Dance drama to bring Peking Opera star's creativity to the fore

To mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of legendary Peking Opera actor Mei Lanfang (1894-1961), Liaoning Song and Dance Troupe has produced a dance drama titled Mei Lanfang, which will be performed at Beijing's Poly Theater on Dec 9 and 10.

Luo Yichun, a former performer of the opera and now the troupe's director, has written the script for the dance drama.

The story of Mei, the biggest Peking Opera star in modern China, has been adapted into a movie, Forever Enthralled, which was directed by acclaimed director Chen Kaige in 2008, and a ballet by Guangzhou Ballet Troup in 2009.

However, according to Luo, all such adaptations focused on portraying the life story of the late master, and he wanted to make Mei Lanfang's creative mind the center of the dance drama.

"The dance drama is not a biography of Mei. We interpret how he revived Peking Opera traditions with his own creations, shaping a style of his own and giving birth to the Mei School," Luo, 54, tells China Daily.

Luo also adds that the show doesn't display the detailed life events of Mei but focuses on the late Peking Opera master's art philosophy and how he created his unique art style.

"We use abstract dance movements to tell the how the late master devoted himself into his career," he says.

The dance drama premiered in Shenyang city in Northeast China's Liaoning province, two months ago. After the Beijing performances, the troupe will take it to the rest of the country.

"My fathered learned many traditional Peking Opera works, which laid a firm foundation for his own creation. The advanced technology today helps decorate the stage and get notice by audiences, but remembering the roots of Peking Opera should always be the priority," says Mei Baojiu, an artist of the opera and the youngest son of Mei Lanfang.

Mei Baojiu is also the artistic director of the dance drama.

Yang Wei, the choreographer for the dance drama, says that she employs traditional Chinese dance, Chinese folk dance and contemporary dance to portray characters. Dancers of Liaoning Song and Dance Troupe perform - Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou - the opera's four different roles, and bring an onstage flare to them with the help of Mei Lanfang's monologues.

Yang says that the troupe produced the show to pay homage to the opera master but it's been a challenging task to display his achievements and personality through abstract dance movements.

"I have choreographed for many grand events and historical dance dramas earlier but this is my first time depicting a real artist. I wanted it to be soft and subtle but memorable," she says.

Yang spent a long time thinking about how to portray such a famous figure.

In her mind, Mei Lanfang was not only an outstanding Peking Opera performer, but also a great patriot, who stopped shaving his bread and fell ill on purpose so as to avoid performing for the Japanese occupational troops during the War of Resistance from 1937 to 1945.

"I tried to share our appreciation of that value with the audience," Yang adds.

IF YOU GO

7:30 pm, Dec 9 and 10. Poly Theater, Poly Plaza, 13 Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng district, Beijing. Tel: 400-610-3721.