TAIWANfest Vancouver: Flamenco de Formosa

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Cost: $23.00
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Step into the Heartbeat of Taiwan - featuring Hsueh Yu-Hsien & Genio Dance Group - presented by Vancouver TAIWANfest Asian-Canadian Special Events Association [ACSEA]The story of Taiwan through Spanish Dance,

Tracing Life's Steps through Three Generations' Journeys
Legend has it that the musically and dance-gifted Romani left North India and embarked on a wandering journey, with some settling in Andalusia in southern Spain. They absorbed Spanish culture while retaining their unique cultural perspective. Flamenco, rooted in grassroots traditions, speaks to the beauty and sorrow of ordinary people, with dancers like red flowers blooming with all their might in a tragic tale.

During wartime, Liao Ho’s father fled to Taiwan. Ho was born into a "Taro and Sweet Potato" (mainlander and Taiwanese) family and at 19 saw her soul in Flamenco—a wild, untamed essence in each step and glance. Her brief time learning dance in Madrid was both her happiest and most regretful period. Her daughter, Hsueh Yu-Hsien, also went to Madrid at 12, experiencing a tumultuous journey between Taiwan and Spain. In 2022, she became a permanent dancer at Bailarina de Ballet Nacional de España, continuing to tell her story and that of her island through her creations.

They are passionate and resilient, striving forward with every step even in the hardest times.


HSUEH YU-HSIEN
Member of Ballet Nacional de España/ Flamenco Choreographer

Hsueh Yu-Hsien started learning dance from her mother when she was three. At the age of twelve, she was the first trainee of Chinese descent to enter the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza Mariemma to study Spanish classical dance. Yu-Hsien once represented the school in a solo dance competition and reached the finals, receiving the affirmation and recognition of local Spanish dancers. In 2014, she graduated from the Dept. of Spanish Classical Dance as the top student.

In 2016, Yu-Hsien chose to return to her hometown to share with children in Taiwan what she’d learned and cultivated in Spain. Yu-Hsien became Genio Dance’s director in 2018, and she started to serve as a dance teacher in Kaohsiung Municipal Taoyuan Junior High School and the artist-in-residence in Nan’ao Wuta Elementary School. From dancing in the city to dancing in the mountains, Yu-Hsien brought art resources and arts education to rural villages, providing the opportunity to learn professional dance. In addition, Yu-Hsien established a dancer training class in Genio Dance, drawing from the professional lessons of her alma mater to teach Taiwanese children, building blueprints of aspiration for Taiwanese young dancers.

GENIO DANCE COMPANY
Genio Dance was founded by Lian Ho in 2000, with the idea to choreograph Flamenco de　Formosa, a flamenco dance of the Taiwanese. The company cultivates flamenco dance and creativity, despite its non-mainstream status in Taiwanese performance arts. Their choreography blends ballet, contemporary dance, flamenco, and the music of the local Taiwanese. Their philosophy is an ongoing pondering of how to combine Taiwanese and Spanish cultures, merged with the endless inspiration of flamenco to create an original dance that transcends borders. The company is also invested in professional training for Spanish dance, breaking through the superficial impression of flamenco dance. Dancers also learn jazz, contemporary, and ballet alongside flamenco, channeling vivid expressions of the body and mind to the audience, presenting the exhilarating breath of freedom to people everywhere who love art and life.

As Genio Dance’s director, Lian Ho constantly works on performance art and humanities year round. From performing in a theatre to every corner to be found, she regards the sky and the land as a stage. Lian Ho has devoted herself to artistic care and art education in the long term since 2009.

Since Typhoon Morakot, Genio Dance began travelling from the mountain to the sea, through remote areas and devastated places. The dance company visited the Indigenous tribes and rural villages, and through dancing, helped to bring courage and healing from the trauma of the natural disasters, encouraging children to chase their dreams. In addition to bringing performance art into these villages, Lian Ho also launched the Taiwan Veteran’s House Touring Show Project. Every year they dance through sixteen veterans’ houses in Taiwan, paying respect to the former soldiers by dancing, embracing them with warmness and care.
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