The Taiwan Traditional Theatre Center was officially inaugurated Oct. 3 at a ceremony in Taipei City attended by President Tsai Ing-wen, who conveyed her hope that the facility will serve as a meaningful platform for fostering international exchanges on traditional arts from home and abroad.
“The opening of this traditional theater marks a significant milestone in the development of Taiwan’s traditional arts,” Tsai said, adding that the center will not only showcase the beauty of the country’s historic culture, but also serve as an experimental space for innovative artists.
Overseen by the National Center for Traditional Arts, TTTC is the country’s first-ever central home for traditional performing arts such as Hakka, kunqu and Taiwan operas. Comprising a 1,035-seat main theater, 300-seat experimental theater and a library, the center also houses three resident artistic groups, namely the GuoGuang Opera Company, National Chinese Orchestra of Taiwan and Taiwan Music Institute.
Noting that TTTC plans to launch many intriguing programs and shows, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun said the government is also committed to making traditional performing arts once again a part of people’s daily lives. She said the ministry will invest more funds and efforts over the next four years in cultivating talents in the fields of traditional performing arts and intangible cultural heritage.
A series of programs has been arranged to celebrate the grand opening of the traditional theater center, the most prominent being the 2017 Asia Pacific Traditional Arts Festival.
Titled Experiencing Traditional Arts: Taiwan and Mekong River, the traditional arts festival will take place at both TTTC and NCFTA in eastern Taiwan’s Yilan County, featuring 50 shows by 10 performing troupes from five Southeast Asian countries—Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. (CPY-E)
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