The Downside of International Fame

It's been 15 years of very hard work since the founding of Legend Lin Dance Theatre. The troupe has been subsidized in the past by the Council for Cultural Affairs, and it continues to receive a bit of government support because it has achieved some success in Europe. But Legend Lin is always a low priority for funding agencies because it only does at most 10 performances per year in Taiwan. Legend Lin goes "unrecognized in its own land."

Lin Li-chen's husband Chen Nien-chou, opines that "the way they evaluate performance troupes needs to be changed." He feels that funding agencies are too formulaic in their thinking, e.g. one program requires a troupe to put on at least 30 shows a year, 10 of which must take place at major venues in Taiwan, and 10 of which must take place outside Taipei before the troupe can receive funding of NT$5 million. Another program offering NT$1.5 million has a minimum requirement of 12 performances per year.

"But the problem is," complains Chen, "how are you supposed to put on a decent performance of a major work that costs NT$10 million to prepare, in a community arts center or a school auditorium?"

To bring in the big revenues needed to pay the troupe's marquee performers a living wage, and in order to avoid the hassle of handling administrative tasks like ticket sales and marketing, Legend Lin has no choice but focus primarily on performing overseas, but funding agencies in Taiwan don't give the troupe any credit for the tremendous successes it has scored abroad. "It's absurd and unfair to even compare a performance at a national opera house in Europe with something at a little one- or two-hundred-seat theater in Taiwan."

Chen suggests switching to a points-based system, whereby a performance troupe is awarded points on the basis of such considerations as size of venue, ticket sale revenues, art critic reviews, news reports, and whether a troupe has produced a particular work on its own initiative or on commission. Dance troupes would gather such information themselves and provide it to funding agencies.

Despite the economic downturn, Legend Lin continues to win accolades overseas and serve as a "cultural ambassador" for Taiwan. The troupe would like nothing better, however, than to see its locally rooted dance receive greater local recognition, so that its success overseas wouldn't feel like such a tight wire act.