Yang Liping's Latest Dance Show: Tibetan Riddle

November 26, Thursday night

I have already attended three dance concerts in the last 4 days. I was writing my review on Dynamic Yunnan and had to look up the title of Yang Liping's latest dance show. When I surfed on to the ticketing site piao.com.cn, I saw that there were still cheap tickets available for the Sunday afternoon matinee. I wondered whether I would regret not watching her dance now, as she is almost 50 yrs old and will likely not be dancing on stage for too much longer. I call the ticketing agency and they tell me that there are round 50 tickets left at that price. The show was opening tonight at the Poly Theatre. I decide to go on an adventure and try my chances with the scalpers. I took 200 yuan cash with me and if I couldn't get a ticket for that price, I'll go home and book a ticket for Sunday. Tickets for all other shows were sold out.

I got to the Poly Theatre at around 6:15pm which is still very early. I walk to the two scalpers I recognized as they shooed me away before and ask whether they have tickets for tonight's performance. They said they would have tickets at around 7:10pm and for me to return then. One of them recognizes me and I feign ignorance. I head towards McDonald's and walked until I found a cheap, but popular noodle joint close by. The wind was nasty this evening and I was not dressed warmly enough to be outside for too long.

I went back to the theatre and ran into another scalper, who would try to locate a ticket for me. As time wore on, I stood close by where the scalpers were trying to pawn off their tickets. They were wanting ridiculous prices of 400 & 500rmb. Of course, they were good seats but I just needed a seat. I asked for a ticket and then decided not to buy it. A couple standing by me was also trying to purchase a ticket. They only had one but needed another and I needed one. They suggested that they sell their ticket to me and go home. They told me that it would be best, they do not live far away so it was not a bother to go home and try for another performance. I bought their 280 rmb ticket for 200 rmb. I then find out that she is a retired Peking University professor of German. How amazing! I thank them profusely for the ticket.

I head on into the auditorium. I had a seat in the upper right box. I am excited to see what they have in store as now Yang has updated technology at her disposal. The stage has Tibetan prayer wheels and incense burning. Actors are turning the wheels and occasionally the horn is blown. The story line and translation of the songs are flashed on the side screens. I am able to read parts of it as I cannot read that fast yet. I am enclosing the outline of the program below found at http://www.piao.com.cn/en_piao/ticket_2028.html and will be inserting my comments in italics. Please observe the Chinglish!

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The newest work of Liping Yang, the most popular Chinese ethical dancer and choreographer Coryphaeus by Rongzhong Erjia, the legendary Tibetan singer
A splendid and soul-shocking ethical music banquet in Beijing after its 80 shows’ tour around other cities

About Tibetan Riddle/Enigma:
Tibetan Enigma is a painstaking works of Liping Yang and Rongzhong Erjia. It is an epic showing different styles of pure Tibetan colorful music and dance in different regions.

“The Tibetan people are born to be the master of dance and singing, I can’t learn all their unique skills,” said Yang. Therefore, she invented some Tibetan men and women to take part in this show. It is the first time for all these folk performers to walk out their hometown and daily lives. They will be a great surprise to the audience in the choreography by Yang.
I'm not sure how one is supposed to invent people ... but the invention is very convincing.

Tibet Enigma debuted in 2008 as an audial and visional banquet. Nonprofessional Tibetan performers will bring local color and amorous feeling of the Tibet. Meanwhile, the Tibetan folk music instruments and vocality like Tibetan guitar and Dafahao (a big-size music instrument used in a Buddhist mass) will be firstly used on the stage. Three thousand Tibetan local costume, accessories and treasures will be exhibited in the show. It took five years for the choreographer to create and perfect the show.

It is specially worthy of mentioned that the Tibetan farmers will playing the Tibetan guitar, singing the folk song and dancing the tap dance at the same time. It is the unique performance style of Tibetan people.

The story
The story of Tibetan Enigma is about an old Tibetan woman’s experience along her pilgrim journey. Tibetan lives, culture, customs, and religion are all exhibited to the audience by the song, dance and music instruments.

Audience will see Liping Yang’s totally new profile and dance as well as Rongzhong Jiaer’s romantic voices. It is a collection of Tibetan sing and dance, a fashion show of ethnic costumes, and music festival with one-hundred folk Tibetan artists. The production has been prepared by Liping Yang for five years. She will perform a fairy who leading the old woman to the pilgrim road.


