Frisky Fringe Festival
By Jacqueline Vong

 

Macao residents are attracted by the Czech silent drama.	Dancers practice for the “Opera Mobile.”

Have you felt the festive air in our city?

The Macao Fringe Festival 2001 (October 27 - November 18) features a wide range of arts and performances including the Chinese sand sculpture, Costa Rica fire arts, a Japanese human puppet show, Czech silent drama, Hong Kong motorcycle environmental theater, Macao solo dancing and so on.

Fringe festivals prevail in countries that emphasize cultural development. They are the events in which artists of all stripes have opportunities to show off their talents and also inspirational ideas. 

The objectives of fringe festivals are to promote creativity, develop modern arts, reflect life and behaviour, enhance citizens' participation, and display the characteristics of host cities. Such events are usually very lively; locations of performance can be set anywhere in a city. They attract artists as well as tourists around the world to enjoy fascinating arts and performances. 

Macao has hosted an annual Fringe Festival since 1999. It is not only a good chance for local residents to get a glimpse of cultures and arts from different parts of the world, but also an opportunity to let outsiders know more about the culture of Macao. Thus, hosting the Fringe Festival is beneficial to the cultural image of Macao.

"Macao is in a proper position to host the Fringe Festival," a Hong Kong active artist Edwin Lung said. Having staged a circuit performance in Europe, Lung was commissioned to be a producer in some art festivals in Europe. In this year's Macao Fringe Festival, Lung cooperates with local dancers and a motorcade to produce a fresh performance "Opera Mobile."

Lung said, "In Macao, there are a number of architectures and restful parks such as Largo do Senado that are full of unique characteristics of Macao. They are the good elements to match up with the objectives of the Fringe Festival. More residents would have an opportunity to watch the show while it is performed in an open plaza." 

In Lung's opinion, art organizations in Macao usually do not cooperate with each other to produce performance. Through this event, they would have a good start to begin the development. He also mentioned that Macao is a very small city, in order to promote Macao, cultural exchanges are very helpful. 

Stella Ho, a dancer of the Macao Violet Dance Association, has participated twice in the Fringe Festival. She will play a part in the "Opera Mobile." 

"I am glad to join this festival," said Ho. "This is my second time to cooperate with Hong Kong directors. They are full of talent so that I can learn a lot from them. They are also very nice, too. They know that Macao dancers seldom give creative performances, they are willing to teach us."

Actually, there are eight dancers from the Macao Violet Dance Association who will participate in the "Opera Mobile." They all agreed that it is their pleasure to take part in the Fringe Festival and have a chance to communicate with artists from other places.