He said that Taiwan needs to embrace the principle that people should pay for art or performances rather than always expecting free art.
Chang’s Meander ensemble survives through earnings from private engagements and indoor theater performances. The job can be grueling, he says, and troupe members must practice taichi or shadow boxing and yoga, from which they can acquire flexibility and stamina. They also meditate and visualize themselves as a tree or a stone to obtain inner tranquility, forgetting themselves, he said.
“Through rigorous training, troupe members who originally could only stand still for 10 minutes can now hold on for more than an hour without getting tired,” Chang said.
Wang Chien-wen, the troupe’s “Moon” god, acknowledged that performing as a living statue is a tough job. “If your goal is just to make money, you won’t be around for long.”
But Wang said she enjoys the profession.
“When I performed in Barcelona, I met a Hong Kong traveler who said ‘I’ve seen you in Taipei.’ When I returned to Taiwan, a French tourist told me ‘you’re the one who played this role in the streets of Avignon,’” Wang said.
“It is this kind of borderless love for the arts that has given me the greatest gratification and enjoyment,” Wang said.
In her view, creativity is critical if Taiwan really wants to develop tourism.
“Street performance has become a creative industry in Europe, but when will our dream of having a La Rambla in Taiwan be realized?” she said.
Vanessa Huang, the troupe’s manager, believes that the art form is catching on with younger fans, creating a ray of hope for the future.
Many children like to visit the square to interact with the living statues, Huang said. The challenge for the troupe now is how to create the same cosmopolitan atmosphere in Taiwan that it has experienced while performing overseas, she said.
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