Scenes

Scene I
Tibetan Guitar and Long-leave Dance
Tibetan Guitar by all actors
Long-leave Dance by all actors and actress
Leading Singer: Baimalaji Cairangnanjie
This is what I like most about Yang's work. She incorporates music, song and dance into her show. These people were not just performing, they were thoroughly engaged with what they were doing. It's hard to be distant when one is singing, dancing and playing an instrument at the same time. I enjoy it when dancers are accompanied live, especially when they accompany themselves. The long-leave dance is a form of tap dancing.

The women came on stage singing a song. It sounded really familiar to me and I then realized it was the same song the ladies sang at the Niu Tibetan Village which we visited. Isn't that amazing? Or they just have very similar songs. This song and dance brought back fond memories of our study tour.

Scene II
Trash Highland Barley and Lover antistrophe
Leading Dancer: Naimaer Gudehamu
Leading Singer: Rongzhong Erjiar

Yak Dance lead by Dadanzeng The yak dance was the most light-hearted of all the dances. The yak herder had a script and he would also give commands to the yaks. To make things interesting, there was only one female yak amongst the male ones. The singers in this portion were three women and their song was sung in close dissonant harmony (in 2nds almost the entire song).

Scene III: Trash Aga, Shower Festival, Costume Race Festival
Leading Singer: Cairangnanjie Yinzhoucao
Notes
Trash Aga: A strange dance from the saint labor of repairing Potala Palace
If I'm not mistaken this involved clapping their hands together, followed by full prostration and is definitely religious in nature.
Shower Festival: It is an annual festival in Lunar Tibet Year when Tibetan women will have a shower in saint lake.
Costume Race Festival: It is a festival when the Tibetan youth will compete with their costumes and accessories. On the festival, these young boys and girls will have their most luxuriant gaudery on. For Tibetan people, the gaudery is the symbol of richness. The most expensive assets are ceremonious costumes and accessories.

Scene IV Nirvana Dream
Programs
1. Pilgrim
2. Tibetan Guitar
3. Long-leave Dance
4. Trash Highland Barley The dance was by the young people and they used their brooms as rhythmic instruments.

5. Lotus Drolma (Solo by Liping Yang)The crowd gives Yang a warm welcome as this was her first appearance of the evening. She is dressed like a Bodhisatva and dances on a lotus platform. Her dance movements are similar to the Moon Dance and the Peacock Dance. It was amazing to watch her dance and see what an excellent flexible dancer she is. I was glad I brought my binoculars with me as I watched her closely for the whole dance.

6. Yak Dance (reprise)
7. Song: Pilgrim, King Gear (Sing by Rongzhong Erjia)
8. Trash Age

9. Costume Race (Lead by Liping Yang) This was similar to the water dance in Dynamic Yunnan. Yang is the lead dancer in the center of an inverted triangle. The rest of the dancers are male.

In this dance, Yang's graceful actions are replaced by energetic street dance style movements. The dance is aptly name "Black Hat".
10. Nirvana (Drolma by Liping Yang ) Yang comes out one more time and dances something similar to the nirvana dance.

Casting
Art Director/ General Choreographer/Leading Actress: Liping Yang
Producer/ General Executive/Leading Actor: Rongzhong Erjia
Choreography/Leading Actress: Sun Flower
Stage Design: Jiangtao Luo
Music Director/ Music Executive: Xiao Pang

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At the end of the show, Rongzong Erjia introduces all the main dancers of the show. He leaves for the finale of the show and then when all the dancers are on stage, he acknowledges Yang. The audience claps and waves to the performers fondly. I can see them hug and spin each other on stage. They are very happy and proud of their successful debut in Beijing.

Central Conservatory Beijing: Shen Wenyu, piano

November 18, 2008
I decided to also to a piano recital by a Chinese pianist and also visit another concert hall. His concert was held at the Central Conservatory Concert Hall, home of China’s greatest musicians. Many Chinese musicians who have made a career in the international music world have passed through this conservatory at one point or another. During the Cultural Revolution, many of its professors and students were persecuted. After the revolution ended, the conservatory has since been restored and is the most respected school for piano in the country. This is China’s Julliard.

The conservatory area is beautiful and I just couldn't imagine what it was like during the Cultural Revolution. I just pondered on the fact that all the Chinese pianists and composers I admire, have walked or played in this hall. I again did not bring my camera to the recital as I forget that I will be allowed to take pictures of the recital.

Shen is a fairly young pianist and technically brilliant. For such a young pianist, he displayed a depth and maturity to his playing. Thankfully there was none of the flashy displays made infamous by another excellent Chinese pianist. The selection of pieces for the afternoon consisted of transcriptions. He opened with Liszt’s transcription of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 which would be a crowd pleaser and followed it with his own transcription of the “Yellow River Piano Concerto”. It was difficult to judge his playing just from transcriptions. After the intermission, Shen played a duet with a young boy. If my memory serves me, it was a Schubert composition. The second half of the concert consisted of one or two original pieces. “Flight of the Bumble Bee” is always exciting to watch and he played two versions of this. Overall, this concert showed what a genius he is at the piano.

