Four local dance troupes will be showcasing Taiwan's vibrant creativity online for the upcoming Edinburgh Festival Fringe that is slated to go digital this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tailored by Taiwanese curator in performing art Yeh Jih-wen (葉紀紋), a month-long virtual program "Taiwan Season" is set to dazzle audiences worldwide in August.
Every Tuesday and Thursday from August 4 to 28, "Connecting with Taiwan," a series of in-depth talks under "Taiwan Season," will highlight four productions that were previously set to take stage at the Fringe – "Touchdown (觸底的形色)" by Incandescence Dance (告白熾造), "Boundless (無盡天空)" by Hung Dance (翃舞製作), "Fighters (五虎將)" by Les Petites Choses Production (小事製作), and "The Back of Beyond (無盡胎藏)" by Tai Gu Tales Dance Theater (太古踏舞團).
To be hosted by veteran UK arts journalist Donald Hutera, the 45-minute talks will be joined by four choreographers from the troupes – Cheng Hao (鄭浩) from Incandescence Dance, Lai Hung-chung (賴翃中) from Hung Dance, Yang Nai-hsuan (楊乃璇) from Les Petites Choses Production, and Lin Hsiu-wei (林秀偉) from Tai Gu Tales Dance Theater.
Each talk will be streamed live through the Taiwan Season Facebook page and its YouTube channel at 1pm BST.
In addition, eight forums on the current state of performing arts in Taiwan will take place on Wednesdays and Fridays, starting August 5. The 90-minute forums will feature Li Hui-mei (李惠美), former artistic director of the National Theater and Concert Hall; artistic director Yao Lee-chun (姚立群) of the Guling Street Avant-garde Theatre; curator River Lin (林人中), and Chiang Cheng-hua (江政樺) from the Taipei-based Indigenous Peoples Cultural Foundation.
While Li will address the present and future of Taiwan arts and culture venues, Yao will look at disability arts. Lin will shed light on the development of performing arts and exhibitions in Taiwan. Chiang, meanwhile, will discuss the cultural context for Taiwan’s indigenous dance productions.
The four Taiwanese speakers will be joined by distinguished guests – programme manager of the leading Fringe venue Summerhall Verity Leigh; Morag Deyes, artistic director of Scotland's national dance house Dance Base; Karen Anderson, artistic director of the Scottish company Indepen-dance; Kathryn Weir, artistic director of the Italy-based Museo Madre, and interdisciplinary curator Jacob Boehme.
In addition, to pitch the four productions, a 105-minute program called "Taiwan Season 2020 Showcase & Pitch" that features presentations and short clips centered on the performances will be livestreamed on the Fringe's virtual platform on August 10, targeting performing art agencies and curators worldwide who are recognized by the prestigious festival.
Under the name "Taiwan Season," Taiwanese performers have joined the decades-old Edinburgh Festival Fringe since 2014.