Artistic value

    To attain a high artistic value, the major organizers decided to invite renowned Canadian director Erick Villeneuve and choreographer Debra Brown and their teams.

    "Villeneuve and Brown are both leaders in their respective work fields around the world," said Zong Ming, an official of Shanghai Media Group.

    Villeneuve's excellence and the originality in his work are highly acclaimed in Canada and worldwide.

    With more than 20 years of experience, he had created new and unique projection techniques, allowing him to change the use of the scenic environment.

    Brown has won numerous awards like the Emmy Award for the work she did on the 74th annual Academy Awards, the prestigious Golden Clown at the 23rd World Circus Festival, and the Bob Fosse Innovative Choreography Award for her ongoing work with the world-renowned "Le Cirque du Soleil."

    Villeneuve hopes that the audience will not only be amazed by the top Chinese acrobats' control and precision. He wants people to also be enchanted by the world that is created through the innovative use of advanced technologies, lighting and sound effects as well as elaborate costumes and original music.

    A live band performs music by renowned composer and guitarist Michel Cusson solely written for ERA.

    "Music is very important for a grand production like ERA," Cusson said, adding that he thinks music and production go together like salt and a dish.

    After she saw the premiere, Annouk Ruffo Leduc, a Canadian executive working in Shanghai, said that the music is in perfect harmony with each of the acrobats' stunning moves.

    Leduc's comment was echoed by some foreign tourists who also watched the performance.

    "Apart from the music, lighting, and stage design, the Canadian experts encourage the acrobats to show their real emotions and their personalities besides their stunts," said Zhu Laidi, who works for Shanghai Circus World.

    Villeneuve's words "A 1,000-year-old gesture is worth 1,000 emotions, 1,000 images, 1,000 words" have substantially heightened the passion of the young, albeit excellent, acrobats in the show.

    Liu Wei, who was proud to be one of the acrobats in the production, recalled: "Eric and Debra are so different from other directors. They always encourage us to think what emotion we want to pass on to the audience when we make certain movements."

(Source: China Daily)