The most beautiful scenery in Taipei today: 40 clowns dancing on the street and giving hugs

Reporter: Yu    / Taipei photography and reporting

If you can't fly with angels, dance with clowns. On the 16th of this month, Taipei’s streets were graced with a unique, colorful parade as a group of brightly dressed clowns walked along the road, dancing and singing as they went. When they encountered passersby, they would stretch out their hands and smile, asking, “Can we give you a hug?”


▲%The reported scene took place on the street, featuring a rare burst of rainbow-colored clown energy.








The most captivating part of this special parade wasn’t the clowns themselves, but the surprised and delighted expressions on the faces of those they embraced. “Our dream is to spread joy to everyone,” said Huang Guanying, 24, the initiator of the parade and one of the co-founders of the “Contemporary Clown Studio.” Her first impression is one of enthusiasm and thoughtful care.

In 2010, Huang Guanying traveled to Italy, where she happened to attend a training workshop led by renowned local contemporary clown trainer Alessio di Modica. Greatly inspired during the workshop, she wanted to bring this concept back to Taiwan. “There are so many people in Taiwan who are willing to lend a hand to others, and clowning is also a form of art therapy, yet no one had tried it before.” Sparked by that one workshop, Huang Guanying, along with Yang Ziwei, Chen Wanting, Lin Yuxuan, and others, began introducing Taiwan to the unique therapeutic power of clowning, allowing more people to experience it firsthand.


▲Contemporary Clown Studio.

Last May, Huang Guanying returned to Italy for further contemporary clown training and also invited Italian trainer Alessio to Taiwan to share the secrets of spreading laughter. “The most important thing in learning how to be a clown is understanding your own body.” Now in its second year, the Contemporary Clown Studio workshop recruited 40 participants this year. Starting with getting to know their own emotions, they learned to extend laughter through their bodies and expressions, letting every part of the body radiate clear moments of happiness.

“Walking down the streets of Taipei, no one makes eye contact with each other,” said Huang Guanying. When Italian clown trainer Alessio first arrived in Taipei, he noticed that in this tech-savvy city, very few people engage in genuine eye contact on the streets. “When the clown appeared in the metro station, everyone’s gaze changed—they stopped just staring at their screens and started smiling and connecting with us.”


??即0名小丑走上街头，唯一的目的，便是为了传播欢笑。




经过48小时的密集训练，40名小丑走上街头，唯一的目的，便是为了传播欢笑，小丑的路径从台北火车站步行至台大儿童医院。步行过程中，黄冠萤发现有名去年曾在人群中看过的游民，站在儿童医院的大楼里等待他们到来。“她告诉我，小丑的身上有一股特别的力量，只要是小丑经过的街道，马路上都会有欢乐的气氛。”




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“有一次遇到一名坐在上轮椅的爷爷，我们其中一名团员想过去跟他合照，爷爷一直说不要。”讲起在马路上与人互动的过程，黄冠萤的语气中有哽咽也有感动，“后来慢慢的跟爷爷讲话，他女儿鼓励他跟团员拍一张照片，爷爷照做了。”黄冠萤说，照完相之后，推著轮椅的女儿哭了，她说：“谢谢你们，我很久没有看到我爸爸笑了。”?br />
“如果不能和天使飞翔，就和小丑一起跳舞。”这是当代小丑工作室的口号，也是小丑们在街道上真正的实践。未来黄冠萤还有很多理想，希望有一天在亚洲各个国家，也能看见小丑们与人群跳舞的美丽模样。


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