albums

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By Ron Brownlow
Adjectives like "experimental" and "avant-garde" don't normally describe the Taipei Beer Factory, but they will over the next two weekends when it hosts the fifth annual City on the Move Art Festival.

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By Queen Bee
As most of the really good out-of-town DJs rarely stay in Taiwan longer than 48 hours, Taipei is blessed to have Texas house ambassador Sona as a resident.

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By Ho Yi
Address: 180, Mingzu Rd Sec 2, Tainan City (台南市民族路二段180號)

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By Noah Buchan
Address: 159, Xinhai Rd Sec 2, Taipei (台北市辛亥路二段159號)

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Good grammar, thoughtful conversation and great actors lend this period piece what many modern movies are missing: charm
By Stephen Holden
How do you explain the Jane Austen bandwagon, which rolls on full steam with Becoming Jane, an imitation screen adaptation of an Austen-like novel that imagines the author's romantic life at 20? Austen's refined language, which Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood's screenplay does a reasonably good job of capturing, is part of the charm. In the age of "whatever," who doesn't relish receiving a scrupulously considered, grammatically correct answer to a question?

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Cheng Wen-tang's coming-of-age drama grasps youthful sentiments beautifully, thanks to its 20-year-old co-screenwriter
By Ho Yi
In a refreshing departure from his gloomy and sexist Blue Cha-Cha (深海), director Cheng Wen-tang's (鄭文堂) teen drama Summer's Tail (夏天的尾巴) is a surprisingly bright production. Credit for the youthful feel of the film goes to the director's 20-year-old daughter, Enno Cheng (鄭宜農), who co-wrote the script and lead the cast to tell a Taiwanese coming-of-age story.

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Ira Levin, whose genre-hopping novels such as the horror classic Rosemary's Baby and the Nazi thriller The Boys From Brazil provided meaty movie roles for Mia Farrow and Laurence Olivier, has died of a heart attack, his agent said earlier this week.

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COMPILED BY MARTIN WILLIAMS
End of the Spear

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City Cinema weekend box office takings (Nov. 10 and Nov. 11)

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Theater

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