Shen’s teachers were there and so were the next generation of China's pianists between the ages of 5 and up. It was like a circus or a cinema. I was so thankful my seat was on the last row of the hall. I would not need to tolerate any noise behind me, except that it was a blustery day and it got fairly chilly at the back. They were walking in and out at anytime, eating, drinking, videoing the performance on tripods, clapping in between movements and the like. Even the conservatory piano majors sitting close to me were chatting away. I wonder whether I should be annoyed at all these. If I were to hold on strictly to current musicology findings, all these were the norm at concerts given by Mozart and Beethoven. Since then, concert convention has changed and we now have a class of audiophiles. I am just not sure where I stand on this issue.

With all the children and their parents who escorted them here, the concert seemed like it was geared towards the uninitiated but the playing was at such a high level. I am not sure whether they could fully understand what was going on and how remarkable those fingers were. I am sure it adds pressure to all the young children who are learning to play the piano but will never make it to this stage ever. I hope their parents know that out of the 20 million pianists in China there will only be a handful who will be successful in an international performing career.

Peking University: Giovanni Vitaletti, piano

November 2, 2008
Vitaletti's concert was at the Peking University Centennial Concert Hall. It was slightly difficult to locate as it was difficult to pull up a map showing where the concert hall is. I looked up various translations of the venue and finally found a bus map with walking directions to the hall.

The hall was bustling with energy as people poured in for the concert. I had purchased a more expensive ticket and was seated closer to the front. I bought a program but I couldn’t read all of it. I knew from the opus numbers which pieces were going to be played during the first half. The second half, I would have to resort to guessing.

The concert started slightly late to accommodate some of the late guests. People were still entering the hall and looking for their seats between movements. I particularly enjoyed Vitaletti's playing and interpretation of Beethoven op. 53 and 57. The op. 53 Waldstein sonata is particularly difficult technically and musically. I was very happy to hear him start the piece at a moderate and calm tempo unlike most pianists who would dash through the piece. The audience didn’t realize the intricacies of this piece. He also played Busoni's "Carmen Fantasy" and the Don Juan Fantasy by Liszt. I had to look this information up when I got home. I'm sorry I didn't know the titles as the program was entirely in Chinese (of course) but I ended up doing some translation for the Italians close by.

I did not bring my camera into the concert hall following Western concert attendance practice, but it was not so with the local crowd. Even though they were more or less respectful of the no flash photography, they didn’t realize that the little blinking red light on the camera would still reflect off the nice, shiny Steinway. It was a little distracting but it didn’t affect the performer. I wish I videoed his performance like everyone was doing.

I don't think the audience knew how to appreciate his playing as much as the Frenchman's. People started leaving when he was playing his encores, which were from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition" - Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks & Schymule. He did not manage to play his third encore which would be standard practice in Europe. At least, he was greeted with lots of “Brava!” from his countrymen. I was sad that I did not have anyone to process this concert with me so I called my piano professor at UA when I got home that night.

Central University of Nationalities Ethnic Dance School

As I had mentioned earlier, this school is famous for its dance and ethnic music program. This is the third evening in a row that I have attended a performance. No, I am not tired out from this. In fact, this is what I have waited for the whole semester. I am glad the tickets are free.

I have adapted very well to living back in Asia. I now fully remember what it is to have free seating and have to arrive at a concert venue way in advance to get a good seat. It is also ethical to save seats for your friends if you arrive early. I get to the university auditorium at 6:50pm and the front door is already crowded with students. I stand on the top stair of the entrance, a fairly precarious position as I could fall anytime. At around 7:10pm, the ushers shoo us off and told us to let the teachers in first, else we would not be permitted in. I do not move all the way down the stairs as I know there will be a chance to sneak back into the crowd. I am successful, when they do not notice I make my way back to the front and this time I am the first person at the door. I begin to prepare for the "land rush" by removing my scarf and unbuttoning my coat. You may think this is all too funny to read, but I had no qualms about being obnoxious tonight.

The security guards unlatch the door and I have my game plan ready. As soon as I get into the hall, I head for the first row of the rear section of the hall. I fling my coat on the fifth seat, dump my scarf on the 4th, fling my purse on the 3rd and I sit immediately on the first seat and keep my arm on the 2nd seat. Yes, I have 5 seats in a row. I text Allison, Andrew, Dario and Matthew to come as quickly as possible, as I don't know whether I'll be able to hold the seats.

