2009 Asia-Pacific Traditional Arts Festival-
Legend of Mekong River
Featured Performances from Cambodia and Burma
The 2009 Asia-Pacific Traditional Arts Festival, organized by the Preparatory Office for the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts, has been launched with much fanfare on October 3rd. Performing groups from Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam celebrated a beautiful Mid-Autumn Festival with their adoring Taiwan audience. From October 8th, the Festival will be entering its climax and the Sovanna Phum Art Association from Cambodia and Mandalay Marionettes Theater from Burma will bring this year’s featured shows.
The traditional culture of Cambodia was once facing extinction by the Khmer Rouge Communist movement led by Pol Pot. The surviving artists have lived through years of starvation, devastation of illnesses, and the sorrows of lost families. The Nation was not rebuilt until the 1980’s. After years of hard work, the Cambodian Palace Dance and Shadow Puppet Show was listed by UNESCO as part of the Oral and Intangible Heritage in 2003 and 2005 respectively, and this recognition marked a great milestone in the revival of Cambodian traditional arts. The Sovanna Phum Art Association invited to perform in Taiwan this year will present the treasures of Cambodia.
The Cambodian shadow puppets are made from ox skins. They are large puppets; each stands as tall as half of an adult. The wide canvas of ox skins is carved with intriguing craftsmanship, the common characters include the prince and princess, demons, nature spirits, the monkey god, the peasants and ascetic monks, and the stories are most based on the epic poems of Ramayana. The tall shadow puppets dance and fight with one another behind the scenes as manipulated by the puppeteers and the puppeteers sometimes turn into the characters of the stories to continue the fights before the scenes. It is quite a bravo performance. The classical Cambodian Palace Dancers are called the Apsara, meaning dancers of the heaven in Sanskrit. Apsara dancers represent the messengers of peace and are seen as the medium between the king and the heaven. It is believed that the king’s prayers are sent to the heaven by the dancers. The classical dances feature slow movements, elegant postures, complex hand gestures, and perfectly formed arches and curves of the waist and back. Sovanna Phum Art Association will definitely dazzle the audiences with its intriguing performances.
The Mandalay Marionettes Theater from Burma has been established since 1986. It is one of the most famous string puppet performing groups in Burma. The puppets are as tall as 50cm with delicate features and movable fingers, mouths, and eyes. Sometimes, both puppets and real persons perform on the same stage as the characters in the story. And the uniquely wild music of Saing Waing and the elegant solo of Konghou are the enchanting charms of this group’s performance.
Do you want to have a special vacation over the National Day holidays? Lucy draws will be held at the 2009 Asia-Pacific Traditional Arts Festival everyday and the prizes will include craft experience tours, tickets to the traditional art events, and more. A mystery prize will be drawn on the closing day. So, don’t miss it. For information regarding the exhibitions and performances, please call the National Center for Traditional Arts at (03) 950-7711 or visit the Web site at http://www.ncfta.gov.tw.
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◎ Event Contact: The Preparatory Office for the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts;
Xu Tian-Xia (許天俠) at (03) 970-5815 ext. 1368 or 0934293634
◎ News Contact: The Preparatory Office for the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts;
Lian Jia-Ying (連家瑩) at (03) 970-5815 ext. 2067 or 0939794713
The Preparatory Office for the National Headquarters of Taiwan Traditional Arts;
Chen Yi-Ling (陳羿伶); (03) 970-5815 ext. 2066 or 0953096650
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