Taiwan's first-ever circus arts festival, Focasa, took place at Tainan's Shueijiaoshe Cultural Park from Feb. 22 to 28. Accompanied by the Mayor of Tainan City Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲), Culture Minister Shih Che visited the festival as well as several cultural attractions in Tainan on Feb. 27.
During the tour, Mayor Huang introduced the facilities of the park as well as the program of the circus festival to Minister Shih. He said that the festival fully demonstrates Tainan's cultural vitality and diverse cultural development; while Minister Shih stated that the popularity of the festival demonstrates Taiwan's strengths in performing arts and represents the nation's potential in developing circus arts.
On a side note, Mayor Huang also expressed his wish for Tainan to receive support from the central government as the southern Taiwan city gears up for its 400th anniversary of establishment. In this regard, Minister Shih responded that the Ministry of Culture will actively cooperate with the Tainan City Government to increase the international visibility of Tainan.
Following the successful test run in March 2022, the inaugural edition of the Focasa Circus Festival featured performances by 30 performing art groups and circuses from Taiwan, France, Australia, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and Cambodia. The Taiwanese teams, one of which is FOCA, presented two different styles of shows "Circus as Folks (嘛係人)" and "Circus Party (馬戲派對);" while the Tien Circus Theatre (天馬戲創作劇團) showcased Taiwan's first children's circus musical "Beginner (誰偷了我的，超能力！)."
(Photo courtesy of Tainan City Government)