Elizabeth Cameron Dalman became the pioneer of modern dance in Australia when she founded the Australian Dance Theater in 1965. It was the first modern dance group in her country and the first to be granted a government subsidy. For nearly forty years, Dalman has taught and collaborated with numerous dancers in various countries, including Taiwan.
One year after Grace Hsiao (
PHOTO: VICO LEE, TAIPEI TIMES
In Crossing Tracks II -- A Meeting of Two Cultures (
Sun and Moon, the opening piece of the show, is adopted from an Australian aboriginal legend, which represents the sun as a woman and the moon as a man.
"In modern dance, female dancers' movements are usually more activated and male dancers' more smooth. It's just like the legend," Dalman said.
This piece will be performed in Taiwan for the second time. Dalman staged it in 1971 when she was touring in Taiwan. Her performance so inspired Tsai Ruei-yuei (
Prayer, created in 1972, will probably strike a chord with audiences today with its human-rights theme and anti-war message. Based on a true story that occurred during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the dance tells the tragic story of a Catholic girl who falls in a love with a Protestant soldier, then accidentally shoots him dead. Grace Hsiao's dancers act out the story with such precision and feeling that this piece is the highlight of the show.
The only shortcoming of this otherwise superb production is that Round-15 (
Crossing Tracks II -- A Meeting of Two Cultures will be performed at Round-15 Theater, 3F, 40-1 Chungshan N. Rd., Sec. 2, Taipei (
Last week the Economist (“A short history of Taiwan and China, in maps,” July 10) and Al Jazeera both sent around short explainers of the Taiwan-China issue. The Al Jazeera explainer, which discussed the Cold War and the rivalry between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), began in the postwar era with US intervention in the Chinese Civil War and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) retreat to Taiwan. It was fairly standard, and it works because it appeals to the well-understood convention that Taiwan enters history in 1949 when the KMT retreats to it. Very different, and far
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It is truly remarkable how intense the political games being played to be in position to run for top offices in the 2026 local elections already is this far out. Previous columns have examined the northern and southern metropolises and this will explore Taichung, which is shaping up quite differently. Briefly, however, let us examine a few new developments outside of Taichung. Once one of the brightest of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) stars, former Taoyuan mayor and vice premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) has continued to dominate headlines. He has been jailed ahead of his trial and has lost all