Our teachers arrive sooner so they see me and don't see the rest of the gang yet. Hahah I beat them to the good seats! Mrs Lee was all too proud of her Class no. 5 whom were all sitting in a row with legroom especially for the tall guys. :) She was a little giddy, as of course she does have bragging rights in front of all the other teachers. :) Our class asked for so many tickets that they didn't have any left to give. She said most other classes only 1 or 2 students wanted to go. We had 8 people who wanted tickets.

We can't wait for the performance to begin as this concert. I left my program at home but this time I brought an extra memory card and extra batteries to capture as much of the dance performance on video as possible. The dancers had won competitions recently in the national, regional, or city level. We had watched two of the dances performed tonight at the Yi festival. The men's Mongolian dance was much better than the previous performance. The women in the Korean drum dance was consistently good both times. I believe repeated performances just push the standards higher each time and that is true in this case.

I had watched a similar performance done by more mature dancers for the Genghis Khan show and it looked better. This is an interesting point in which I had discussed with my teacher. She was also at the Genghis Khan performance. The dance was performed by more mature men, hence there is more muscle build and strength there. A friend raised this question: this critique is like saying the girls aren't skinny enough so it didn't look nice? Yes, I revealed my bias.

The dances all lasted around 5 minutes each. The solo dances are challenging for the performers as they have to keep engaged and energized the whole time. It was evident that the dancers enjoyed what they do. I noticed this particularly with the Tibetan dancer. The Dai solo dance was also interesting as it was a reminder of Yang Liping's dance style but this dancer's costume was creatively designed. At first it was like a body suit pulled over her head, but at the right moment, it was pulled down and it became an overlay for her dress. I wonder who thought of this design.

A major critique I have of this performance is the audience behavior. The hall was packed to the brim with not an empty seat in the house. It was standing room only and some people thought the aisles were free game too, walking in and out as they so pleased. There were children who would also stand anywhere they liked even when they are obviously blocking everyone's view. I also thought this was the hardest crowd to please. The applause after each item was short, barely lasting long enough for the performer/s to leave the stage. I find this rather unacceptable. My friends and I clapped loud and long, just to keep the applause from dying too soon.If these dancers were performing in the USA, there would be thunderous applause and a few bows. Even before the finale was over, people started walking out. How sad! Are Beijingers always in a hurry?

Why is this so? In my opinion, I think Beijingers are spoiled with excellent performances. After watching too many excellent performers, one is desensitized to the amazing skills, talents, capabilities and hard work. There is always the need for something better and someone who can do more. There is this unhealthy craving of excellence and dissatisfaction in the Beijing audience. I am having to consciously guard myself against this now that I have been to almost a dozen concerts of high quality. I would not want to perform in Beijing to a jaded audience.

Mongolian Guest Performers at CUN

I had an incredible Sunday before I headed off to the dance performance by Mongolian dancers on campus. Ever since arriving on the CUN campus, I have longed to go to the dance performances on campus. The dance dept of this campus is famous and well-respected in China, especially for their ethnic minority dances. They are often featured on international CCTV when Beijing has events.

I was expecting this to be the student dancers here but it was actually a guest dance troupe from Mongolia. The event had some publicity I'm sure. There were some VIPs there, all dressed in Mongolian outfits. There were the usual speeches before the performance began. There was a printed program for the performance. The show would consists of dance, vocal and instrumental numbers. The hall was not full and the audience was fairly polite given that TIC. There was no scramble for seats when the doors opened unlike some other events.

The show started off with a slightly modern number, with dancers in animal print costumes. The dance was not very well choreograph and did not show off the dancers in the best possible way. We hoped the performance would get better as the evening progressed. There were group dances but since I had watched "The Cyclone of Genghis Khan" with the top dancers of Mongolia, this troupe was not as good. There were similar dances but the dancers lacked the energy to keep the audience engaged.

I wonder whether the sound techs here have hearing problems because everything is so loud. They have a higher risk of damaging their hearing more than the audience. Sadly, I had left my earplugs at home and had to hold my camera to video the event, therefore I couldn't cover my ears. They hurt that evening. The singing was actually very good but the mics were turned up so loud that there was distortion. I noticed that the singers sang on pitch, to whatever the accompaniment was. The singing style is more strident than a western singing style, therefore the mics usually need to be turned down and not up. I am almost certain they could be heard in the hall without amplification because of the placement of the sound. I also mention this because these songs were sung on the grasslands, and they are trained to sing out in the open fields so an enclosed auditorium is not a problem.

