TAIPEI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Artists of the China Coal Mine Art Troupe from the mainland staged several traditional Chinese performing arts, including xiangsheng (crosstalk), kuaiban (clapper talk) and Peking Opera, in Taiwan over the past weekend.
Three performances were held in Taipei and Kaohsiung from Friday to Sunday, featuring a group of veteran artists from the troupe, which was founded in 1947.
Ying Ning, vice director of the troupe, said the artists opted to showcase a wider variety of authentic traditional Chinese performing arts to the audience in Taiwan, thereby promoting exchange across the Taiwan Strait and enhancing mutual understanding.
The performance staged in Taipei on Friday attracted hundreds of people, who responded warmly to the acts with prolonged applause. "The kuaiban performers were amazing -- they recited tongue twisters so fluently while expertly playing the clappers," said a college sophomore surnamed Hsieh, referring enthusiastically to the performance of rhythmic storytelling accompanied by the beat of bamboo clappers.
"I hope these traditional performing arts will be passed down from generation to generation," Hsieh added.
Du Yinlong, who performed xiangsheng with his twin brother, said they had revised some of their scripts to better suit the tastes and cultural background of the Taiwan audience, including adding content involving popular music.
"People on both sides of the Strait do share a lot of cultural memories. We hope that combining traditional performing arts with popular music will resonate more strongly with the audience," he said.
"I look forward to seeing more performances of this kind in Taiwan," said a local resident surnamed Sheng, who attended the performance in Taipei. "I also hope to visit more cities on the mainland and enjoy more distinctive forms of traditional performing arts." ■
