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| Presentation of A Ferry-Boatmen Romance |
Charlestown Nevis (August 24, 2006) Residents and visitors to the island of Nevis were Wednesday night treated to spectacular displays of culture that signalled the Nevis leg of the 2006 Caribbean Tour of Taipei Folk Dance Theatre.
The show, held at the Cultural Complex in Charlestown, saw the arena filled to capacity as eager patrons were on hand to witness the Chinese presentation of their cultural heritage. The group was hosted by the St. Kitts Resident Ambassador to the Republic of China on Taiwan.
It was a performance that many Nevisians had never experienced but quickly appreciated what was before them. The Taipei Folk Dance Theatre is on their Dream World Taiwan 2006 - Caribbean Tour.
The group, which was founded in September 1988 by Professor Tsai Li-Hua, has as its mission to promote as well as preserve Taiwans varied dance heritage, especially those originating from ethnic cultures of the islands colourful aborigine tribes, in addition to the influence of Chinese traditional dance.
The group enticed the audience with eight performances through its unique style of music and movement. They presented a Meditation through the flower which refered to the story of Buddha who made a hand gesture with a flower in order to enlighten his pupils on the secret of life.
The second dance was A Ferry Boatmen Romance which was a humorous piece based on a popular Taiwanese ballad, At the Ferryboat . This presentation displayed a young girl who wanted a ferryman to take her across the river but the ferryman noted that he would only take her across if she promised to marry him.
The third display was The Love of Fall where it was the custom of Hakka tradition that a man who fell in love for a woman could hide his gift for her in a basket linked to a colourful paper ball and then thrown to the woman.
As the Chinese dancers continued their displayed, the fourth segment, The Beauty of Taiwan Aboriginal Dance had three distinct dances to it. The first one was the Paiwan The Legend at the swing where only the daughters of the chieftain and nobles could use the swing for their wedding; the second one was the Rukai The Wedding where a prince and a princess fell in love but had to encounter many obstacles but they over come them one by one.
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| Presentation of Meditation through the Flower |
The third and final dance was Tao The spirit of warriors in which the aboriginal tribe, Tao, lives in the south-east of Taiwan. They have special ritualistic movement and dance which was adapted to depict the joy of harvest of land, fish-catching and the braveness of men.
Other dances through music and movement were The Song of Kavalan ; The Image of Kong Fu ; When my Heart as a Window of Life Opens and Homage to the Gods .
Local talents, such as the masquerades, the Shell All Stars Steel Orchestra and the Afrikanna I- Drummers performed during the event.
Brief remarks were given by the Premier of Nevis, the Hon Mr. Joseph Parry and the Ambassador to the Republic of China on Taiwan, His Excellency Mr. John K Liu.
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| Local Performance of the Masquerades |
The Minister of Culture, the Hon Mr. Hensley Daniel also gave brief remarks as he welcomed all to the event. The groups next performance will be in St. Kitts on Thursday evening before their departure from the Federation for St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
