The third annual Tua-Tiu-Tiann International Festival of Arts (TTTIFA, 大稻埕國際藝術節) opened earlier this month, but given the long holiday weekend last weekend, the festival’s programs and events are really kicking off tomorrow.
Dadaocheng (大稻埕) was Taipei’s original arts district, famed for its dozens of theaters as well as street performers. It was also where most of the top department stores and other stores in the city were located. As a result, it was center of the Taiwan Cultural Movement in the 1920s.
The festival tries to capture this spirit of the “Kyousou (狂騷, or Japanese for ‘roaring’) Twenties” with a variety of performances, both on the street and inside buildings, centered on or near the south end of Dihua Street (迪化街), from a wide assortment of local and foreign theater, dance and musical groups.
Photo Courtesy of Tua-Tiu-Tiann International Festival of Arts
The festival is a true joint venture between businesses and cultural organizations from the Dadaocheng area, including Bookstore 1920s, the Thinkers’ Theatre (思劇場) and the Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation. As a result, there is a great Web site, with information in Chinese and English, about all the featured programs, open-air events and lectures (www.tttifa.com).
One of the highlights of the festival is the annual 1920s costume parade, which is scheduled to run from 3pm to 6pm tomorrow. Participants are encouraged to dress in a qipao, a suit, or kimono, but nobody will turn up their noses if you show up in whatever you feel like wearing.
The parade starts at the Dihua Shilian Building, which is No. 348 to No. 366, Dihua St Sec. 1 and will end at a “Time Machine Theater” set up at the outdoor plaza in front of Yongle Market (永樂市場), where fortune tellers, old-time vendors with their goods on bamboo poles and others will be on hand to greet participants.
Among the other activities on offer tomorrow (and Sunday night) is the Tua-Tiu-Tiann Community Dance Theater Project (大稻埕在地舞蹈劇場計畫), for which dancers held several workshops with local residents to share stories about daily life in the neighborhood and then choreographed a work to perform with the residents. Tickets are NT$200.
A listing of the ticketed performances and more information on them is available at www.artsticket.com.tw/CKSCC2005/Product/Product00/ProductsCategoriesPage.aspx?ProductsCategoryId=m40sIX3ugy6EQxXK1yJflw.
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