Art and Entertainment

Hou Hsiao-hsien’s The Assassin to compete at Cannes Film Festival

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-17
By: CNA

Renowned Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien will compete at the 68th annual Cannes Film

A film poster for The Assassin, March 4. (File photo/China Times)

A film poster for The Assassin, March 4. (File photo/China Times)

Festival in France with his martial arts film The Assassin, festival officials announced Thursday.

The Assassin, a Tang Dynasty martial arts epic starring Taiwan’s Shu Qi and Chang Chen, is among the 17 films that will vie for the festival’s highest prize, the Palme d’Or, according to the official selection lineup.

Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux and president Pierre Lescure unveiled the lineup at a press conference in Paris.

Chinese director Jia Zhangke’s Mountains May Depart and Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda’s Our Little Sister are also among the 17 competition titles.     [FULL  STORY]

Presidential citation to honor late actor Wang Chueh

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/04/16
By: Christie Chen

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) A presidential citation will be awarded posthumously to late Taiwanese 201504160031t0001actor Wang Chueh (王玨) in recognition of his contributions to Taiwan’s movie scene.

The citation, which was approved by the Executive Yuan on Thursday, will be presented to Wang’s family in June during a memorial service for the actor, who died of heart failure in Taipei in March at the age of 96, the Ministry of Culture said Thursday.

Born in 1918 in northeast China, Wang was an actor, producer and director whose career in film and drama spanned over seven decades.     [FULL  STORY]

CSU’s Spring Dance Concert features special guest artist from Taiwan

collegian.com
Date: April 13, 2015
By: Amanda Thompson    

He was born in Taiwan, he dances in France and teaches choreography in Cambodia, France Hsin-Yu-Kao-2and Nepal, and he performed at Colorado State University’s annual Spring Dance Concert Friday and Saturday.

International dance performer and choreographer Hsin-Yu Kao was a special guest at the concert, which featured choreographed works of CSU’s dance majors and faculty.

Kao currently dances with Compagnie Käfig in France and choreographs for multiple dance programs at educational institutions in Taiwan, according to CSU’s dance department.

Kao has been working and collaborating in choreography and dance with CSU’s dance majors since March 23.

“He was one of the nicest people, and being able to be taught by him has been an honor,” said Shannon Henderson, a junior dance and journalism double major at CSU. “He truly is an inspiration and such a wonderful dancer. The dance department has been very lucky to have him.”     [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan, HK stars make biggest bucks for professional impersonators

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-09
By: Staff Reporter

Impersonators of Taiwanese and Hong Kong celebrities and stars earn more than people who

Sun Dong, who impersonates Jay Chou for a living, is maried to Liu Menghan, who impersonates Angela Chang. (Internet photo)

Sun Dong, who impersonates Jay Chou for a living, is maried to Liu Menghan, who impersonates Angela Chang. (Internet photo)

impersonate mainland stars, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

Impersonating Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists means more invitations to perform, not only in mainland China but also in the United States, Japan and Southeast Asia, where the stars have huge fan bases, said Wang Donglin, a professional imitator of mainland movie star Ge You, who won Best Actor at Cannes for his role in the Chinese film To Live in 1994.

Wang, 42, who has gathered a group of top star-impersonators in China, has earned a serious reputation in the entertainment field and now makes up to 50,000 yuan (US$8,000) per show and even stood in for Ge You in the 2014 movie Gone with the Bullet.     [FULL  STORY]

South Korean pop star Psy to release Mandarin album

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-04
By: CNA

South Korean pop sensation Psy will soon release an album covering some of his past songs

Psy poses for a photo. (Photo courtesy of Sohukorea@Sina Weibo)

Psy poses for a photo. (Photo courtesy of Sohukorea@Sina Weibo)

in Mandarin for his Chinese-language fans, according to his management agency.

Among the songs that will be included in the album are Paradise, The End and What Would Have Been, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency cited YG Entertainment as saying on Friday.

Psy rose to meteoric success worldwide after his music video for Gangnam Style went viral on YouTube in 2012, becoming the first video on the site to hit one billion views. The video is known for its catchy tune and dance moves.     [FULL  STORY]

Kenting Music Festival roars into action with over 200 bands, artists

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Jam Hsiao promotes the Spring Wave Music and Art Festival, Feb. 2. (File photo/Lin Hung-pin)

Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-03
By: CNA

The annual Kenting Music Festival kicked off Friday in Pingtung county, featuring over 200 bands, DJs and artists from Taiwan and abroad in the country’s southernmost holiday haven of Kenting.

The three-day festival consists of several events and parties, including the outdoor Spring Scream music festival at Eluanbi National Park and the outdoor Spring Wave Music and Art Festival and Spring Wave Electronic Music concert, both of which are at Wuliting Airport.

Among the performers are American singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn, Portuguese DJ Diego Miranda, Taiwanese American rapper Miss Ko, Taiwanese rock musician Chang Chen-yue, rapper MC HotDog, and singer Jam Hsiao, according to the organizers.     [FULL  STORY]

TNUA student dancers ‘shuttling’ around Taiwan

Taipei Times
Date: Mar 27, 2015
By: Diane Baker  /  Staff reporter

The dance department at Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA, 國立臺北藝術大學)

Taipei National University of the Arts’ Focus Dance Company has begun a seven-city nationwide tour of its latest production, Shuttling X, featuring works by several students as well as the late Lo Man-fei and famed Hong Kong choreographer Helen Lai, including Plaza X. Photo courtesy of Zhang Xiao-xiong

Taipei National University of the Arts’ Focus Dance Company has begun a seven-city nationwide tour of its latest production, Shuttling X, featuring works by several students as well as the late Lo Man-fei and famed Hong Kong choreographer Helen Lai, including Plaza X. Photo courtesy of Zhang Xiao-xiong

should be feeling very pleased today, as its Focus Dance Company (焦點舞團) opens a sold out four-show run at the school’s dance theater tonight — something professional companies ofttimes only dream about.

While the Taipei run may be sold out, it is just the second stop in a seven-city nationwide tour that began in Yilan last week and will take the student dancers to Taichung, Jhongli, Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taitung over the course of several weekends next month and in May, so there are several chances to catch the nation’s up-and-coming stars if you are willing to travel.

The troupe’s artistic director, associate professor Zhang Xiao-xiong (張曉雄), has said there was a special reason for starting the tour in Yilan — it was the hometown of dancer/choreographer/TNUA professor Lo Man-fei (羅曼菲) who died nine years ago at 51.

n addition to being a terrific performer in her own right, Lo encouraged and mentored scores of young Taiwanese dancers and choreographers, both at the school and through her work with Cloud Gate 2 (雲門２). She created the school’s unique seven-year dance program that brings students through three years of senior-high school and straight into the university for a bachelor’s degree.     [FULL  STORY]