WEBVTT

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This is our rehearsal field.

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Actually, we call it worker’s shelter.

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In tribal life, there used to be

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hunter’s shelter for hunting

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and farmer’s shelter for farmers.

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A day started from and ended in

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those working shelters.

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Because rehearsing is something that

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can be traced back to daily life.

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That’s why we call it worker’s shelter.

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When I was in the 2nd year of elementary school,

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my parents took me out from the tribe

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to live in a city.

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So, there was in fact a period of time

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where I hid my identity.

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That I concealed my indigenous identity.

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Then I saw Formosa Aboriginal Singing and Dance Troupe performed.

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As an audience sitting under the stage, I was

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overcome with emotion.

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The emotion was so intense

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that I shed tears.

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So, I decided that

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I wanted

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to join them.

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Ever since joining

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the Formosa Aboriginal Singing and Dance Troupe

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have I started to realize who I am

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and

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to develop some imagination and ideas

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towards dancing.

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The point is, you put a stick here

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and then

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don’t drop it.

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I left the Troupe

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in 2012.

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I saw something

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that I’ve never seen when I was in the Troupe.

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During this period of time,

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I’ve encountered plenty of young people.

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They often told me that

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when they cannot even ear

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their own living,

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they don’t have the capacity to think about

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passing down cultural heritage.

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So, I established TAI Body Theatre.

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And I’ve been working with

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topics about situation.

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It’s not just a situation that tribe encounters

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but a general concept of how I face the environment.

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I think it might become

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the source of my creative ideas.

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It’s like the pattern

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when we weave.

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Its pace

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and what it’s composed of

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is a pattern.

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As for foot-stomping notes,

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there was a time

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when I took a train

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and I had no seat.

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So, I stood by the door.

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The train had its own rhyme.

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A clicking “ka-da” sound.

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I stomped my feet along with the rhyme.

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As I stomped on,

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I couldn’t explain why.

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But suddenly

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an idea struck.

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I took a pen and paper

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and wrote down those notes.

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It might be that

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every time when I participate

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ceremonies in tribe

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I’d always wonder if people stop singing

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what sound will there be?

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There’d be stomping sound.

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Okay, let’s do a foot-stomping movement.

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Okay.

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5

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6

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7

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8

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Good. Keep your legs straight

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and relax.

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Your hands should follow

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the status of your body.

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When dancing groups who are dealing with

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indigenous themes

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perform,

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sometimes they use

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a western concept towards body

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or point of view under western context

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to exam an indigenous body.

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So, I’m wondering

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if it’s possible

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to establish a whole new

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body system

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through our own traditional music and dances.

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Start when you are ready.

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Try to feel everything around you.

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In our language,

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rhythm is called “lmlug”.

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lmlug can be vibration too

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but it can also mean unstable.

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And it can mean concept.

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Because

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one can only come up with an idea

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and concept

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when one is in an unstable situation.

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When we put ourselves

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in the mountains

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and in the rives,

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you’ll see that

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each person would present different aspects.

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People begin to use

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their connection with nature,

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starting from establishing

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the indigenous language

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and back to establishing the body itself.

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This is the part where I love the most.

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They’ll have to float

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and lie on the water.

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Then, they remain there in silence

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and feel.

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When you start to feel something,

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imaginations will come to you.

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In fact,

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before joining TAI

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I literally

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have zero experience

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in indigenous music and dancing.

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I was trained in a more western method

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from high school to university.

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When I join TAI,

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I realize that

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people can be so intimate with each other

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during the process of dancing.

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Through dancing,

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we gradually

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try to tell everyone

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who we really are.

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We gradually

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use our own identity

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as indigenous people

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to create a type of dance

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that belongs to us.

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I have never

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thought of giving up on this.

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Art creation for me

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is not work

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or something that

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I earn material with.

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It is something that

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satisfies my whole being.