Taipei artists celebrated the 80th birthday of Taiwanese dance legend Tsai Jui-yueh (蔡瑞月) yesterday at a fund-raiser for the reconstruction of Tsai's dance studio, which was gutted by fire two years ago.
"To Taiwan, it's a cultural landmark and to me it's a sentimental sanctuary," said Tsai, who arrived in Taiwan from Australia on Thursday night and plans to stay for a month.
The 80-year-old China Dance Club studio (蔡瑞月舞蹈社), located on Chungshan N Road, section two, burned down four days after it was designated as a municipal historic relic in 1999.
After the fire, Taipei City Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) pledged that both an investigation into the blaze and reconstruction of the site would be completed within a month. However, no repairs or arrests have been made as of yet.
According to the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, the reconstruction project is still in the design stage and construction will start at the beginning of next year at the earliest.
The bureau has earmarked NT$21 million for the project for the next fiscal year. The city council will review the proposal at its next council session on Aug. 27.
At the fund-raiser, about 30 local poets, painters, sculptors and musicians offered works depicting Tsai's beauty and her passion for dancing.
This is the third time the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Foundation (
The first event took place shortly after the fire. It raised about NT$2.8 million, which was later used as the foundation's formation fund. The second event, held last February raised less than NT$50,000.
This time, the foundation hopes to raise NT$2 million.
"We know it's a big number, especially during such tough times," said Ondine Hsiao (蕭渥廷), chairman of the foundation.
Vince Shih (施並錫), the studio's curator who is also a painter and art teacher, said he feels obliged to do something for Tsai, who is a symbol of Taiwan's modern dance.
"Most of the artists contributing their work to this event don't know Tsai personally, but I'm glad that they share the same feelings for her that I do," he said.
Musician Liu Hsueh-hsuan (劉學軒), who spent three months composing a quartet dedicated to Tsai, said that he was deeply inspired by Tsai's personal story.
"Although this is the first time I've ever seen her in person, I feel as if I've known her for a long time," Liu said.
"I hope that this piece of music gives her peace of mind if she's still haunted by her devastating past."
Tsai, who is dubbed Taiwan's mother of modern dance, began her dancing and teaching career in Taiwan in 1946 at the age of 25.
She had previously spent nine years performing and studying dance in Japan.
In 1947, Tsai married poet Lei Shih-yu (
Tsai and her baby boy were forbidden to leave Taiwan with him, and that winter Tsai herself was imprisoned.
Tsai did not get to see her husband again until 1990 when she and their son went to visit Lei in Beijing where he is a university professor and has a new family, which he started with Tsai's approval.
Tsai emigrated to Australia with her son in 1983.
The city had originally planned to demolish the dance studio in 1994, but a conservation campaign launched by local artists secured its designation as a municipal historic site in 1999.
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