Theater
Assassination Q2 … GO (暗殺Q2…GO) is a black comedy that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
＊ Guling St. Theater (牯嶺街小劇場), 2, Alley 5, Guling St, Taipei (台北市牯嶺街五巷二號)
＊ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm, tomorrow and Sunday 2:30pm
＊ Tickets are NT$350 and available at www.artsticket.com.tw
Wind Shadow (風影) is the latest performance by Cloud Gate Dance Theater (雲門舞集) and draws on a wide range of subjects for their sublime dance performances such as literature and philosophy to create a dramatic and exhilarating work.
＊ National Theater (國家戲劇院) 21-1 Zhongshan S Rd, Taipei (台北市中山南路21-1號)
＊ Today and tomorrow at 7:45pm and tomorrow at 2:30pm
＊ Tickets range from NT$400 to NT$2,000 and are available through NTCH ticketing
Nanta (韓國亂打廚師秀) combines traditional Korean percussion with Western performance styles in a non-verbal spectacle of hilarious antics and reckless rhythms. The set is a huge kitchen where the "chefs" use whatever cooking implements at hand as instruments.
＊ Taipei International Convention Center
＊ Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm
＊ Tickets are NT$800 to NT$3000 and are available through ERA ticketing
Zhu Wen Elopes With a Ghost (朱文走鬼) a joint production between Taiwan's Chiang Tzu Tsui Theater (江之翠劇場), and Japan's Tomoe Shizune and Hakutobo (友惠靜嶺與白桃房), tells the story of a young penniless scholar who falls in love with a ghost. The play incorporates the Japanese dance form called butoh with traditional nanguan music and action.
＊ National Center for Traditional Arts (NCTA, 國立傳統藝術中心), 201 Wubin Rd Sec 2, Wuchieh Township, Ilan County (宜蘭縣五結鄉五濱路二段201號)
＊ Tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
＊ Admission is free
Events
Chinese Ice Hockey League (CIHL). Week Four kicks off Sunday morning at 11am when the Sharks try to show their mettle against the top-ranked Rhinos. Then, at 7:20pm, the Sharks will lace up again against the Tigers. At 8:40pm, the Raptors line up against the Lions, followed at 10pm when the Bears skate it out against the Wolves. Though the games may be hot, the rink will be cool, so dress warmly.
＊ Taipei Arena (台北小巨蛋), 2 Nanjing E Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市南京東路四段2號)
＊ Sunday morning game at 11am; night games begin at 7:20pm
＊ Admission is free
Festival of the short people. Every 10 years the Saisiyat tribe holds a special three-day festival to commemorate the passing of the short people, a race of black-skinned, hobbit-like people who were said to live in Taiwan many thousands of years ago. Fable or reality, the festival begins tomorrow. You can take a bus from the corner of Chongqing North Road and Civil Boulevard (near Taipei Main Station), to Judong bus station, thence by bus to Wufeng (五峰), Hsinchu County (新竹縣). You should prepare for cold weather and rain. Camping is available. There will also be stalls with food and drink.
Classical Music
2006 Taiwan Connection Mozart Festival (莫札特音樂節—神童，神童). Joined by the Academy of Taiwan Strings (台灣絃樂團), the concert tour will feature violinist Hu Nai-yuan (胡乃元), pianist Fou Tsong (傅聰), violist Rainer Moog, tenor Will Hartmann, and other young Taiwanese instrumentalists. The tour, which includes concerts in Hsinchu, Ilan, Hualien, Chungli and Taipei, began in Hsinchu yesterday and will run through Dec. 16. The program for the Ilan, Hualien, and Chungli concerts will include Mozart's Divertimento for String Quartet in D Major, K.136, String Quintet in C Major, K.515, Violin Concerto No. 4 in D Major, K.218, and Serenade No.13 in G Major, K.525.
＊ Tonight at the Ilan Performing Arts Center of the Ilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau (宜蘭縣文化局演藝廳), 482 Chungshan Rd Sec 2, Ilan City (宜蘭市中山路二段482號), tomorrow at the Performing Arts Center of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hualien County (花蓮縣文化局), 6 Wenfu Rd, Hualien City (花蓮市文復路6號), and Sunday at the Chungli Arts Center (中壢藝術館音樂廳), 16 Chungmei Rd, Chungli City (中壢市中美路16號)
＊ Free admission for the Hualien and Chungli concerts. Tickets range from NT$200 to NT$500 for the Ilan concert and are available through NTCH ticketing
＊ Tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm
Gordon Shi-wen Chin Music Festival—Symphonic Concert (金希文樂展—管絃樂之夜). Chin is an internationally acclaimed composer who has created works for several top groups and performing musicians, including Euodia Symphony Orchestra of Japan, Tripercussion Ensemble of Germany, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra since 1985. This concert will have Heiichro Ohyama, conductor of Osaka Symphony Orchestra and Felix Fan (范雅志) to work with the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO). They will present Chin's world premiere Cello Concerto and his Taiwan premiere Symphony No. 3.
