Ballroom dance may be a mainstay in Taiwan, but a variety of new dance classes are spicing up the social dance scene in Taipei.
Catering to both the local and foreign communities, with classes in English and Chinese, several dance studios in Taipei are now offering salsa, tango, hip-hop and swing.
PHOTO COURTESY OF TAIWAN YOSEIKAN BODU
"Salsa is becoming quite popular in Taiwan. A lot of places are starting to hire live Latin bands and there seems to be a big salsa community emerging here," said Godfrey Zwygart, a director and instructor at Taiwan Yoseikan Bodu, a martial-arts center in Tienmu.
Hoping to cash in on the recent rise in popularity of Latin-style dance, the Yoseikan center has employed professional instructors to teach salsa, flamenco and belly dancing. "These are natural and sexy dances. People like to get dressed up and go out to the clubs and dance. The girls really love it," Zwygart said.
While beginner-level classes in flamenco get underway this coming Wednesday, both belly dance and salsa began last week. However, interested persons can still register and -- if demand permits -- additional classes will be added later.
Elsewhere in the city, well-established studios such as Wu Yi (
Classes at Wu Yi are open to the public and the center encourages people to drop by the studio and observe a class before making any commitments. It offers a wide range of classes from classical Chinese to salsa and caters to all levels, but English instruction is not always available. For some, however verbal language is nonessential to a good dance lesson.
"You don't need language. You just need to watch what the instructor does and follow, you can use body language to learn," Chiang said.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
RSS