Taiwan performing groups to attend art conferences in New York

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) A number of Taiwanese performing art groups will attend annual conferences held by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) and International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) in New York this month, in a bid to boost the artists' international profile, the Ministry of Culture (MOC) said Wednesday.

The two occasions serve as important opportunities for Taiwanese performing groups to establish connections with international booking agents and curators of art festivals.

The APAP conference, in particular, draws thousands of booking agents from the artistic and cultural sectors each year, making it the most prominent platform in the United States for marketing artistic events, the MOC noted.

The MOC's Taipei Cultural Center in New York helped arrange participation in the two important cultural events, while the National Taichung Theater and National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts will each take several Taiwan performing arts groups to the events, the MOC told CNA.

Groups set to attend the APAP conference from Jan. 10-14 include the Unique Puppet Theater, Jin Kwei Lo Puppetry Company, the Puppet & Its Double troupe, Resident Island Dance Theater and Hung Dance, the MOC said.

These groups, which plan to go on tour in North America within the next two years, hope to broaden their international reach and are seeking opportunities to stage performances overseas, the ministry said.

Notably, Hung Dance's "Peter Pan," a piece which it co-produced with National Taichung Theater, ensured the troupe stood out from international competitors and earned it a spot at the APAP's "UP NEXT! Artist Pitch Session" on Jan. 10, the MOC said.

This will give the Tai chi-infused dance troupe an invaluable opportunity to pitch its work to curators and event promoters in North America, it said.

Meanwhile, four Taiwanese representatives will attend the ISPA conference from Jan. 14-16 under the auspices of the ISPA Taiwan Fellowship Program, including the program's 2023-2025 participants Hsu Tzu-yin (許慈茵), an international booking agent for artistic events, and BaoBao Chen (陳玟臻), founder of Small Island Big Song, a live music and film project featuring over 100 musicians across 16 island nations in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Meanwhile, Lin Chih-wei (林智偉), founder of Formosa Circus Art, and Against Again Troupe producer Lo Yin-ru (羅尹如), who have been selected as 2025-2027 participants, will also attend the conference, the MOC said.