1st CTBC Arts Festival debuts in Kaohsiung

2015/08/25

The inaugural CTBC Arts Festival will kick off Oct. 1 in Kaohsiung City, bringing a wide variety of culturally invigorating performances to southern Taiwan.

Organized by Taipei City-headquartered CTBC Foundation for Arts and Culture, the event features performances by six groups from home and abroad at Dadong Arts and Kaohsiung Cultural Centers. These are Taiwan’s Puppet and its Double, and drama groups Greenray Theater Co., Tainaner Ensemble and Yang’s Ensemble, as well as Baltic chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica and U.S. vertical dance troupe Project Bandaloop.

Foundation board Chairman John Feng said the festival represents a new direction for performing arts in Kaohsiung and underscores the richness of local talent. “This undertaking indicates the depth of the foundation’s ongoing commitment to Taiwan’s art groups.”

One of the highlights of the event, which wraps up Nov. 14, is Greenray’s drama about the experiences of rookie police officers escorting a seasoned shoplifter back to the station. Directed by film director Wu Nien-jen and adapted from novelist Tuan Tsai-hua’s original work “Sent Away Under Escort,” the dark comedy employs grassroots language to provide a snapshot of the lives of common people.

According to the foundation, an extra performance of “Love and Arts” by Puppet and its Double is to be staged free of charge at Dadong Arts Center for children residing in more remote parts of the city.

“Youngsters in rural areas have very few opportunities to experience performing arts,” Feng said, adding that the initiative supported by Taiwan Lottery Co. Ltd. should help address this issue. “In the future, the foundation will schedule more charity events and take a greater number of cultural activities to socially isolated groups around Taiwan.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234138&ctNode=413)