For the past five years, the New Aspect Promotion Corporation, a local sponsor of diverse artistic and cultural activities, has been exploring the possibilities of bringing the National Ballet du Senegal to Taiwan. Thus the arrival of the Senegalese company sparked great interest. And following that, controversy: Certain dances are performed with both male and female dancers bare-chested—a first on the classic ROC concert circuit. The box office was also stimulated by the resultant media publicity.
African instruments were part of the experience—Here, the dan.
To promote the Senegal dance company and introduce African culture to Taiwan, a series of lectures and video shows and a special exhibit of African art was organized at the New Aspect Arts Center. The exhibit included a collection of traditional masks and artifacts, and the photography and, especially, the Africa-inspired paintings of the well-known artist Wu A-sun.
The ballet troupe—and Africa—thus drew extensive media coverage, and the troupe subsequently performed to packed audiences at Taipei's Chunghua Gymnasium as well as in the down-island cities of Tainan, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.
The dances were a glory of African tradition, bold and joyful. Accompanied by tam-tam drums and other traditional instruments, the choreography grew increasingly frenetic: from women first moving with solemnity and elegance to men finally spinning acrobatically on their knees, arms, and on bowl-shaped drums. The costumes included braids, beads, and grass skirts as well as gold-threaded kaftans.
Harry Thayer, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, praised the ballet for its zest and color, and its dramatic insights into Senegalese culture. The music he nostalgically found "somewhat reminiscent of American jazz."
The M'bini N'dam releases energy, motion, and color in all possible directions.
Lin Hwai-min, founder of the ROC's internationally known Cloud Gate Dance Ensemble and the Taipei Contemporary Dance Theater, called the performance an "expression of life itself, a life of great beauty and nobility." In the tam-tam dance tradition, their efforts are "masterpieces of improvisation," he said.
The National Ballet du Senegal quite obviously aroused a new appreciation for African culture here: newspapers, magazines, and TV news and variety shows featured not only the ballet, but African arts and lore.