I noticed that the musicians were trying to blend the old and the new. There was a performance of the Mongolian horse-head fiddle. The two players were accompanied by an electric guitar and an accompaniment soundtrack which sounded like techno. My friend asked me whether they were out-of-tune at one point, to which I nodded. These instruments do not have the exact same tuning as Western instruments, especially the synthesizer and electric guitar. They would have sounded better just on their own. (Opinion: The synthesizer poses another problem as its sounds are electronically generated, leading to another acoustic problem for the fiddle. There would be less overtones for the fiddle to match, I would think.) This item gained a lot of appreciation from the young audience.

On the other hand, the traditional Mongolian ensemble with three throat singers was a much better performance. Although the music was neither blaringly loud, nor thumping, the serene and mellow tunes gave a more genuine portrayal of Mongolian music. I have listened to unaccompanied throat singing and it is easy to appreciate the technique, but it is hard on the ears. I was very glad to hear how well this singing style blended with the instrumental ensemble. It was a very pleasant end to the evening for me. I wasn't quite sure whether the rest of the audience enjoyed this as much as I did.

Yi Minority New Year

I changed my mind: I finished blogging and went to Yang Liping's Tibetan Riddle. I think that caps my week of attending dance events.

I need to start off with the Yi Minority New Year celebrations. I have been dancing with the Yi student group on Saturday nights. Their dances are not too hard to learn, but it takes some getting used to using the same foot twice. They have circular dances and also line dances. I am not very good at picking up line dances so I refrained from attempting them. Judging from the movements of their dances, the Yi people are extroverts and outgoing. The arm movements and kicking motions used take up quite a bit of room.

I went to their morning events which involved traditional wrestling. My Yi friend won a match and gave me his prize. Woohoo! Then I was almost roped in for the bride snatching event. I just told them I don't think I'm going to join in, I'm claiming Han status. The girls went to one side of the field and the guys went to the other side. There is no official start to this event. The guys just run across the field and haul one of the girls to the other side, while the other girls try to pelt him with flour and the other guys can also try and steal her from him. It was hilarious to watch. I imagine if one of them tried to steal me, they'd figure out I am not as light as the most of the skinny girls there. After this event was over, came the bride carrying race. This was fun to watch as the guys had to carry the girl they stole and run a race. Again, there were lots of laughs.

In the afternoon, there would be a new year concert. My friend asked me to be there at 2:00pm and I found out why. The doors were not open and he was sneaking me in via the side door. I managed to get a good seat in the center portion of the auditorium, just in front of the soundboard. I like these seats always because you rarely get disturbed. The doors opened at 2:30pm and it is like land rush. Swarms of people pour into the auditorium.

The concert begins at around 3:00pm. As usual like any event in China, there were speeches. Some of the things said in the speeches were very interesting but I will not mention them here. They have some dances and lots of singing. Unfortunately for me, my ears are very sensitive and in my haste I left my ear plugs at home. Everything was blaringly loud, so loud that my ears hurt. They invited a celebrity to perform on stage. I don't know what his name is but he was on a talent show and his pianist is black. The most interesting thing which happened was he gave a long speech about his parents being the last of the genuine Yi and that the younger generation is losing their Yi identity. He wanted to rally the younger ones to appreciate and preserve their culture. He then proceeded to sing a song to encourage that, but very surprisingly (and unfittingly) the song was in English - "Just the Two of Us". This was rather baffling, as I expected him to sing a Yi song and let the whole crowd join in, which would have been a better way of separating the outsiders from them ;).

I leave after the concert to have dinner on my own. From other sources, I found out that dinner was a closed event and only Yi people could attend it. I return in the evening to the field where they are hosting the dance. We did not have a happy medium as the music was too soft and it was hard to hear in the open air. I managed to dance as much as wanted, as there were lots of people and it was hard to follow the leaders who were in the innermost circle. There were up to four circles at times. I managed to dance more accurately with the smaller circles outside the main circle. There was also a group of people who were dancing their own selections and singing as they did. They were much more interesting and more traditional. My friend was of course, already drunk when I saw him at the dance. What's a festival without alcohol? :) I had a great time and went back home at around 10pm.

Dance Reviews: Dynamic Yunnan

Yes, this is another installment of an assignment. I type faster than I can write.

Dynamic Yunnan, Kunming.
We were in Kunming for the day. After an interesting noodle meal for dinner, we headed off to a dance performance in the city. Dynamic Yunnan is the brainchild of Yang Liping, dancer and choreographer. Yang Liping is now a household name in China, raising the standards of ethnic dance performances in China. Although this performance was in Yunnan, I have decided to include this in my Beijing journal project as it will put other dance performances in Beijing in perspective.

