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Performing arts reach out to global audience
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MANY foreigners think of quintessential Chinese entertainment as acrobatics, martial arts and Peking Opera.
“But acts without good choreography and concepts don’t satisfy today’s foreign audiences, even though they showcase the classic beauty and charm of traditional Chinese arts,” says Zhu Ziyi, vice president of China Arts & Entertainment Group.
Zhu should know. Every year, he and his team take Chinese cultural performances abroad. China Arts & Entertainment Group was involved in the 1998 live production of Puccini’s opera “Turandot,” staged in Beijing’s Forbidden City where it was originally set, and directed by Zhang Yimou.
It was also involved in the production of multimedia spectacular “Era — Intersection of Time” and the Chinese versions of “Cats” and “Mamma Mia.”
Zhu’s team has also been working on original Chinese stage productions geared to both domestic and foreign tastes. “China Goes Pop!” is the latest offering.
This “crossover” show combines traditional elements of acrobatics, martial arts, shadow puppetry, physical comedy and traditional theater with pop music and art. It played to rave reviews at the Daning Theater last week.
Created in collaboration with Broadway Asia, the show is aiming to hit New York’s Broadway. Its international team of artists includes Simone Genatt Haft, Marc Routh, Patti Colombo and Shanda Sawyer.
Compared with most Chinese multimedia shows, “China Goes Pop!” takes a new look at an old genre. It’s a classic Chinese love story told with classic Broadway flashiness.
The storyline centers on an artist who finds the true love of his life and his muse. Different phases of their relationship are portrayed on stage, from their first meeting to a marriage proposal.
Traditional shadow puppetry combines with a laser show, while ribbon dancing and acrobatics on bicycles and roller-skates provide stunning visual effects with light and video projections. The elegant Chinese fan dance is also performed to the musical accompaniment of rock and roll.
“I like the show’s creative choreography and story setting,” says Joyce Yao, a local office worker. “Traditional Chinese art forms are ingeniously combined with a storyline of a couple’s love experiences. The pop music and dance in the show are fashionable and energetic. It all has great appeal to young audiences.”
Producer Zhu says it took more than a year to create the show. Following a nationwide tour in China, it will be staged in North America, Europe and other Asian countries next year.
“The show is a new and original attempt to reach and impress a wide global audience,” Zhu says. “It is time for domestic producers to change their mindset and develop a global vision for art. They need to learn the art of storytelling and how to present it with the distinctive charm of traditional arts.”
Zhu is not alone in seeking to woo global audiences.
In October, Zhang Jun, a UNESCO Artist for Peace in 2011, will stage his first Kunqu Opera adaptation of “Hamlet.” That follows a version of Shakespeare’s play staged by the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe, which was hailed by both critics and audiences when it played in Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands.
Zhang, who is known as the “prince of Kunqu,” will play title role in the new production. It’s the first time that “Hamlet” has been staged in the distinctive language of Kunqu Opera.
Zhang says it was difficult writing the script and the singing in a way that captured the traditional opera genre’s cultural roots. The show is expected to be presented in the United Kingdom next year.
China’s first original production to be staged on Broadway was the Shaolin kung fu drama “Soul of Shaolin.” Its success gave a boost of confidence to domestic producers.
The show was presented at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing and staged on Broadway for the Chinese Lunar New Year in January 2009. It incorporates martial arts and acrobatics in a storyline centered on Hui Guang, one of the first kung fu monks at the Shaolin Temple in the central Chinese province of Henan. “Soul of Shaolin” has been performed more than 500 times in China and overseas. It is considered a key cultural export project.
Another show sharing audience kudos is “Era — Intersection of Time,” produced by Shanghai Era Entertainment Ltd.
Since its debut in 2005, the show has been presented more than 4,000 times, drawing a combined audience of 4.2 million. It’s a multimedia spectacular connecting the past and present in China.
Shanghai Circus World officials describe the show as featuring rich elements of Chinese acrobatics, martial arts, modern dance, singing and extreme sports. Its staging has been a meticulous process because of the large number of props, the complicated stage sets and the high cost. Still, foreign audiences love it.
“If you can only attend one show while in China, this is definitely it,” one enthusiastic foreign fan wrote on a website. “The performers were insanely good, and the show is put together so well that each scene flows with the previous. Some of the stuff was just unbelievable.”
Those involved in producing shows that will appeal to both domestic and foreign audiences warn that there’s no time to rest on past laurels. Show producers and artists need to keep refining what they do and seek better ways of connecting with audiences.
“Storytelling is a good way to produce creative and entertaining spectacles,” says Chen Daming, a theater critic from the Shanghai Dramatists Association.
“We need artistic, powerful and thought-provoking works instead of superficial visual productions. We need to cultivate a fan base for this culture all over the world.”
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