The 2017 Taipei Universiade opened on August 19 with an impressive ceremony that was produced by TNUA. 

The production team, organized by Interplan Group and led by Prof. Wang Yunyu, dean of the School of Dance, will also produce the closing ceremony for the Summer Universiade on August 30. 

It is the second time that TNUA has been put in charge of producing the opening and closing ceremonies of major sports events. 

The first was for the World Games 2009 in Kaohsiung. The Universiade shows – a cross-department effort involving almost 200 teachers and students from TNUA – are again demonstrating to the world Taiwan’s creativity. 

The departments taking part in the production include the Department of Dance, the Department of Fine Arts, the Department of New Media, the Department of Theatre Arts, and the Department of Theatre Design and Technology.

The show on August 19 was in three parts that respectively highlighted the energy of Taiwan, the host city of Taipei, and the country’s global reach. It was meant to demonstrate Taiwan’s cultural diversity and characteristics, and present a dialogue between the past and the present, with an eye on the future. The first part of the August 19 show was directed by Chieh-hua Jeff Hsieh, a graduate from TNUA’s Graduate Institute of Dance; the second part was directed by Liao Jo-han from Tainaner Ensemble; and the third by Lin Kun-Ying, who holds a master’s degree from the Department of New Media. 

There were some notable performers of the show. Billy Chang, an alumnus of TNUA and currently a member of Cirque du Soleil, performed a mid-air dance 25 meters above the ground. PeiJu Chien-Pott, a principal dancer at Martha Graham Dance Company and a graduate of TNUA, gave a solo performance. Hsieh, who directed the first part of the show, said it was both a tough job and memorable experience. 

Caption: PeiJu Chien-Pott, a principal dancer at Martha Graham Dance Company, performs with others at the opening ceremony of 2017 Taipei Universiade.