Taiwanese dancer wins top award in festival

Wu Meng-ko, who joined the Tanz Theater Muenchen (TTM) dance troupe in Munich last August, also captured the Audience Award in the highly competitive solo-dance-theatre event.

The dance, performed by Wu in the festival and created by French choreographer Antonin Comestaz, also won the third prize in the choreography contest.

The 22-year-old dancer, who dropped out of Taipei National University of the Arts more than a year ago to pursue her dance career in Europe, said the dance performed called "SHE" requires not only dancing but also character rendition.

"I completely immersed myself in my own world while dancing, "Wu said in an interview with the Central News Agency. "It was probably this that fascinated and moved the audience and helped win the top audience award."

Competition at the event was fierce, Wu said, with only 18 of the 280 entries gaining nominations and only eight emerging as finalists after three days of dancing.

The Stuttgart accolades come on the heels of her success in January when she successfully auditioned for the Nederlands Dans Theatre (NDT) -- a Dutch dance group that dancers from around the world dream to join.

"It's a dream come true because I have long yearned to join the NDT No. 2 group, " said Wu, the first Taiwanese dancer to join the troupe.

After overcoming initial difficulties, Wu said she has grown accustomed to the European lifestyle and cultural environment.

In the past, Wu said she felt Taiwan was a well-informed society, with information circulating rapidly.

"I came to understand that Taiwan remains a relatively closed society only after I came to Europe," she said.

Touching on her career goals, Wu said she will stay with European dance groups for some time to come because Europe boasts a liberal environment for artistic pursuit.

In Europe, she said, one need not care about others' views or tastes and there are no set standards to determine right or wrong.

"I feel quite free and want to stay here to pursue my dream, "she added.

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