Taipei's U-Theatre is a good example of Taiwan's “soft power,” as it has bridged the cultural gap between Taiwan and Israel, the top Israeli envoy to Taiwan said yesterday.
Raphael Gamzou, head of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO), made the remarks in a press release on Nimroda Markin, a retired Israeli psychotherapist who came to Taiwan to find out more about its cultural treasures after being struck by the performance of the group of drummers in Israel.
“This is an amazing example of the ability of art and culture to build bridges between peoples from different backgrounds,” Gamzou said.
“It is also an amazing example of the impact of Taiwan soft power as an incentive to discover the island, its treasures and the treasures of this society and its culture,” he said.
U-Theatre was invited to tour Israel by ISECO and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Tel Aviv, including performing at the opening of the Israel Spring Festival in March.
ISECO said Markin purchased tickets for the first performance in northern Israel and was so amazed by the drummers that she decided to purchase tickets for the next show in a different venue 150km from her hometown.
Her attendance at the second performance did not diminish the impact of her first experience, but rather, she found it was still not sufficient and therefore made up her mind to find out more about the group, its culture and its country, the statement said.
Markin, who had never visited Asia before, traveled to Taiwan two weeks ago, where she was allowed to join the U-Theatre performers in rehearsals and in a variety of different activities.
ISECO is scheduled to hold a tea party in collaboration with U-Theatre's artistic director Liu Rou-yu for Markin on Monday, in which she will share her experience with the group and the discoveries she has made in Taiwan, the statement said.
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