BEIJING, May 1 -- After six years, Beijing has once
again a festival to showcase Chinese and international modern dance. As part of
"Important Cultural Activities for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games", the first
Beijing International Dance Festival will be held at the Tianqiao Theater of
Beijing from May 9 to 25.
An earlier Beijing Modern Dance Festival started in
1999 but stopped after 2002. Hong Kong choreographer Willy Tsao, who founded the
past festival, will continue to promote modern dance in the upcoming Beijing
International Dance Festival.
"When we held the Beijing Modern Dance Festival,
people often asked questions like 'what is modern dance' or 'why should Chinese
watch modern dance', while now modern dance has become a normal part of
Beijing's cultural scene," says Tsao, who is founder and artistic director of
Hong Kong's City Contemporary Dance Company and Beijing LDTX Modern Dance
Company.
"I believe this represents progress in China, as we
have not only traditional culture but also modern arts, just like that we have
not only the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven but also a new and modern
airport."
Co-presented by the Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company
and the National Ballet of China, the first Beijing International Dance Festival
will feature a broad range of both China-based and international dance
companies, including Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance Company, Guangdong Modern
Dance Company, Battery Dance Company from the U.S. and Tanztheater Staatstheater
Braunschweig from Germany.
China's top ballet group, the National Ballet of
China has also engaged itself in the promotion and development of modern dance
in China. At the invitation of the group, two of the world's most famous modern
and contemporary dance choreographers presented their works in China last year:
Pina Bausch and Akram Khan.
"Actually ballet is inseparable from modern dance
today," says Zhao Ruheng, director of the National Ballet of China.
At the Beijing International Dance Festival, the
National Ballet of China will present a program titled Sino-French Triple Bill,
which includes three works by French choreographers: Entrelac by Kader Belarbi,
Last Paradise by Roland Petit, and the third act of classical ballet Sylvia by
Leo Delides.
Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company will premiere a new
work at the festival: Rehearsal and Performance, At Odds, choreographed by Li
Hanzhong and Ma Bo.
"It will be quite simple, something like an account
of a common day but may also symbolize an entire life of a dancer," Ma says.
The Beijing International Dance Festival offers all
tickets of modern dance performances from May 9 to 16 for the price of 100 yuan
(50 yuan for students).
"Currently the price of performances in Beijing are
much too high - most people can not afford to purchase tickets. We decided to
set a fair price to encourage people who are interested and excited to come and
participate in this exciting event," Tsao says.
(Source: China Daily)
