BALTIMORE—Leon Chao, one of the principal dancers in the Divine Performing Arts on Tour (DPA), arrived in Baltimore a day before the Holiday Wonders Chinese Music and Dance show to be performed at the Lyric Opera House on Tuesday, December 18, 2007.
Originally from Columbia, Maryland, he is excited to come back to his hometown area. Although it's time for finals, his old friends in Columbia are going to take the evening off and go to the Lyric and see his performance.
Trained first as a martial artist, Leon Chao brings to his dance an unusual combination of strength and levity. In 2004 he was a guest performer in the NTDTV Chinese New Year Spectacular. In 2006 he joined the Divine Performing Arts and was a lead dancer in the popular Herding on the Mongolian Plains, in which he wowed audiences with his tumbling techniques.
In July of 2007 he was a finalist in the Men's Adult Category of the first International Chinese Classical Dance Competition, where he received an Honorable Mention.
"I'm proud that I'm more and more a true Chinese," he said proudly, citing his fluent Chinese and his understanding of Chinese history and culture.
As a second generation Chinese American, he has gained a lot of new understandings of Chinese traditional values upon joining the DPA. He said that he has found his identity through Chinese classical dance.
"Chinese heroes are not about muscles," Chao said. Performing in several dances last year depicting China's legendary heroes, Chao says that more important than jumping high and showing strength are exhibiting the values of the culture, which is the difficult part of the dances.
One of the dances he performed last year was about Yue Fei, the famous general in Southern Song Dynasty known for his brilliant military strategies and feats. Yue Fei faced a dilemma of fighting for China but leaving his old mother at home or taking care of his old mother by not joining the war to protect China. His mother tattooed the four Chinese characters on his back in preparation for battle, which read "serve the country loyally."
There were a few Chinese Kung-Fu fighting scenes in the dance, which were Chao's forte. However, the most impressive scene for him was when Yue Fei's mother first appeared on stage, all Yue's soldiers bowed to her. From the young soldiers' behaviors, their leader Yue Fei's virtue of respecting parents showed naturally. "From Yue Fei, I see that Chinese heroes are wise, humble and considerate of others."
Chinese classical dance stresses the rhythm of movements. There is a principle called "Hold back before going forward, Go right first if one wants to turn left." It sounds like the basics of body movement. This amazes Chao because he says he experiences the work of ying-yang balance in it.
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