Dynamic Yunnan features the dance traditions of the different minority groups in Yunnan. The Chinese have been constantly praised for technical excellence in the performing arts, but have also faced constant criticism of their lack of performance and emotive skills. It is also usual to find ethnic performances which are watered down just for entertainment purposes and is not challenging both to the performer and audience. Yang, decided to change all this. The dancers would be required to have expression, expressing motion and emotion through their bodies and faces.

The show included Dai, Tibetan, Miao, and other minority dances. The show also involved live drumming. The music featured was a blend of traditional and modernized forms of minority dance music. The lighting and technical elements of the stage were well-planned. The costumes were nicely designed to include traditional elements but also classy enough for stage. The dancers were very involved in their performance, making it look extremely easy, belying the amount of practice and hard work they have put in. The choreography was intricate, and the motions required of the dancers boggled our minds.


My best experience at the show was the Moon dance and the Peacock Dance, which were both originally danced by Yang Liping herself. Currently the main dancer of this troup is Yang Wei. Her name sounded very familiar to me during the show. For one of the dances, Yang Liping was the singer on the music accompaniment track. The Dai dance required flexibility and suppleness of the entire body. Words will not adequately describe the beauty of this dance. A few weeks before I left for China, I had watched CCTV 9's Centre Stage program featuring a dance extravaganza. The Peacock Dance was featured on the show and I am now almost certain Yang Wei was the dancer. I was thrilled to be able to watch this dance live. I remember watching it on tv and wondering whether it was actually humanly possible to be that flexible.


Pat had warned us that the show is a little dated but it inspired many other similar dance shows in China. Imitation is the best form of flattery. Like we say in China, genuine imitation is good, but imitation can be of extremely poor quality. I hope this explains my comments on the "Cyclone of Gengkhis Khan" and why I found the show to be a little lacking. Currently, Yang Liping has a new dance show out called "Tibetan Riddle". I have decided I will give it a miss as I can't afford to spend USD$100 on a ticket.

(I have posted the links to the Moon & Peacock Dance. Take a look, you won't regret it!)
Yang's Biography

Two Plays: Woman, Woman & Journey to the West

I am writing some reviews of performances which I have attended here on the blog and transferring them to my written journal. This journal is one of the assignments I have to complete while in Beijing.

Woman, Woman.
The play revolves round the lives and struggles of the modern woman. There were six actresses portraying the different roles in the play. The medium allowed the writer to explore and expound on some of the current issues faced by women. Some of these issues are not considered to be controversial in the USA or other western countries, but they remain taboos or rarely discussed subjects here. The issues raised include weight loss, adultery, prostitution, lesbianism, career vs husband or family, unrequited love, gender inequality and tensions in the workplace, and reality vs. fiction. The set was rather simple, a pedestrian crosswalk and traftic lights, a raised platform and some chairs. The play unfolds with a news broadcast that an elephant has escaped from a zoo. Whatever the outcome, someone had first placed the animal in a cage. The play had many scenes, each one with a slightly different format: fairy tale story telling, Chinese opera, talk show, game show, street scene, office scene, shopping etc. At the end of the play, the women associate themselves with this elephant, a willing prisoner in a zoo which perhaps has escaped or imagined it has escaped.

Since I attended this play in the beginning of the semester, my comprehension of the play was limited. I would love to attend this play again at this point when my aural skills are much better. The actresses tried to interact with the audience but I felt the audience members were rather hesitant in general. For the talk show and game show, they ran out and high-fived the audience. They also noticed our AL gang by the side and proceed to sing "Beijing Welcomes You" to us. That drew some laughter from the audience. At a point, they interviewed the audience as to whether a woman should be married. The people they asked were caught off guard and gave tentative answers. Some stereotypes were used for the team who were in favor of marriage. Korean women are stereotyped to be soft spoken and good wives. To some extent, male bashing occured but I don't think it was overboard.

One particularly disturbing or mind rattling scene was about a normal woman but is repeatedly told a lie. She is attempting to cross the street but is constantly stopped by others. They tell her the light is green when it is red & vice versa. As each person passes her by, they increase the volume they use to speak to her. By the last person, she is utterly confused and thinks she is deaf or color blind. I think the writer is trying to communicate that one would be convinced something is the truth if this lie was repeated long and loud enough. That brings us to the post-modernist question "What is truth?". I digress.

Journey to the West
I attended this modern play of a famous Chinese epic at the Experimental Theatre. The play was supposed to be Journey to the West from a feminist's point of view. I am not fully familiar with the story of Journey to the West although I have read Wu Cheng'en's novel "Monkey". I know the main characters of the tale but the story is intricate with many mythical characters and sub-plots. I wanted to go to the play without refreshing myself on the story-line and characters to see whether I would be able to understand the play based on my Chinese comprehension.