＊ At the National Concert Hall, Taipei
＊ Tickets still available from NT$400 to NT$1,200 through NTCH ticketing
＊ Sunday at 7:30pm
The King’s Singers (國王歌手). This world-renowned and popular a cappella vocal group from Britain will come to Taiwan for a series of concerts. Started in 1968 by six Choral Scholars from King’s College Cambridge, the King’s Singers quickly became a prominent musical force in the UK. As part of the ongoing 2006 A-ha Hakka Arts Festival (2006 A-ha 客家藝術節) organized by the Council for Hakka Affairs, the ensemble will sing Hakka songs as well as other repertoire spanning centuries from mediaeval to renaissance and encompassing genres from romantic to contemporary and folk to pop.
＊ Sunday at the National Taichung Library Chungsing Concert Hall (台中中興堂), 291-3 Jingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路219之3號), Monday at the Chih-De Hall, National Chiang Kai-shek Cultural Center, Kaohsiung City (高雄中正文化中心至德堂), 67 Wufu 1st Rd, Kaohsiung City (高雄市五福一路67號), and Wednesday at the National Concert Hall, Taipei
＊ As of press time, for the Kaohsiung concert, NT$500 tickets are sold out, but seats are available from NT$600 to NT$2,500; for the Taichung concert, NT$500 to NT$800 tickets are sold out, but seats are available from NT$1,000 to NT$2,500; and for the Taipei concert, only NT$1,200 and NT1,500 tickets can be purchased through ERA ticketing
＊ Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday at 7:30pm
Gitarrissima — 2006Guitar Quintet Concert (靚女郎吉他五重奏—2006巡迴音樂會). The ensemble is made up of octave guitarist Krisztina Dobó, classical acoustic guitarists Olga Dimitrova, Maria Benischek, and Rèka Mihalovics, acoustic bass guitarist Caroline Auer has been enchanting a steadily growing international audience with their sensitive musical interplay and virtuoso performances since 2002. They create a refreshingly original sound that gives a new dimension to popular classical works as well as less well-known compositions. The program will include Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Op.8, Shubert’s Auf dem Wasser zu singen, Chopin’s Waltz in C Sharp Minor, No.2, Op.64, Tchaikovsky’s Nutcrackers Suite op.71a, Rosini’s Overture for ll Barbiere di Siviglia, Falla’s Danza Espangnola No.1, and Vittorio Monti’s Csardas..
＊ Wednesday at the Music Hall of the Chiayi Municipal Cultural Center (嘉義市文化中心音樂廳), 275 Chungxiao Rd, Chiayi City (嘉義市忠孝路275號), Thursday at the Kaohsiung City Music Hall (高雄市音樂館), 99 Hehsi Rd, Kaohsiung (高雄市河西路99號), Dec. 8 at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall (台北市中山堂), 98 Yenping S Rd, Taipei (台北市延平南路98號), and Dec. 9 at the National Taichung Library Chungsing Concert Hall (台中中興堂), 291-3 Jingwu Rd, Taichung City (台中市精武路219之3號)
＊ Tickets range from NT$400 to NT$900 for the Chiayi, Taipei, and Taichung concerts and NT$500 for the Kaohsiung concert through ERA ticketing
＊ Wednesday to Dec. 9 at 7:30pm
The Ukrainian Children’s Choir of Odessa (烏克蘭兒童合唱團). The choir will tour Taiwan to give a series of six concerts in Hsinchu, Kaohsiung, Chiayi, Changhua, Chungli, and Taipei County. The choir will perform its first concert in Hsinchu on Thursday. Established in 1981 with children between 10 and 18 years old, the choir has been very popular throughout the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe. The choir’s Taiwan tour will feature 30 singers and present a program includes various Ukrainian folk songs, Orthodox Church chants, Christmas carols and classical masterpieces.
＊ Thursday at the Hsinchu Municipal Auditorium (新竹市立演藝廳), 17 Tungta Rd Sec 2, Hsinchu City (新竹市東大路二段17號). See www.artsticket.com.tw for details
＊ Tickets are NT$400 to NT$800 for the Kaohsiung concert (Dec. 9) and NT$300 to NT$600 for other performances through NTCH ticketing
＊ Wednesday at 7:30pm
Contemporary
The Wall (這牆) presents Apay (阿霈) tonight, and “Slipper’s Party” with blues rock band Totem (圖騰) tomorrow. On Tuesday nights the bar opens for Lounge Futuro, a weekly event with no cover and “nothing but new music.” Challenging the Fire (火焰大挑戰) plays Thursday.
