Not everything you might see at this year's Taipei Arts Festival may look or sound much like art. Now in its fifth year, the Taipei City culture bureau-sponsored event will forego the painting showcases and sales that have have marked the event in the past two years and instead showcase some rather unconventional arts as well as host film fairs, street theater, "art safaris" and more.
The theme of this year's event is "old places, new discoveries" and some spectacular and quite literally off-the-wall performances are set to take place at the recently refurbished Chungshan Hall throughout November.
Australia's Strange Fruit, who open the festival tomorrow, defy description as much as they defy gravity. Perched atop 4m-high flexible poles, the troupe performs a combination of acrobatics, dance and theater that's,well, strange. One of their past shows was based on the myth of Icarus and his father, Daedalus; another had a cast of eight swaying back and forth to the music of Prokofiev and Fats Waller performing a "ritual of courtship and discovery, breaking hearts and bending poles." Strange, but a drop-dropping spectacle nonetheless. They'll be giving a free performance with local dance troupes outside Chungshan Hall between 2pm and 6pm tomorrow and Sunday.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAIPEI ARTS FESTIVAL
In tandem with the free performances outside, a tribute to the legendary Taiwanese Composer Lee Tai-hsiang (
The festival will reach new heights in its second weekend -- or rather descend from them -- as dancer, mountaineer and stuntwoman Julia Taffe and her dance company use the facade of Chungshan Hall as their stage in Dancing on the Wall. While suspended by ropes from the roof of the building, the troupe defy gravity with their range of movement and turns rappelling into an art form. The Canada-based group will give a free performance on Saturday, Nov. 16.
That same evening, celebrated soprano Natalie Choquette will perform with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Chen Hsu-hsi (
The third weekend in November will see Cuban sensations Vocal Sampling perform with the Philippine Ballet Theater. Vocal Sampling is a six-man acapella outfit that sounds more like a 20-piece salsa band. They've played to sold-out audiences around the world and caught the attention and support of musicians such Quincy Jones, Paul Simon, Carlos Santana and David Byrne.
The festival ends with a production of The Butterfly Lovers performed by the Taipei National Orchestra on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
Numerous other events scheduled throughout the month include an outdoor film festival (Nov. 23-24 and Nov. 30-Dec. 1), street theater (Nov. 9-10), several lectures and the Old Place, New Wave Film Fair (Nov. 5 through Nov. 14). "Art safari" tours of the city's many points of historic and artistic interest will take place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the month. Taipei Artist Village will also open its doors for a Global Arts Arena on Nov. 9, Nov. 16 and Nov. 23.
For Chinese-language information on Taipei Arts Festival performances, screenings, lectures and activities scheduled throughout November, visit the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Taipei Web site at http://www.cabot.taipei.gov.tw. Be aware that the links to the site's English-language version lead nowhere. Check out Taipei Times' Around Town section on Fridays during November for detailed information on upcoming festival events.
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