On the evening of August 22, local time, as one of the "Focus on China" series of events, Yang Liping's modern dance drama "The Rite of Spring", jointly commissioned and co-produced by China Shanghai International Arts Festival and Edinburgh International Arts Festival, debuted at Edinburgh International Arts festival.
From August 3rd to 24th, a total of 6 plays were selected for this "Focus on China". Among them, two plays were invited to the stage of the Edinburgh International Arts Festival: the concert of Dvorak and Shostakovich of the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra conducted by Long Yu and the modern dance drama "The Rite of Spring" by Yang Liping. The chamber musical "Dream of Tang Xianzu" by the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, the children's musical "Blue Bird" by the Helen O'Grady Academy of Drama, the mythological stage "Zhong Kui" by Beijing Aita Culture and Art Co., Ltd. and the physical drama "by the UAL Performance Laboratory" "Qi" landed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
"The Rite of Spring"
this year's "Focus on China" selected repertoire, based on the classic mythology, national history and literary classics in the excellent traditional Chinese culture, combined with Western theater performance skills and creative theories, not only to upgrade the form of the repertoire, The targeted audience groups are also more diverse, which will bring an artistic feast of collision and integration of Chinese and Western cultures to the global audience of the festival.
held the "Focus on China" and charming Shanghai promotion event held after the performance on the 22nd. Representatives of Chinese and British government departments, heads of theater troupes and their representatives, creators of repertoires, representatives of cooperative institutions, representatives of British cultural and creative circles and media representatives, More than a hundred people including artists attended the event. Chen Wen, Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom, Fergus Lenahan, Director of Edinburgh International Arts Festival, Wang Jun, President of China Shanghai International Arts Festival Center, Xiaona McCarthy, President of Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Yang Liping, a famous Chinese dancer, delivered speeches respectively .
Chen Wen said in her speech that this year is the third time the "Focus on China" event will be staged in Edinburgh, bringing many wonderful shows to local audiences. The "Focus on China" activity itself is also an excellent "drama". The first act is an eclectic Chinese story; the second act is a story of rapid development in Shanghai; and the third act is a mutually beneficial and win-win Chinese and English story. Civilization is colorful because of exchanges, and civilization is enriched by mutual learning. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of the two countries, China and Britain will deepen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation so that more Chinese and British people can fully experience each other's cultural charm.
Wang Jun said that under the framework of the China-UK humanities exchange mechanism, the exchanges and cooperation between China Shanghai International Arts Festival and the UK have become increasingly close. From the 2015 Sino-British Performing Arts Forum to the 2017 China Shanghai International Arts Festival joining the Edinburgh Festival Association "Momentum" program (Momentum), building bridges for Chinese and international art creators, creating a network, exchange and future cooperation New opportunities. To this day, China Shanghai International Arts Festival, Edinburgh International Arts Festival, Shadler’s Well Dance Theatre, Melbourne Arts Festival and other international first-line performing arts organizations have jointly produced Yang Liping's "The Rite of Spring", and the flowers of art bloom brilliantly.
Yang Liping expressed her gratitude to the China Shanghai International Arts Festival and Edinburgh International Arts Festival for providing an opportunity to bring this work full of Chinese minority elements and oriental characteristics to everyone. I am very glad that everyone likes it. There are many young actors in the performance. They are the future of Chinese dance. We hope that through our joint efforts, the future of Chinese dance will be more brilliant.
Lenahan said in his speech that he was very pleased to be able to co-appoint with the China Shanghai International Arts Festival and successfully premiered "The Rite of Spring", which contained the hard work of countless people. This year's two Edinburgh International Arts Festival's repertoires were selected for the "Focus on China" project for the first time, which also means that Chinese artists and works have gathered more and more attention from the world. I look forward to more outstanding Chinese repertoires on the Edinburgh International Arts Festival. stage.
"Blue Bird"
McCarthy said that as one of the world's largest art festivals, this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival once again ushered in many Chinese dramas, and four of them were selected for the "Focus on China" project. The Fringe Festival is known for its inclusiveness and diversity, and the return of "Focus on China" has also allowed more outstanding Chinese repertoires to stand out from thousands of performances. During the
event, Yin Xin, Director of the Press Release Division of the Shanghai Municipal Government Information Office, presented a picture album to Julia Amo, director of the Edinburgh Festival Association.
2019 Edinburgh "Focus on China" series of activities in the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, the Cultural Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the UK, the Chinese Tourism Office in London and ShanghaiWith the support of the Information Office of the People’s Government, it is organized by the China Shanghai International Arts Festival Center and co-organized by the Shanghai Urban World Brand Development Center. The international high-level art festival platform focuses on displaying outstanding contemporary Chinese performing arts, actively promoting Chinese culture "going out" and helping Chinese cultural products enter the international market.
is the two most influential art festivals in the world. China Shanghai International Arts Festival Center and Edinburgh International Arts Festival have successfully carried out a series of project cooperation and personnel exchanges. Represented by "The Rite of Spring", the works of many ministries and commissions of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival are competing to be favored and pursued by the global cultural performance market with a stride to "go out". During the "Focus on China" series of performances, the "Charming Shanghai" photo exhibition and Shanghai city image films appeared in multiple performance venues, focusing on Shanghai’s urban landscape, humanities and art, and contemporary life portrayals, allowing British audiences to experience Shanghai while focusing on Chinese art charm.
is an important project of the China-UK humanities exchange mechanism. “Focus on China” allows Chinese and British drama artists to develop and progress in an atmosphere of mutual learning and appreciation, and at the same time gather more outstanding Chinese original works to appear on the international stage in the future , And the joint production of Chinese and British dramas laid the foundation.
