NEW YORK–The Beacon Theater on Broadway will host a traditional Chinese gala this Christmas season. The gala, titled Holiday Wonders and hosted by NTD Television, is the first all-inclusive Chinese arts performance to be held at the Beacon Theater, one of New York's historic landmarks.
Performance Focuses on Chinese Culture and Traditional Characteristics
The Holiday Wonders show includes folk dances from different cultural groups in China. The dances are used to portray the kind nature of the Chinese people. This is in contrast to China's recent history under the Chinese Communist Party, where dance is often used to sing praises for a certain leader or regime.
The choreographers studied ancient Chinese dance and have incorporated movements from these ancient dances. The dance movements also include elements from Beijing Opera and martial arts, which are considered the essence of traditional Chinese culture.
Ms. Xu Li, one of the gala directors, explained how dance is used to showcase traditional Chinese culture. Some of the Chinese dances are modeled after ancient cave paintings in Dunhuang, including the movements of the Bodhisattvas and the heavenly beauties.
Traditional dances focus on the curves of the movements—the body leads the movements. There is a circular motion in the dances, similar to the movements of Tai-chi and Beijing Opera. The steps are in circles, the hands move in circles, and the fingers are curved. Traditional dances are very peaceful. By contrast in modern dances the movements lead the body, which is similar to ballet. In folk dance, every ethnic group has its own style and costumes unique to the group.
The subject, structure, music and movements are woven together by artists and choreographers with extensive experience in traditional arts. The writer and director choose the subject and the structure (what each dance segment portrays) while the musicians write the music. Music is the soul of dance, and determines its rhythm, mood, style and length. After the music is composed, the directors will design the choreography.
The dances with their historic themes express the charactistics of loyalty, filial piety, kindness, righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Such dances are consistent with the personalities and emotions of the Chinese people, and are truly of China. These were the characteristics of Chinese people before the Chinese Communist Party came to power. These characteristics have been passed down through the ages in China.
The dance themes and movements demonstrate upright traditional culture and the lighting, sets, and music need to reflect this. The light needs to be bright and from the front, rather than using light from the side, against the direction of the audience, or using dark colors.
Broadway Opens Up to the Original Chinese Culture
Mr. Shi Zangshan, a Washington D.C.-based China expert, discussed the appearance of traditional Chinese arts on Broadway. He believes that Eastern Asia was historically the economic and cultural center of the world. In the last two hundred years, the world's focus has shifted to the west for various reasons.
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