Xing Studios Opening

The grounds of Xing

On Saturday evening the family went to check out the opening of Xing Studios in their rustic setting in nearby Taiping. (map here). Xing is a performance collective based in Macau and Taiwan, and the Taiping site will be their new home in Taiwan.

Xing is out in the boonies, necessitating a trek through Taiping, one of a number of local cities that has decided to make all its shop signs look the same, thus making it impossible to find anything using visual cues.

Out and out we drove...

...fortunately, the directions I had from Chad and Kami Leslie, who run the cooperative, were excellent.

We ended up deep in the heart of Taiwan, with the big fish ponds for recreational fishing, betel nut trees, and winding roads skirting enormous houses.

Xing turned out to be on a pleasant site with several buildings, including one currently being renovated for a performance venue.

A river rolls by the grounds. Here my son tries out the new camera my father gave him.

One of the buildings was given over to small exhibition of masks and photography.

The kids went down to the river to play.

My wife (seated) and my sister-in-law

.

My wife with my son and my niece in the background.

Lining up to register.

My son enjoys a breather.

Chatting before the show.

The combination of darkness and movement is never good for photography...but here is a picture of the brain trust of Xing, David, Kami Leslie, and Chad Leslie in white. Chad gave a short talk translated by Kami in superb Chinese on Xing and its plans. Next year the studio hopes to host a major arts festival on the property, and.is actively looking for material and financial support to upgrade their facilities. They take donations. Eagerly. Chad and Kami were both wonderfully friendly, giving me a warm welcome and insisting we stay when we had to leave early. Kami makes a heckuva pasta salad.

After the opening ceremony, the group performed an African tale.

Next up was the internationally famous puppet troupe Chiu Ge. Here Chad and the very beautiful Ofelia make the announcement.

Unfortunately I didn't get any good photos...

Performing with the puppets.

The performances were excellent and our familiy enjoyed the shows very much. If you have a chance to see Xing in action, don't miss it.

[Taiwan]