The start of the Opening Ceremony for the Kuandu Arts Festival.
The view from our new vantage point. The guy on the left is one of the dance students. His name is Bone and he is really nice.
During the ceremony, each faculty did a small routine for the crowd. Some of them went all out! I have some video footage of each of them, but have not yet been able to figure out how to upload it, if it is even possible at all.
Why yes, that is a little santa/easter bunny dress. I guess when you don't practice the religion or observe the holidays then it is easy to get confused....
We have been very lucky to have the festival on while we're here because there are so many international shows happening all week. The first performance I went to see with Ashley and Eve was called Monchichi.
The theatre attached to TNUA is a gorgeous little theatre. Bigger than the Geoff Gibbs at WAAPA, but even though I was in the very back corner, I could still see everything on stage really clearly.
Monchichi was choreographed by Spanish/French choreographer Sébastien Ramirez & German/Korean Hyun-Jung Wang. The piece tells the story of alienation in a foreign country, the search for identity and love. I found this piece particularly interesting as I am myself in immigrant, but also an exchange student in a country where I don't speak the language.
The choreography and dancing were superb! Ramirez is a B-boy and Wang, who could definitely hold her own in Hip Hop, was classically trained. There was one section where the two spoke about their experiences as being foreigners. This short dialogue was delivered in spurts of English, French, German, Spanish and Korean. I don't think I will ever see another piece like this! Ted you would have LOVED it! There were so many "flips n shit". I found this synopsis of the piece and I think it sums it up quite well.
“Monchichi” is a declaration of love to dance and a bold statement against
intolerance as well as an example of the great opportunities which the fusion
of opposites can hold.
But if you still don't get it, here's a youtube link.
Last Thursday, as I was walking in to my ballet class, a black guy who was waiting outside the door asked if he could do our class. I had seen the pictures for the show on the weekend and so I knew he was a performer but assumed that the group was from the US.
I asked him where he was from and had an instant "it's such a small world" moment when he replied that they were from Johannesburg!
It was so interesting for me to see contemporary dance come out of my home city. And even more crazy that I got to see it in Taiwan!
The show was called 'I think it's Hamlet'. I took a photo of the synopsis in the programme, but for those of you who can't be bothered reading all the tiny letters I will sum it up.
'The performance mainly draws from the themes of death and suicide in Hamlet to explore personal, social, and political issues."
I spoke to some of the cast after the show because I was curious as to what it was like to be a contemporary dancer in South Africa these days. Their response didn't surprise me because it seems to be the same everywhere. The love for the Art is thriving, the funding is not.
The physicality of the dancers was unlike anything I had seen in a while. Their floor work and tumbling skills were fantastic, but they didn't look as grounded and into the floor as Australian dancers. They were lighter on their feet and were able to move so much quicker! It's like their centre of gravity was higher. It was really exciting to watch!
KUANDU ARTS MARKETS
As part of the festival this weekend there were a number of stalls set up and arts markets were held over Saturday and Sunday. There were some beautiful hand crafted items and so many things that I wanted to buy but would not have been able to ship home. I did get a few little presents for a few special people though :)
This is a shot of the stalls the night before the markets as they were being set up.
And some of the markets in full swing. 
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