Circus group CEO, theater group manager join ISPA Taiwan fellowship

Taipei, Sept. 11 (CNA) The CEO of Formosa Circus Art and the manager of the Against Again Troupe have been selected to join the International Society for the Performing Arts' (ISPA) Taiwan Fellowship, which connects them to a network of performing arts professionals, according to the Ministry of Culture.

Formosa Circus Art CEO Lin Chih-wei (林智偉) and Against Again Troupe manager and producer Yinru Lo (羅尹如) were picked from 15 applicants by a jury made up of ISPA Chief Executive Officer David Baile, ISPA board member Cindy Hwang (黃思緯), Taipei Cultural Center in New York Director Huichun Jo Chang (張惠君), and National Taichung Theater Deputy Director Yen Chi-ping (鄢繼嬪), the ministry said in a statement Wednesday.

Lin described in his statement how a group of street artists formed Formosa Circus Art and how he looks forward to attending ISPA Congresses from January 2025-2027.

He also discussed his efforts to build Taiwan into a major hub for international groups to exchange experiences, through the FOCASA Circus Festival his group first held in 2023, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, Lo said she hopes to bring theater works that cover Taiwanese culture or global social issues to a wider audience around the world, according to the ministry.

"(I) hope to overcome this challenge by taking part in ISPA, and bring more attention to Taiwanese theater works globally," Lo said in the statement.

Baile said ISPA worked with the Taipei Cultural Center in New York for the second edition of the Taiwan Fellowship, following the outstanding achievements of the first fellows -- BaoBao Chen (陳玟臻) and Hsu Tzu-yin (許慈茵), according to the ministry.

Chen co-founded the "Small Island Big Song" project, which brings Austronesian performers to collaborate and present their cultures on stages around the world and has released two albums since 2019.

Meanwhile, Hsu worked as a project manager in 2021 and 2022 to present the Taiwan Season Symposium at the Edinburgh Fringe, where artists showcased their works to a global audience and event organizers from around the world, according to ISPA.

The New York-based ISPA currently works with nine countries or regions on its fellowship programs -- Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Denmark, southern states in the United States and Québec, according to its website.