Produced and Performed by
China Oriental Performing Arts Group Co., Ltd.
Meishan Song and Dance Theatre
Co-Presented by
American Dance Festival
MARCH 8-10
THE KENNEDY CENTER
OPERA HOUSE
WASHINGTON DC
MARCH 15-17
DAVID H. KOCH THEATER
LINCOLN CENTER
NYC
China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG), in collaboration with American Dance Festival, today announced a two-city tour and American premiere of the acclaimed poetic modern dance production Dongpo: Life in Poems in The Kennedy Center, Washington DC from March 8-10and The David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center from March 15-17. For tickets and more information, visit www.kennedy-center.org and davidhkochtheater.com.
Produced and performed by the China Oriental Performing Arts Group & Meishan Song and Dance Theatre, Dongpo: Life in Poems is the latest contemporary operatic dance directed by the international acclaimed dancer, choreographer, director, and painter Shen Wei who was honored with the Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choreography 2022. With live Guqin music by Zhao Xiaoxia, the production is based on the poetry and life experiences of the renowned Chinese poet Su Dongpo (1037-1101). Su Dongpolived in the Song Dynasty, and the production transforms the comprehension of poetry into self-perception, and then externalizes it through body movement and multiple audiovisual expressions.
This production goes beyond a specific depiction of a poet’s life. The work extends the movement language of modern dance and ballet by the deep integration of Chinese Opera, Tai Chi, and Visual Arts with a combination of Guqin music and contemporary music. It showcases the poet Dongpo’s soul, affection, melancholy, homesickness, and his optimism in getting along with the world calmly and with ease, along with the utilization of multiple art forms such as poetry, calligraphy, painting, and seal engraving. This work summarizes the poet’s emotions throughout his life into 12 pieces of his poems. The contemplation, questioning, dreaming, intoxication, sorrow, lingering, and unrestrained emotions expressed in these poems are accessibly experienced and easily awakened to all beings in their vast and diverse lives, regardless of their Eastern or Western origins. A connection with the poet Dongpo from a millennium ago stimulates a spiritual bond and further enables a comprehension of the transcultural and universally shared love with intellectual and spiritual essence that unites humanity.
The creative team also includes the Chinese-French composer Chen Qigang, the music director of the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games, and Xiao Lihe, lighting designer of the Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games who graduated from the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University and studied under the noted lighting designer for Chinese opera, Prof. Jin Changlie, and leading American theater professors Jennifer Tipton and Ming Cho Lee. Guo Changhong, Deputy Secretary-General of China Television Arts Commission, a National Grade-I Playwright, and a judge of the China TV Drama Flying Apsaras Awards, serves as the co-playwright, and Yang Tao, Vice President of the China Calligraphy Academy and doctoral advisor, was engaged in design concerning calligraphy and seal engraving.
Dongpo: Life in Poems is a part of CAEG’s Image China cultural exchange initiative, which seeks to introduce traditional and contemporary Chinese performing arts to audiences around the world. Since its inception in 2009, Image China has presented works at performance venues across the globe, including Lincoln Center in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, and stages throughout Europe and Australia. Recent productions include Mulan, Princess Zhaojun, Xuanzang’s Pilgrimage, Dragon Boat Racing, Soaring Wings, Confucius and others.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
Washington DC
Dongpo: Life in Poems plays a limited run at the Kennedy Center (2700 F Street, NW) from March 8-10. The performance schedule is March 8 at 7:30pm, March 9 at 1:30pm and 7:30pm and March 10 at 1:30pm. Ticket prices range from $39 to $169 (plus service fee) and can be purchased online at www.kennedy-center.org.
New York City
Dongpo: Life in Poems plays a limited run at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center (20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY) from March 15-17. The performance schedule is March 15 at 7:30pm, March 16 at 1:30pm and 7:30pm and March 17 at 1:30pm. Ticket prices range from $39 to $169 (plus facility fee) and can be purchased online at www.davidhkochtheater.com.