I was greeted with a cloud of cigarette smoke as I walked into the theatre. It was free seating and so we quickly found seats in the middle section. We were handed some postcard flyers for today's show and the upcoming events. I was surprised that the program was a 2008 calendar. Don't you think it is rather late to be handing out a 2008 calendar at the end of November? I think so. As I walked past the stage, there was an incense burner on the front. Many seats were reserved for VIPs, so tonight must have been the premier of the play.

The play began with a bang.. if you could call Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1st mvt a rousing start. The actress comes out in coat and tails, with a conductor's baton and mimes. She cuts the orchestra (the audience) off and says to the violin section that they keep missing a note - C. She sings the scale "do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti" and leaves out C. I hum it because I cannot stand unresolved cadences. Then the middle section gets lectured about rhythm and she reminds them to say the word "you" as in swimming. The poor cellos are reminded to remember .. "ji". With this she also gives a short introduction about Wu Cheng'en's play .. "Si you ji". The audience here gladly participated with her in this little exercise.

There were five acts to the play. Even though I understood the play a lot more than the first play I went to, I could not figure out the point or a plot to the play. The play only involved one actress and there were no other persons on stage. There were costume changes and she was mainly playing a man's role. There was a lot of mimickry as to what a man should be like. There was also the use of previously recorded video portraying the journey of the monkey.

Even in a play, the USA and Japan are not spared. In one of the videos, the character was at Donghuamen Food Street at(Wangfujing) and she pays the candied fruit seller. She is given a US dollar as change, she spits in it and stamps on it. I thought this was rather offensive and our group gives a collective gasp. There are many levels in which this could be interpreted. There was a point in the play where she speaks a phrase of Japanese which means "get out of the way". The last scene the script calls for English and Mandarin with a fake foreign accent which was merely just a monotone. Most of it was incomprehensible, neither English nor Chinese. Again this could be taken as a subtle insult to foreigners.

At the end of the play, I was left confused as to what the writer's point was. The fact that it was a solo play made it more difficult to understand. I appreciate the fact that it was very hard work for her to be on stage for 1 1/2 hours by herself. I am not sure whether the rest of the people in the audience understood her effort. I just know she must be exhausted. She only had two bows and then the people started leaving. I don't think that was sufficient acknowledgement for a solo act but we were all tired by then.

China Philharmonic Nov 1

November 1. I had just visited the Forbidden City in the morning and returned to the area for the China Philharmonic concert. The concert hall is in Zhongshan Park beside the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The program consists entirely of pieces by French composers Ravel and Jolivet.
This was my first experience going to a classical concert in China. I do not know what to expect in the hall. I find my seat in the balcony and am seated in front of a row of women. It is disconcerting that they are chatting very loudly and planning their next move, as to whether to make a dash for better seats before the concert begins. Their restlessness affects me, so I submit to the temptation of moving to a row which is less occupied.
The orchestra opened with Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin. While the orchestra was playing, latecomers were still allowed to walk in and find their seats. I was a little disappointed to see two young children walk into my row. Their moms also have food wrapped in noisy plastic and drink with them. The children were fairly well-behaved so I was slightly relieved.
The audience shifts again. There is another scramble for better seats a’la Chinese musical chairs while the stage is set up for the piano concerto.
Following that Alain LeFevre, a French pianist played the featured piano concerto. The piece performed was Saint-Saens Piano Concerto in G major. The pianist was very showy, flailing arms and lots of head banging. The sound and technique however didn't match. Everything was fast and loud. I hated the encore the most, when he played the Etude in C minor (Revolutionary). I have never heard that piece so fast and loud before but the audience loved it. I felt like he ran a train through the piece.
After intermission, I stayed for a trumpet concerto. The piece was straightforward and I don't know enough about trumpet music to judge it. I decided to leave after this as it was a cold night. As I was putting on my coat in the stairwell, I heard the trumpeter's encore. To my surprise, it was a movie theme. Sorry to say it wasn't a very good concert. I left after intermission. I made the right decision not to stay. I enjoyed Tiananmen Square at night better than I did the concert.
If I wanted a head banging concert, I would have gone to Kanye West at the Beijing Workers Stadium.

Time Flies

Time flies. I have less than a month in Beijing and it will be time to return home to Malaysia. I have extended my stay to the 20th of December, so I may have time to go down south to Guangdong.

