When Li Hanzhong, artistic director of Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company, was invited to do a dance show for the 70th anniversary of a celebrated speech on art and literature delivered by late Chairman Mao Zedong at the former revolutionary base of Yan'an on May 23, 1942, he thought about it for a while.
The theme of the show didn't seem like a natural fit for Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company, which was started by Willy Tsao in 2005.
"Our dance shows are all about pure art and are not part of the mainstream. So I was not sure about the 'red' show," Li says.
For LDTX, China's first independent modern dance company, the 20 million yuan ($3.14 million) show was a big challenge.
In 2007, Li was invited by Zhang Xiaoke, general manager of Shaanxi Tourism Corporation Group, to participate in the show, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow.
Li's pioneering choreography impressed Zhang, who wanted him to do a show for Shaanxi's red tourism destination - Yan'an.
Li and his team focused on Yan'an Nursery School, which is also the title of the show, and tells of the stories that happened there.
Yan'an Nursery School, founded in July 1938 by Shaanxi's government, was home to the children of officials, soldiers and revolutionary martyrs, including Deng Lin, daughter of Deng Xiaoping, Ren Yuanfang, daughter of Ren Bishi, and Li Peng, son of Li Shuoxun.
To reflect the life of Yan'an Nursery School, Zhang's company interviewed more than 200 people connected with the school.
The show - a combination of dancing, singing and acting - tells the story of a boy, who loses his parents in the war and grows up at the school.
He Guofeng and Li Hui, two folk singers from Shaanxi, contribute their voices to the show. Multimedia installations and folk drum dances are also featured.
"We don't concentrate on red culture but on the love and care the children got at the school," Li says. "The love between a mother and child is universal."
Ma Bo, the principal choreographer, says the 80-minute show is true to the spirit of modern dance. It has four chapters and a prologue, gathering 14 dancers from LDTX and 17 child actors, ages 5-11.
By Chen Nan (China Daily)
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