＊ Entrance for tonight and tomorrow’s shows is NT$400. Tuesday is free. Thursday’s admission is NT$150
＊ Bands take the stage tonight and tomorrow at 8pm. Tuesday, the bar is open from 7pm to midnight. Thursday’s show starts at 7pm
＊ B1, 200 Roosevelt Rd Sec 4, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路四段200號B1). Call (02) 2930-0162 or visit www.the-wall.com.tw
Grooveyard presents Taichung-based folk/punk duo Black Lung Inner City Choir tonight and Pan-African Cultural Troupe tomorrow.
＊ Tonight and tomorrow’s shows begin at 9:30pm
＊ Entrance for tonight is NT$100 with a happy hour from 8pm to 10pm, for tomorrow it’s NT$100 before 10pm and NT$200 after
＊ 2F, 105 Huamei W Rd, Taichung (台中市華美西街105號2樓). Visit www.grooveyardtaiwan.com
Tonight the Living Room (小客廳) presents Blue Chat Jazz Combo, “a new spin on classic jazz standards,” and Blues Vibrations, playing “funk ’n’ country,” acid groove and “cry-in-yer-beer” and “Taiwan taxi music.” It’s Chit Chat Game Night on Tuesday with board games, and on Wednesday it’s Magic, Music, and “The Buzz” (嘰哩呱啦美語聚樂會) featuring a magic show, performances by new bands and a weekly language club for anyone who wants to practice and improve their English. Thursday it’s Jelly Bean, playing funk, rap and jazz, and Question Mark Theater (小客廳劇場) with Nagano Masataka.
＊ Tonight’s performances begin at 10pm, Tuesday’s fun and games begin at 7pm. Wednesday’s evening of entertainment starts at 7pm. Thursday’s concert starts at 8:30pm, followed by theater at 10pm
＊ Entrance for tonight is NT$300. There is no admission fee on Tuesday. On Wednesday, entry for the magic show is NT$100, NT$50 for the band performances, which begin at 8pm, and the language club, which starts at 9pm, is also NT$100. Thursday night is NT$300 for the concert and NT$100 for the theater
＊ 3F, 8 Nanjing E Rd Sec 5, Taipei (台北市南京東路五段8號3樓). Call (02) 8787-4154 or visit www.livingroomtaipei.com
Riverside Cafe (河岸留言) presents jazz band R.A.Y. Band tonight, with Rock Oriental Express (搖滾東方) and Nana (于浩威) performing tomorrow.
＊ All shows begin at 9:30pm
＊ Entrance for both nights is NT$350
＊ B1, 2, Ln 244, Roosevelt Rd Sec 3, Taipei (台北市羅斯福路三段244巷2號B1). Call (02) 2368-7310, or visit www.riverside.com.tw
Velvet Underground (地下絲絨) presents Beetle Band (甲蟲樂團) tonight, Side Effect (塞德費) and The Blend (混合物) tomorrow, Rolling Dice (搖滾骰子) and Samurai on Sunday, and Crazy Mom and Reversal on Tuesday.
＊ Shows begin at 9pm
＊ Entrance for all shows is NT$300 (students NT$200)
＊ B1, 50 Zhongxiao W Rd Sec 1, Taipei (台北市忠孝西路一段50號B1). Call (02) 2314-1868 or visit www.velvet-underground.com.tw
Mayonaise (美乃滋樂團) tonight plays at Witch House (女巫店).
＊ Entrance is NT$300
＊ Tonight at 9:30pm
＊ 7, Ln 56, Xinsheng S Road Sec 3, Taipei (台北市新生南路三段56巷7號). Call (02) 2362-5494 or visit www.witchhouse.org
Exhibitions
Terracotta Army of the First Emperor of China (兵馬俑特展秦代新出土文物大展), a large-scale exhibition featuring 116 archaeological finds excavated from the tomb of Qin Shi-huang of the Qin Dynasty (221BC to 206BC). Apart from 28 terracotta articles, the exhibit also offers visitors a comprehensive introduction on the terracotta army by showcasing a complete example of terracotta soldiers from different branches of army and of different military ranks.
＊ National Museum of Natural Science (國立自然科學博物館), 1 Kuanchien Rd, Taichung (台中市館前路1號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5pm. Call (04) 2322-6940
＊ Until March 31
2006 Guandu Arts Museum Second Exhibition by Applicant Artists (2006關渡美術館年度申請展第二檔), featuring three solo exhibitions by Chen Kun-feng (陳崑鋒), Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔) and Yeh Yi-li (葉怡利). Chen Kun-feng uses painting, photography and video image to look at ontological transformations among different media, while Chen Yi-chieh deconstructs manga characters into geometric patterns and Yeh explores teenage subcultures.
＊ Taipei National University of the Arts — Guandu Arts Museum (台北藝術大學關渡美術館), 1 Hsuehyuan Rd, Peitou, Taipei (台北市北投區學園路1號). Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Call (02) 2893-8871
＊ Until Sunday
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