Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei (楊立微) participated in Britain’s Got Talent on Saturday last week, winning the approval of all four judges on the UK show.
The 32-year-old told the program she comes from Taiwan and hopes to perform in front of King Charles III.
Swallowing a tongue of fire, Yang stepped onto a firing vessel which was spun with her feet, and sent sparks flying.
Photo: screen grab from Yang’s Facebook page
She also handled fire fans with both hands while twisting a blazing square table with her feet during a five minute set.
Yang went viral after her performance, saying in a post on social media that she stood on the stage of Britain’s Got Talent with unprecedented courage.
“This is not just a show, but a fire fueled by years of effort,” she wrote in her post.
Photo: screen grab from Yang’s Facebook page
Yang said that after being invited to perform on the TV show last year, her team, Coming True Fire Group, and her husband, Lai Kuan-chih (賴寬誌), who is also an artist, began designing costumes, planning show plots and producing stage props.
The show covers only airfare and accommodation, so the team had to pay to transport props and fuel.
Yang said the biggest challenge during the show was the freezing British weather, which deprived her of feeling in her hands and feet.
To warm her feet, staff brought hot water in instant noodle bowls but it cooled within three minutes. “The show crew kept changing the water for me, over and over,” she said.
“Being selected means I represent Asia and Taiwan,” Yang said calling it a worthwhile challenge.
Yang started performing at 10 years old, when she attended classes at the National Taiwan College of Performing Arts. There, she discovered the beauty of water sleeves and footwork, volunteering to study the niche art.
The practice requires performers to lie with their feet raised for long periods, often causing numbing to their hands and feet as well as affecting poor circulation.
Doing the same routines from the age of 10 to the end of high school, at one point Yang became disillusioned and stopped performing, choosing to work at a restaurant in Japan and nearly pursuing a degree in hospitality management.
However, while considering giving up, she attended a classmate’s performance and was moved by the applause. She burst into tears, realizing she wanted to experience those moments herself.
Yang previously took part in Asia’s Got Talent, but head judge Simon Cowell disliked her performance and the segment was not aired.
On this occasion, her performance was a success.
“I feel like this is not just about me — it represents my crew, Coming True Fire Group and the warm flames from Taiwan,” Yang said.
She said hopes to represent Taiwan and perform around the world in the future.
“I hope the warmth of the fire from Taiwan will light up the whole world,” she added.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
Taiwan must act to preempt potential Section 301 investigations as US President Donald Trump moves to a new tariff strategy, following a US Supreme Court ruling that voided tariff measures, an academic said yesterday. Countries running the largest trade surpluses with the US face a growing likelihood of Section 301 investigations, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. Section 301 refers to a provision of the Trade Act of 1974 that allows Washington to impose retaliatory tariffs over perceived unfair trade practices, including the running of large trade surpluses. Because Taiwan has become the fourth-largest source of the US’ trade
People hold incense and pray with offerings in front of Taipei’s Kuanghwa Market yesterday. The fifth day of the Lunar New Year is traditionally about welcoming the God of Wealth, during which companies and shops set off firecrackers to celebrate their reopening and pray for good business in the new year.
RSS