Taiwan Lantern Festival Warm-Up: 15 Taiwanese and Japanese Performance Groups Bring Energy to Qunmei CaoWuDao

▲ Hokkaido’s representative team “Dream Ripple,” showcasing vibrant energy with lively dance moves. (Photo by reporter Chen Ruizhong, same below)

Reported by Chen Ruizhong / Taichung

The 2015 Taiwan Lantern Festival is set to officially kick off today, the Yuanxiao Festival (March 5), in the Wuri High-Speed Rail Special Zone. In addition to lantern zones such as the Fengyuan Commercial District and Taichung Park, which have been lit up since the end of February, a lively street parade was specially arranged today at Qunmei CaoWuDao, using music and dance to warm up for the evening's lantern displays.

This year’s street parade featured not only the director of Tourism Bureau’s Oh Bear, but also Yosakoi performance teams from Tokyo, Hokkaido, Nagoya, Mie Prefecture, and Kochi Prefecture in Japan, as well as the Lan Yang Samba Dance Troupe, Chuan Lian Tang Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe, Wenhua High School Dance Troupe, and Youth High School Dance Troupe—all delivering performances rich in festive spirit and local Taiwanese character.

SeeMore photos from the Qunmei CaoWuDao street parade＜＜＜＜＜Click here

▲ Tokyo’s representative team “Samurai Yoshikatsu Maeda ONDO ‘Dancing People,’” dressed in full samurai armor.

The parade route started at the intersection of Section 2 of Taiwan Boulevard and Guanqian Road, proceeding toward the intersection of Guanqian Road and Gongyi Road. Each group stopped at designated spots along the way for spectacular song and dance performances, interacting energetically with the audience through dynamic movements, instantly transforming the tranquil Qunmei CaoWuDao into a joyful and artistic carnival.

Nagoya’s Shin’naka Matsuri representative team “?”, which has won multiple awards at major Japanese festivals, performed with a theme of “courage to move forward,” featuring strong, powerful movements and dance steps. Hokkaido’s Yosakoi student group Kitakazoku wore perfectly synchronized black outfits, bringing lively dance energy. Meanwhile, Hokkaido’s Dream Ripple, dressed in eye-catching colors and wielding fans, and the Jūnin Jūsai performance team—2014 champions of the Kochi Night Parade, wearing fan-shaped hats—performed vibrant dances full of Japanese flair with bright, upbeat music.

▲ The Kochi champions “Jūnin Jūsai.”

As for the Tokyo-based teams, they paraded in traditional samurai armor, carrying longbows and muskets, staging a “grand march” down CaoWuDao—but interspersed with Michael Jackson dance moves to the beat of music, earning thunderous applause from the crowd.

See more photos from the Qunmei CaoWuDao street parade＜＜＜＜＜Click here

Representing Taiwan, Wenhua High School showcased youthful vigor with American-style cheerleading, while Youth High School Dance Troupe delivered graceful performances themed around Hakka floral fabrics. Other highlights included the Electric Three Princes dancing to “Little Apple” and dragon dances, thrilling the crowd who eagerly took photos to mark the occasion.

▲ Enthusiastic samba dancers turned CaoWuDao into a super carnival.

The Taichung City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau stated that this street parade was planned in conjunction with the Taiwan Lantern Festival, aiming to let the public jointly welcome the vibrant event through performances by overseas groups and representative dance troupes from Taichung.

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