The annual Taipei Fringe Festival (TFF) is to return next month after a one-year hiatus, featuring 486 performances from 112 groups and artists at 30 locations across the capital.
Held under the theme “Spicin’ nonstop,” the festival is to run from Aug. 20 to Sept. 4, organizer the Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) said.
Among the performances is “Turkish Belly Dance Battle” by Ko Ya-wen Belly Dance troupe, with eight to nine dancers competing in a dance-off.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Performing Arts Center via CNA
“We thought of this so that the audience can see belly dance to spark their creativity instead of seeing it as just somebody standing there trying to be pretty,” Ko Ya-wen Belly Dance creator Ko Ya-wen (柯雅文) said.
Ko Ya-wen Belly Dance was established in 2019 with the aim of cultivating outstanding dancers and promoting Turkish belly dance in Taiwan, the center said.
The dance battle is to take place at 3pm on Aug. 21 at the Venue (濕地) performance and event space and at 3pm on Aug. 28 at the Digital Art Center.
Another highly anticipated performance is the husband-and-wife drama Marriages Missing (人夫人妻失竊案) starring Hsu Chu-chi (許株綺) and Huang Gia-yeh (黃家曄).
“The wife has her story to tell, while the husband has his story to tell. And, what they are missing in their relationship is different, on both materialistic and spiritual levels,” Hsu said.
Marriages Missing is to be performed at the art gallery Upstairs Turn Left at 3pm, 6:30pm and 8:30pm on Aug. 20, and at BON space at 2pm and 3:30pm on Aug. 28.
Other performances include Journey to the Jest — A Pilgrimage in 72 Transformations, an adaptation of the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West by the drag artist collective Drag Royals Taiwan.
“We are retelling the story of Journey to the West using drag, lip-sync and popular music. It’s going to be a crazy ride from start to finish,” said Tan Liting (陳立婷), who directs and stars in the show.
Journey to the Jest — A Pilgrimage in 72 Transformations is to be performed at 7:30pm and 8:45pm on Sept. 1 and 2 at the Venue.
On July 16 and 23, flash mob performances by TFF performance groups are also take place outside the TPAC to promote the festival.
The festival was canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, TPAC said.
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