Thursday, May 1, 2008
Sharing the Stage Tonight in Taichung
1,500+ people filled the Chung Shan Hall this evening. They were there to welcome a dance company that had traveled all the way from New York; but they were also there to celebrate their own: 20 junior high school students from Aboriginal Tribes of Taiwan whose stunning performances brought many tears to eyes (including mine). Performers can feel an audience -- and the Battery Dancers outdid themselves this evening as did the students. I found myself sitting in the theater in amazement, asking myself, "how could they be so self-assured after such a short period of rehearsal?" As moving as the performance was, the scene backstage after the concert was even moreso: the students were so pumped up after the show that they didn't want the evening to end. In traditional Aboriginal style, they grabbed the hands of the exhausted Battery Dancers, and we all continued dancing and chanting for another 5 or 10 minutes after the curtain went down. In my 33 years in the theater, this was a first! And I hope it isn't the last! Tomorrow we leave for Mongolia and the pen-ultimate adventure on this tour. Memories of Taiwan will surely linger.
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