Lotus Blooms on Shanghai Stage, Dunhuang Murals "Step Out" of Grottoes Dunhuang | Lotus | Murals
On August 12th and 13th, Zhao Xiaogang's classic work "Xianwuren Theater" and the second installment of the Fat Tang and Thin Song series "Lotus" will once again come to Shanghai and perform for two consecutive nights at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center.
The dance drama "Lotus" continues the creative ideas of Dunhuang dance dramas, using dance to construct traditional cultural relics. It tells the story of Dunhuang color sculptor "Le Ting", who starts from his perception of the truth, goodness, and beauty of lotus flowers, fearless of the cold, and goes through countless hardships to create the story of lotus clay sculptures. Through three chapters of "shaping", "walking", and "parting", it depicts the process of sculptors constantly seeking and discovering themselves.
Lotus is not limited to expressing personal emotions, but focuses more on interpreting the spiritual world. In the drama, "lotus" is the core image of the entire dance drama, with a noble and holy character throughout. In terms of dance performance, modern dance elements are integrated into the personalized movements and postures of Dunhuang dance, and a series of colorful dance segments with strong appreciation are also set up, such as Yaquan dance, Blue Lotus dance, Stone Lotus dance, Vajra Luohan Lotus dance, Red Lotus dance, White Lotus dance, Qibaochi dance, etc.
As a 2015 National Art Fund funded project produced by the "Xianwuren Theater" in Beijing, "Lotus" has gathered a top-notch cast of domestic creators. After its premiere, it has toured in more than 30 cities across the country. "At the age of 11, Zhao Xiaogang started learning Dunhuang dance. Perhaps the legacy left by his ancestors has turned into a muscle and bone, growing deep in my body." At the age of 11, Zhao Xiaogang studied Dunhuang dance performance under Gao Jinrong, and his creations have won gold medals in national dance competitions multiple times. "Xianwuren Theater" was established in 2009, with top domestic dancers joining each large-scale work. The series of dance theaters such as "Fat Tang and Thin Song", "Lotus", "Journey to the West", and "Dance of Life" provide a lot of opportunities for the new generation of dancers to practice on stage. Among the performers of the dance drama "Lotus" throughout history are today's star dancers such as Li Xiang, Hu Yang, Shao Junting, Wang Zihan, and Li Yanchao.
This tour is the fifth tour of the dance drama "Lotus". There will be two sets of cast members in the Shanghai station, starring the seventh generation "sculptor" Huang Chendi, "" colored sculptor "Wang Yihan, and the fifth generation" sculptor "Xu Liang and" colored sculptor "Huang Lufei. Top domestic dancers such as Shen Xubin, Sun Qiuyue, Zhu Lei, Shi Renqi, and Xu Zhihui will respectively play Dunhuang characters such as" Flying Feather Man, "" Wonderful Sound Heavenly Maiden, "" 57 Caves Beauty Bodhisattva, "and" Bingdilian. ".
According to Yu Ping, a consultant of the China Association of Literary Critics, Zhao Xiaogang, as a director, is familiar with "Dunhuang dance", but does not flaunt it. "The Lotus" makes us understand that the modernity of dance creation is not due to the variety of dance vocabulary, but rather to the foresight and foresight of life beliefs. Classical dance is an action form that accumulates traditional cultural connotations, and can strengthen national connotations and spirits in the expression of contemporary themes. Chinese classical dance has also become the soul of contemporary Chinese dance by exploring the origin of Chinese dance. "
The the Mogao Grottoes of Dunhuang, which has lasted for thousands of years, has accumulated rich mural and painted sculpture resources, creating a profound music and dance museum. Dunhuang is an important source of dance creation. In the early 20th century, Mei Lanfang first created a theatrical dance scene of Dunhuang mural dance music in "The Heavenly Maiden Scatters Flowers"; In 1954, Dai Ailian's duet "Feitian" became the source of Dunhuang dance's contemporary development; In the late 1970s, the dance drama "Silk Road Flower Rain" became a model for inheriting Dunhuang art. Dancer and educator Gao Jinrong, starting from Dunhuang culture, established the dance art status of Dunhuang dance from both practical and theoretical perspectives.
