Diabolo Dance Theatre of Taiwan
7:00 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007
Taylor Performing Arts Center
Admission: free

The Diabolo Dance Theatre of Taiwan has merged traditional diabolo with contemporary dance and gymnastics, becoming the first artistic performing group to combine these creative elements with theatrical ideas. These young performers, ranging in age from 8 to 24, have mastered the skills of playing diabolo with musical rhythm, ballet, gymnastics, jazz, and martial arts. Diabolos have been one of the most popular toys for children in China for over 4,000 years. Spinning, tossing, swinging, looping, and bouncing are the five basics in playing the diabolo. For better control of the rolling diabolo, a player needs to learn how to breathe along with the movement and how to concentrate on the flying diabolo.