Five Taiwanese performance troupes were selected to perform at this year's Festival Off d'Avignon in France, a fringe event of one of the world's largest arts festivals, the Ministry of Culture said on Tuesday.
The off festival is a month-long event full of activities, including parades and various performances from theater, concert and story-telling to circus.
The Taiwanese groups selected to perform in France are Theatre De La Sardine, T.T.C.Dance, the Freedom Beat, Shakespeare's Wild Sisters Group and MIX Acrobatics Theater. They will join more than 1,000 foreign performing arts groups at the July 8-31 festival.
Theatre De La Sardine — whose name came from the French word "Saltimbanque,” meaning street performers — combines various elements in its productions, including street performance, circus, mime, musical and gymnastics. It will stage "The Secret of the Luthier,” which describes a boy's fantasy adventure to rescue his father.
T.T.C.Dance founded by choreographer Ting-Ting Chang will put on a production titled "Body Platform: Cabinet Anthropomorphique.” It uses drawers, a symbol of secret in surrealist artist Salvador Dali's works, to interpret the subconscious and gender-related themes that characterize Dali's paintings.
Percussion ensemble Freedom Beat, whose performances combine various electronic music genres, will present its new program "Underground,” which showcases different percussion instruments, body percussion and their original music.
Shakespeare's Wild Sisters, one of Taiwan's most popular micro theater companies, is no stranger to the Festival Off, having made its French debut in 2009. This year, they will bring "July Plus Jamais Rendez-vous Avec Sophie Calle” to audiences in Avignon.
MIX Acrobatics Theater, which was formed by a group of diversely talented acrobats, will perform "Sacrifice,” a show combining acrobatics, dance, flag waving and drama.
The Ministry's overseas office in Paris has assisted Taiwanese troupes in securing a spot at the Avignon Off since 2007. The Paris office subsidizes part of their travel expenses and arranges for foreign art professionals to attend their performances.