China News Service, London, September 7 (Reporter Ouyang Kaiyu) On September 6, Shenzhen's original dance drama "Wing Chun" celebrated its 200th performance in London. On the same day, the "Academic Exchange Meeting" of the London leg of the overseas tour of "Wing Chun" was held at the Sadler's Wells Theater in London.
"Wing Chun" is produced by the Propaganda Department of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism and Sports, and is created and performed by the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre. It is a work that interprets the Lingnan cultural context and presents Shenzhen's literary and artistic style. The play integrates dance and martial arts, pays tribute to mortal heroes with the "Shenzhen spirit", and uses "Wing Chun" and "Hong Wan Sha" as dual "intangible cultural heritage" and innovative expressions of dual-line narrative. From August 30 to September 7, "Wing Chun" was performed for 12 consecutive performances at the Sadler's Wells Theater in London.
Farooq Chowdhury, an internationally renowned producer and former professional dancer, pointed out that "Wing Chun" makes people feel not only a Chinese story, but a common human experience. Watching "Wing Chun" is not only appreciating Chinese aesthetics and art, but also experiencing emotions that connect to all of us.
Carlos Pons Guerra, artistic director and choreographer of Denada Dance Theater, expressed his appreciation for the narrative techniques used in the dance of "Wing Chun". Guerra believes that it is very difficult to combine dance and drama because dance can be very good in some aspects but fall short in other aspects compared to drama or literature, but the techniques used in Wing Chun are very effective.
Christopher Bannerman, visiting professor at the London School of Contemporary Dance, pointed out that "Wing Chun" combines martial arts culture with dance very well. In addition, it also uses film techniques to achieve an elegant and clear narrative, delicate and complex emotions. Simple. The brilliance of China lies in the persistence and sustainability of its culture, such as calligraphy, art and martial arts. Therefore, "Wing Chun" combines these things to create a really wonderful creation.
Feng Shuangbai, chairman of the Chinese Dancers Association, pointed out that "Wing Chun" allows the story of Ip Man to connect spiritually with today's young people, thanks to the scriptwriting and stage lighting. It’s easy to attract people with cool martial arts moves, but it’s difficult to really connect young people’s emotions, so the dual-line narrative is a huge challenge. We have always believed that "Wing Chun" is not a martial arts drama in the traditional sense, but a highly artistic work.
Han Zhen, chief editor and director of "Wing Chun", said that the period when "Wing Chun" was performed in London was very wonderful, because not only did he see that many audiences liked "Wing Chun", but he also learned about the differences between London theater and domestic theater space design. The difference is that this provides young creators, including me, with a rare opportunity to learn and learn from others. (End)
(China News Network)