Performers from Taiwan light up Edinburgh Fringe
2014-08-13
An inaugural presentation of contemporary performing arts from Taiwan is winning wide acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, according to the Ministry of Culture Aug. 11.
“The five shows featured in Taiwan Season have garnered plenty of media attention since the Aug. 1 premiere,” the MOC said. “Local audiences are wildly enthusiastic, underscoring the tremendous reach and momentum carried by these young performers.”
Celebrating its 67th anniversary this year, the Fringe—the largest arts festival in the world—features its most expansive program to date with 3,193 performances in 25 days.
The MOC said Taiwan Season is garnering great support on the basis of the culture and ethnicity contained in the teams’ shows. “We expect a steady stream of festivalgoers to continue enjoying the performances right up to the last day of Fringe Aug. 25.”
“Eggs of Blessings” by Taipei City-based Jade and Artist Dance Troupe recreates the folk customs of Taiwan in the 1940s. The mix of acrobatic gymnastics, contemporary dance and tradition was given a four-star review by influential Scottish cultural journal The Skinny.
Ten Drum Art Percussion Group from southern Taiwan’s Tainan City is the most world-savvy of the five, having performed in international events including Avignon Off. Its “Impression of Taiwan” show has wowed U.K. dailies such as Irish Examiner, The Guardian, London Evening Standard and The Press Journal.
Also from Tainan, Feng Dance Theatre’s “Kid Box” projects the intimate mother-child relationship through the interaction of light and dance, earning a rave review from Internet newspaper The Huffington Post.
“Kurakuraw Dance Glass Bead,” another four-star performance lauded by The Scotsman, is a contemporary production by Tjimur Dance Theatre, Taiwan’s first Paiwan dance troupe. The aboriginal legend retold in dance transcends the barriers of language and has won the approval from Morag Deyes of Dance Base, artistic director of Scotland’s National Centre for Dance.
Langasan Theatre from eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County features the most culturally diverse members of all Taiwan Season teams. Comprising artists, farmers, laborers and scholars of Amis, Hakka, Holo, Rukai and Sakizaya origins, Langasan Theatre and their “Misa-Lisin” were singled out by Fringe Review and The Times as the act to watch at this year’s festival.
Combining chanting, myth, performance art and ritual, “Misa-Lisin” boasts an environmentally aware and simplistic performing style, which resulted in a nomination for this year’s Sustainable Practice Award at the Fringe.
The MOC said it expects Taiwan Season to help the five companies cement their place on the international stage, while demonstrating Taiwan’s rich cultural background and world-class pedigree in contemporary dance and physical theater.
Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=220528&CtNode=413)
