In 2023 Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs arranged for Diabolo Dance Theatre to perform in the Philippines and Brunei, where the dancers delighted local audiences with Light of Life, a classic production that marks a new pinnacle of achievement for this 37-year-old troupe.

In the Philippines, Diabolo not only put on performances but also showed local children how to play the diabolo. (courtesy of Cai Huaiqiang, FCCEA)

Bringing Taiwan to the Philippines

The Philippines was the first stop on Diabolo’s performing tour. Lasting from October 9 till 11, the dancers’ stay in the Philippines coincided with the National Day of the Republic of China (October 10). A 20-minute condensed performance of Light of Life was given at the National Day reception in Pasay City before the full version was performed at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium in Makati City and then at the auditorium of the Filipino–Chinese Cultural and Economic Association (FCCEA) at Liberty Hall in Binondo, Manila.

In their performances, the dancers’ deft movements are enhanced by music, lights, and projected images, their diabolos sometimes coming to the fore and sometimes receding into the background. They also adroitly deploy other elements such as dance and acrobatics to tell a colorful story of how life embarks upon a journey of exploration.

Light of Life has no libretto, and the song of the Goddess of the Sea in the performance is a mélange of various Austronesian languages spoken by Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. Even so, the audiences in the Philippines were entranced.

Diabolo’s performances were interspersed with intervals when the dancers invited audience members to join them on stage. There, the participants experienced the excitement of making a diabolo spin and glide across a string, as if they had become wizards conjuring and controlling ethereal spirits with their wands. After the shows, they also received diabolo sets as free gifts. The viewers were all very keen to take part.

With a resilience and versatility founded in several ­decades of touring experience, the troupe has made a name for itself on the global stage. Writing for Scottish Field in August 2022, for example, Jeremy Welch recommended Diabolo’s performance of Light of Life at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe: “Get tickets, you won’t regret it.”

In the Philippines, the performance at Liberty Hall, where Diabolo rechoreographed Light of Life by breaking the fourth wall, was especially noteworthy.

Liu Le-chun, Diabolo’s founder and director, felt mesmerized by the thunderous applause that brought each of the troupe’s performances to a close. “I got a great deal of positive energy from the audiences’ reactions.” He tells us about a memorable occurrence. At the end of the second day of Diabolo’s tour, Liu was approached by Badette Cunanan, public relations manager at the Manila Bulletin, the Philippines’ highest-­circulation English-language newspaper. Congratulating Liu, Cunanan said she was so moved by the beautiful performance that she wanted to visit Taiwan. Liu was delighted to learn that Diabolo’s performances were resonating with people in different countries and sparking an interest in Taiwan.

Liu Le-chun, director of Diabolo, wants his troupe’s performances to strike a chord with all, not just a few connoisseurs. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

Diabolo Dance Theatre is adept at combining the dancers’ rhythmic movements and creative manipulations of the diabolo with projected images, lighting, and music.

(courtesy of TECO Brunei Darussalam)

photos courtesy of TECO Philippines

Building friendly ties in Brunei

Diabolo’s next stop was Brunei, where they stayed from October 19 to 23. With the help of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Brunei Darussalam, Diabolo put on two performances in the art center at Jerudong International School (JIS) in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei, winning the applause of foreign diplomats and local officials.

Diabolo also performed at Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam in Kampong Bengkurong, the first school in Brunei for pupils with special educational needs.

Despite the school settings, the dancers brought their full range of professional equipment and expertise to present essential episodes from Light of Life. After­wards, they held workshops to show the students how to play the diabolo and use other traditional acro­batic apparatus.

At JIS, there was a student who enthusiastically interacted with the dancers even though he couldn’t speak Chinese. Even after the day’s events, he came up to ask the dancers to teach him more diabolo tricks. Every­one there was impressed by his eagerness.

On October 24, Diabolo appeared on the front page of the Borneo Bulletin—Brunei’s leading English-­language newspaper—which reported on the dancers’ performance and acrobatics workshop for the students at Pusat Ehsan. Titled “A Little Help from Friends,” the report is illustrated by a series of photographs of the events. It represents a diplomatic milestone.

Diabolo visited Jerudong International School and Pusat Ehsan in Brunei, where the dancers hosted circus workshops for the students and teachers. (courtesy of TECO Brunei Darussalam)

Liu Le-chun says that the song of the Goddess of the Sea in Light of Life brings together the Austronesian languages spoken by Taiwan’s indigenous peoples. (courtesy of TECO Brunei Darussalam)

In this scene evoking a fiery world, Diabolo combines martial arts with strong lighting effects and music to create a stunning visual and aural impact. (courtesy of TECO Brunei Darussalam)

A collective project

The troupe’s achievements are made possible by the performers’ unwavering perseverance in the pursuit of art and beauty.

Karen Wang, director of the Culture Center of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines, escorted the dancers 17 years ago when they first performed in the Southeast-Asian country. She is perhaps best placed to comment on Diabolo’s progress. Liu Le-chun recalls her remark that “Diabolo has grown not just a little in the last ten years or so, but by leaps and bounds.”

Liu thanked Wang for the generous praise, but being a humorous soul he couldn’t resist asking her: “Do you mean leaping up or down?” Resuming in a serious tone, Liu tells us that Diabolo has never been a one-man job. Rather, as a “collective creative project,” it owes its accomplishments to the “organic connections” within the entire team. The rationale may sound simple, but the actual process is full of challenges. For Liu, however, this collaborative model represents the best way in which Taiwan can impress the world.

Diabolo’s hard-won expertise is not easily duplicated. In addition to captivating audiences with wonderfully rich productions, Diabolo attracted the attention of the Canadian entertainment company Cirque du Soleil, which proposed a merger with the troupe several years ago. Liu didn’t take up the offer.

“I was grateful for their recognition. However, I felt that if we were to join them, we wouldn’t be able to carry on fulfilling what I thought was Diabolo’s ­destiny.”

So how exactly do we define Diabolo? Liu says: “At Diabolo we’re not confined to any particular kind of performance; we don’t see ourselves as bearing any resemblance to others. We just share one vital vision called ‘Diabolo.’”

Embodied in Diabolo’s logo—a circle symbolizing infinity—this is a vision that embraces endless creative ideas.

True to their repudiation of all restraints in their performances, the dancers invite people of all ages to sail with them to a Neverland where, like Peter Pan, we can explore happily on the wings of imagination. “This is something we were born with; it’s a gift we all share,” says Liu, who is always happy to see children and their parents discussing the stories unfolding on the stage. “We want everyone to be able to create their own stories in the theater.”

Liu Le-chun’s vision for Diabolo continues to shine thanks to the passion and dedication of his team of artists.

(courtesy of TECO Brunei Darussalam)