Tan Dun supports "Young Talents Program"

The conceptual and multifaceted Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun took part in the on-going Shanghai International Arts Festival. Now in its 14th year, the festival for the first time will unveil the results of its "Young Talents Program" which Tan Dun supports.

The program selects and cultivates young artists from across the country. Among the seven commissioned works that premiered at the festival, we get an up-close look at a young freelance theater director named, Wang Chong and his new-wave theater performance.

In pursuit of the theme "Shanghai Dream", Wang Chong brought to the stage his experimental play "The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai", adapted from the Chinese masterpiece of the same name, the first novel written in the Shanghai dialect. But the title of Wang's work has been given an extra "2.0."

Wang Chong, independent theater director, said, "The 2.0 references to the way we manage the theater."

This isn't the first time Wang's multi-media theater performances have dazzled the domestic audience. In June, his "Thunderstorm 2.0" hit Beijing, creating quite the storm. The play was rated one of the 30 best Chinese small theater performances of the past 3 decades. But despite its acclaim, new-wave drama is still something new in China.

Wang Chong said, "As a leading experimental force, we really want to change the way theater is made in China."

Driven by that ambition, Wang wants to take full advantage of the platform provided by the Shanghai International Arts Festival, which offers generous financial and artistic support. A professional panel made up of China's leading artists was set up to select and mentor the commissioned programs. The panel is chaired by world-renowned composer Tan Dun. He believes the project, if carried on, will have a major impact on China's future.

Tan Dun said, "I absolutely love to work with young people. They are the future."

Wang Chong said, "They know how to treat artists, freedom."

Wang graduated from Peking University with a double bachelor's degree in law and economics. Then he went to the US to study drama. Wang believes his knowledge of law and economics benefits his artistic creation by providing a solid understanding of human behavior.

Now a freelance director with his own theater, Wang's art career is taking off. And he is grateful for the position he's in now.

Wang Chong said, "We are the generation, best opportunity."

After his premier at the festival, Wang is planning to put his new show on in Beijing next month, "The complete Dramatic Works of Henrik Ibsen." Combining 27 masterpieces into one play, Wang says it was quite the challenge.

But for Wang Chong and other rising young artists in China, a challenge is precisely what they seek.