Opening Ceremonies
The Organising Committee of the 21st Summer Deaflympics recruited acclaimed Taiwanese playwright and theatre director Dr. Stan Lai as the Games' Art Director, and to orchestrate the opening and closing ceremonies.
According to Stan Lai, ceremony general director, the opening of the Deaflympics will be a "memorable event that will call forth the beauty of the human heart and reach out to the deaf community." It will be divided into 12 acts, including a performance titled "Impossible Dream" by renowned Taiwanese model Patina Lin. Completely covered in body paint, Lin will float across a 50-meter projection screen to create the illusion of a goddess walking through air and water. She will also perform along with children from schools for the hearing-impaired, using sign language to express the message of "Power in Me," Lai said.
World-renowned deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie has been invited to perform at the opening ceremony, as well as the local drumming group U-Theatre, and more than 80 children from schools for the hearing-impaired in Taipei and Taichung cities, according to Lai.
The team from the People's Republic of China did not attend the opening ceremony. Neither side has officially give then reason, although most news sites are attributing it to the Dalai Lama's recent trip to Taiwan. The People's Republic of China had previously not attended the opening of the World Games which was held in Kaohsiung earlier in the year. Nonetheless, China has sent 63 hearing impaired dancers from the Mainland China to perform the "1,000 hand Bodhisattva" at the ceremony.
Read more about this topic: 2009 Summer Deaflympics
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