The traditional cultures of Asia come alive as Junior Rachel Lin and her teammates gracefully twirl ribbons, leaping across the stage. From June 26 to July 11, Lin toured around four major Taiwanese cities performing various folk dances of Asia.
Lin’s studio, the Asian Arts Talent Foundation, teamed up with Shirley Chen and Dancers, a studio from Las Vegas, to perform for several cities in Taiwan. Her studio first travelled to perform overseas in 2012 in China. Seeing that their trip was successful, they continued the following year in Canada.
“We travel to Asia and perform so that we can experience the cultures that we represent in real life,” Lin said. “It’s also good for our studio to have international relations.”
Lin did not have to pay for the travel or show expenses, because the studio covered them all.
“Even the hotel and food expenses were paid for,” Lin said. “I guess my teacher has a lot of connections.”
They performed native Taiwanese styles, Mongolian bowl dances, Qing dynasty styles and Daizu dances in both auditoriums and parades. Daizu is a style of dance from a southern Chinese tribe.
“My favorite style of dance is always the Mongolian bowl dance,” Lin said. “The audience always seems to be amazed at the the bowls on our heads because it looks difficult to dance with. Plus, I love the costumes we wear.”
Aside from stage performing, Lin took part in parades as well. She suffered the long cycles of eight-counts, walking and waving, which only became worse as she began to feel the strong Asian humidity. However, Lin still considers them her favorite kind of performance.
“It’s nice participating with a parade of people who are passionate and committed to representing their cause,” Lin said. “The vibe is a lot more exciting, and I like waving at people.”
When Lin and her studio were not performing, they were on the road sightseeing and touring. They visited temples, tried new food and strolled around in night markets.
“One time, we toured Alishan Mountain where a lot of the native Taiwanese people live,” Lin said. “We saw a really cool show with spears and yelling. That’s also where I bought a beautiful cultural vest.”
After they finished their shows in Taiwan, they toured Japan just for fun.
“We went to a temple in Japan where we got to feed deer,” Lin said. “The moment I laid my hands on the deer cookies, I was ambushed by deer from all sides. They were tugging on my stuff and biting my bag with that glazed over zombie look.”
Lin came back home July 11, reminiscing about all the great memories she made with her teammates. Her teacher has discussed future plans about travelling to other continents, including Europe.
TCHS School Newspaper