Taishin Bank Foundation for Arts and Culture

Comments on the Finalist

After striving for more than twenty years, the Diabolo Dance Theatre has created “Entrance”, a performance blending art and entertainment that also gives new life to the old art of diabolo. Based on the adventures of a little girl, “Entrance” uses the diabolo as a means of telling a story that astonishes audiences. Dance is woven into the diabolo performance, while costumes, lighting, music, and especially multimedia and ingenious theatrical devices create an overall aesthetic designed to delight every kind of audience member. The Diabolo Dance Theatre's mastery of theater art and diabolo skills is worthy of commendation. Committee member: Geng, I-Wei

Artwork Introduction

Diabolo Dance Theatre performed their new work “Entrance” at the Taipei Cultural Center in January 2010 and at Nan-Kang 101 in July 2010.

“Entrance” is an original story developed by Diabolo Dance Theatre art director Liu, Le-Qun and is a departure from the group’s previous works and from traditional diabolo performances. It took over a year to develop the play and to rehearse it as it included a combination of difficult diabolo maneuvers and dance performances.

“Entrance” is a fantasy story similar to stories such as “Alice in Wonderland” and “The Nutcracker.” It is about a little girl who enters another world filled with mysterious and fantastic creatures. Even though she faces some obstacles, she eventually embarks on her journey of self-discovery.

The play skillfully incorporated challenging diabolo tricks developed by the group over the past 25 years such as the multiple diabolo shuffle, ultra-high toss, and toss-and-catch across thirty meters. In addition to the common diabolo, the play also featured the unprecedented “half-side” diabolo performance that simulates planetary movements, and the super-size diabolo performance.

“Entrance” is unique in that the diabolo and dance movements were seamlessly integrated, along with the vivid stage design and imaginative costumes, all set to an original score which created an aesthetic theatrical experience. The play, with its narrative arc, also drew in the audience.

Diabolo performance requires a wide space, and for “Entrance,” the innovative stage design used the concept of building blocks and deployed four large interlocking ladders to create a space for the interaction between the actors and the diabolos. The movable suspended scenery provided a dramatic effect as the brightly-clad performers danced around it, while the dynamic lighting projections provided an otherworldly atmosphere. Additionally, Liu, Le-Qun and costume designer Lin, Bing-Hao created the whimsical and colorful costumes, and composer Yang, Xiu-Yun composed the original score.

About the Artist

Diabolo Dance Theatre began twenty five years ago, when several young diabolo artists came together to share their passion for the juggling prop. Based on their technical skills and artistry, they sought a new style of diabolo dance performance.

Since their establishment, Diabolo Dance Theatre has performed more than 300 shows in over 20 countries around the world, including landmark theaters and arenas such as the Taipei National Theater, New York Lincoln Center, Canada’s Hummingbird Arts Center, and Aichi Expo Dome in Japan.

Diabolo Dance Theatre continues to create performances with dynamic diabolo tricks, vivid stage effects, innovative costume design, and catchy music.