Taiwanese dance troupe Genio Dance Group won the top prize at a flamenco competition in Madrid on Friday.
Led by Taiwanese dancer Hsueh Yu-hsien (薛喻鮮), the troupe won the group category of the 31st edition of Certamen de Coreografia de Danza Espanola y Flamenco with their work Eterno retorno.
Hsueh expressed surprise and delight at winning the highly competitive final contest, which included six other teams.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Culture via CNA
Hsueh, who began learning dance from her mother, Ho Lian-hua (賀連華), at a young age, said dancing was her life and that she had put all her feelings and emotions into her work.
She thanked Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) and the Ministry of Culture’s office in Spain for their support of the team, which departed for Madrid last week to take part in the competition.
Chang Yu-hsuan (張祐瑄), an official at the office, yesterday said that she was pleased to see that Genio Dance Group, whose performances combined the different cultural traditions of Taiwan and Spain, could shine on the stage of an important Spanish dance event and be recognized with an award.
The Certamen de Coreografia de Danza Espanola y Flamenco competition has been held annually since 1992 by Producciones Maga, headed by Spanish dancer Margaret Jova, the ministry said.
Participants in this year’s competition were required to provide the jury an online video of their performance, and only those who were accepted to the final were invited to compete in Madrid.
Genio Dance Group was founded in 2000 by Ho Lian-hua, who is dedicated to promoting flamenco dance in Taiwan, the ministry said.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
A man in Tainan has been cleared on charges of public insult after giving the middle finger during a road rage incident, as judges deemed the gesture was made “briefly to express negative feelings.” In last week’s ruling at the High Court’s Tainan branch, judges acquitted a driver, surnamed Cheng (程), for an incident along Tainan’s Nanmen Road in September 2023, when Cheng had spotted a place to park his car in an adjacent lane. Cheng slowed down his vehicle to go into reverse, to back into the parking spot, but the car behind followed too closely, as its driver thought Cheng
DEFENSE: The purpose of the exercises is to identify strategies for the government to control risks during tensions, prevent war and bolster national resilience A tabletop exercise series has begun simulating possible scenarios if the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched a war against Taiwan in the guise of a military exercise. The exercise series is jointly organized by National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, Taiwan Center for Security Studies and Asia-Pacific Policy Research Association. Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Yeong-kang (陳永康), former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director William Stanton and Taiwan Center for Security Studies director Liu Fu-kuo (劉復國) attended the event in Taipei yesterday. Scenarios that would be simulated include changing political circumstances in the US during US President Donald Trump’s tenure
RSS