Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group, one of the most representative theater troupes in Taiwan, has been invited to perform at the International Theatre Festival of Kerala (ITFoK) which will take place in India from February 5 to 14. The festival resumes after three years of suspension due to the pandemic. This year, performing arts groups from South Africa, Italy, France, Lebanon, Palestine, the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Taiwan will also be taking part in the festival.
Deputy Representative Hsieh Bor-huei (謝柏輝) and Deputy Counselor Chao Hsiang-chun (趙向群) from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECO) in India were present at the opening ceremony of the festival.
To introduce the beauty of Taiwan's traditional opera to Indian audiences, Ming Hwa Yuan will be presenting "Hero Beauty (英雄美人)," a performance that combines drama, martial arts, music, and dance, on February 6 and 7. There will also be demonstrations and talks by Chen Chao-hsien (陳昭賢) at the University of Calicut and St. Thomas College on February 8.
Deputy Representative Hsieh said the Taiwanese opera has a history of a century and has developed a distinctive Taiwanese feature. Ming Hwa Yuan breathed new life into the art of Taiwanese opera, and Hsieh believed that the show by the opera group will narrow the distance between Taiwanese and Indian people.
With the theme "Humanity Must Unite," the cultural festival this year is organized by the Government of Kerala, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy, with support from India's Ministry of External Affairs, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the French Embassy in India, and the French Institute in India.
(Photo courtesy of Ming Hwa Yuan Arts and Cultural Group)