Dance Drama Celebrates Dunhuang Culture
Expect a wave of fascination with Dunhuang dance to soon sweep the city as the dance show, Sentiment of Dunhuang is due to premiere at the Shenzhen Auditorium on Nov. 20.
Dunhuang dance combines ethnic dance styles from central and western China. The show is one of the cultural activities to be held as part of the First International Cultural Industry Fair in Shenzhen from Nov. 18 through 22. It will be staged at the Shenzhen Auditorium on three consecutive days.
Shenzhen audience are no strangers to Dunhuang dance because two dance dramas--"Rain of Flowers on the Silk Road" and "Great Dreams on Dunhuang"-- have been staged in Shenzhen before. "The Sentiment of Dunhuang" will feature some traditional music instruments imitating those on frescoes from Mogao Grottoes, such as harp, bamboo flute and zither. It aims to present the audience a panoramic view of Dunhuang art.
"The Sentiment of Dunhuang can be called a living fossil of Dunhuang culture," said Peng Deming, general director of Gansu Opera Academy.
Dunhuang's frescos contain many famous images as depicted in various Buddhist stories. These graceful artistic images often reflected daily life in China. In the late 1980s, after studying these frescos closely, leading Chinese dance experts created a special Silk Road-style dance, which originated from Dunhuang dance. With breathtaking beauty and elegance, this cultural performance reflects China's rich and distinctive dance tradition.
The first Dunhuang dance drama staged was the "Rain of Flowers on the Silk Road" presented by the Gansu Dunhuang Art Academy of China in Beijing on May 23, 1979. It was an overwhelming success, which later swept through the whole country and won various national dance awards. This piece made Dunhuang dance famous and popular and it is now acclaimed as a model of traditional Chinese dance dramas worldwide.
Over the past 20 years, the "Rain of Flowers on the Silk Road" has been staged for more than 1,300 times. The elegant image of a flying dance girl playing the pipe has been well received and won the hearts of audiences at home and abroad. Dance dramas nurtured by Dunhuang culture also include the Heavenly Horse, Great Dreams on Dunhuang and the Sentiment of Dunhuang presented by the provincial opera academy.
Source: newsgd.com
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