Some of the things I have done in Beijing since my last post are:
1. Forbidden City: Pretty amazing. All this for one man??? It was a Saturay morning and that only means one thing in Beijing - PEOPLE and lots of them. I never had so much jostling to catch a glimpse of the throne room. Chinese people here have no qualms about shoving or pushing you away even when they can actually scoota by without touching you, they just do. I was pretty ticked off by the middle of our tour. I was giving some people very very dirty looks. I want to go back to the area maybe on a weekday afternoon to catch one or two more buildings in there.

2. China Philharmonic: The concert hall is beside the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Some French pianist played.. sorry it wasn't a very good concert. I left after intermission. The piece performed was Saint-Saens Piano Concerto in G major. The pianist was very showy, flailing arms and lots of head banging. The sound and technique however didn't match. Everything was fast and loud. I hated the encore the most, when he played a Chopin piece.. it escapes me now. I have never heard that piece so fast and loud before.. and the audience loved it. After intermission, I stayed for a trumpet concerto. The piece was straightforward and I don't know enough about trumpet music to judge it. I decided to leave after this as it was a cold night. As I was putting on my coat in the stairwell, I heard the trumpeter's encore. To my surprise, it was a movie theme. I made the right decision not to stay. I enjoyed Tiananmen Square at night better than I did the concert.

3. Two piano recitals: Giovanni Vitaletti & Shen Wen Yu - both of which I enjoyed very much.



They were not the 'hot' showy pianists but more of the introvert artists. Vitaletti's concert was at Peking University. I particularly enjoyed Vitaletti's playing and interpretation of Beethoven op. 53 and 57. He also played Busoni's "Carmen Fantasy" and a set of variations by Liszt. I'm sorry I don't know the titles as the program was entirely in Chinese (of course) and I ended up doing some translation for the Italians close by. I don't think the audience knew how to appreciate his playing as much as the Frenchman's. People started leaving when he was playing his encores, which were from Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition".
Shen is a fairly young pianist and technically brilliant. For such a young pianist, he displayed a depth and maturity to his playing. Thankfully there was none of the flashy displays made infamous by another excellent Chinese pianist. His concert was held at the Central Conservatory Concert Hall. His teachers were there and so were the next generation of China's pianists between the ages of 5 and up. It was like a circus or a cinema. I was so thankful my seat was on the last row of the hall. I would not need to tolerate any noise behind me, except that it was a blustery day and it got fairly chilly at the back.
The conservatory area is beautiful and I just couldn't imagine what it was like during the Cultual Revolution. I just pondered on the fact that all the Chinese pianists and composers I admire, have walked or played in this hall.


4. Dance: The Cyclone of Gengkhis Khan - I had received two free tickets to the dance show from my oral Chinese teacher. The tickets were worth 280 yuan each. I couldn't find anyone else to go with me so I went alone.
When I got to the Poly Theatre, I found out that tonight's show was the Beijing premier. I wish I was better dressed for the performance and wish that I had brought my camera along with me. There were lots of press photographers and interviews going on. Some of the dancers were already in full costume, posing for photos in the lobby.
I ran into some CUN students and a dance teacher. She helped me scalp off the ticket. That was an interesting experience as I had never done such a thing before. At first we went close to the subway exit, and quickly discovered we were in the professional scalper's territory. He was not friendly at all and basically told us to find our own spot. We go back to the entrance of the building and we just start asking people around us. Finally, a middle-aged man bought the ticket from me. I wouldn't name my price and just said I would take whatever he offered. He pulls out a thick wad of cash and pulls out a 100 bill. He asks if that's enough, so I got 100 yuan for the extra ticket. I was happy! (It means another trip to Dong Wu Yuan .. for another blog.)
The audience was primarily Beijingers and this meant a different concert etiquette. Since this was the premier, the press were filming the show. There was also a slight commotion as some seats were blocked by the sound and light board. The couple who had those seats were not happy and were shouting at the ushers. Somehow they had it resolved. I guess they were given seats further up front. I had a seat towards the rear of the auditorium and was seated right in front of the press rows. Unfortunately, they walked most of the evening. It was obvious they had seen the rehearsals and could indulge in their own conversations.
The show was good but after watching the seed of such dance dramas (Dynamic Yunnan), this paled in comparison. The dances were well-choreographed and the costumes were amazing. They danced to Mongolian music and I was glad to hear some throat singing. There was however something missing from this performance. The expressions may have been a little fake but I still cannot pin point what is missing. I was fairly disappointed but expected that they would praise GK, and omitted the fact that he enjoyed "the sight of men crying when their women were carried away on horseback and their children slaughtered". The end of the show was the most interesting when the audience stood and joined them in singing a song. I had no idea what it was.
The best part of the evening was this: I got a free bus ride home to CUN with the dance school. I was glad not to have to take the subway and bus back as I was simply exhausted.