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Charm of the Kunqu Opera
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Expats participating in the afternoon activity enjoyed the style of Kunqu Opera in Gubei Civic Center. Under the guidance of Zhao Jinyu, director of Peng School Kunqu Art Center, foreigners learned the performance of Kunqu water sleeves and listened to the Kunqu excerpts displayed by Zhao.
Zhao, an apprentice of Kunqu Opera artist Zhang Xunpeng, hosts regular workshops with noted performers, as well as small shows aimed at cultivating interest in the Chinese opera among the city’s foreign residents.
The center is a major milestone for Zhang and the style she developed, according to theater expert Mao Shi’an.
“Based in the Gubei international community, the center will help introduce Kunqu culture to the world,” Mao once said.
Kunqu, which originated from neighboring Kunshan with a history of more than six centuries, is considered a source of all sorts of Chinese dramas.
Zhao, who is dedicated to promoting the oldest extant form of Chinese opera in the modern age, explained the most exquisite and central part of Kunqu in popular and easy-to-understand language.
She taught expats using water sleeves to implicitly express the sincere feelings between a young man and woman.
In front of the expats, Zhao also performed a classic aria “A Walk in the Garden” which is an excerpt of Kunqu Opera “The Peony Pavilion.”
Ludovic Weber from France put on the costume and practiced together with Zhao.
After that, he told Shanghai Daily, “I see the delicacy of being polite and humble and I can feel the traditional Chinese culture behind the performance.”
Weber has been in Shanghai for 5 years and is currently living in Changning. He said he lives very close to Gubei but he never visited the center before. “I want to take this chance to practice more. I think that I need more lessons…”
Astrid Poghosyan from Armenia graduated from Shanghai Conservatory of Music and works in Shanghai Symphony Orchestra. She spoke highly of Kunqu as a traditional Chinese art and the unremitting promotion of Zhao and her center from the perspective of a professional.
The next stop for the expats was Shanghai International Dance Center where they attended a class to appreciate the Ballet Repertoire “Bright Red Star.”
First Principal Dancer Wu Husheng introduced the history and major works of the Shanghai Ballet, including the “White Haired Girl” which lays the foundation of the establishment of the Shanghai Ballet as well as “In the Mood for Love,” “Jane Eyre,” “Swan Lake” and “Bright Red Star.”
Lucine Magand from France said that she had only participated in jazz festivals in Shanghai before and looked forward to the opportunity to watch the “Swan Lake” by the Shanghai Ballet on Christmas Eve.
Adam Strzep, a ballet aficionado from Poland, said that the dancers of the Shanghai Ballet are as professional and dedicated as their counterparts in Europe, and even better in some fields. “That’s the cause why the Shanghai Ballet’s performances in Europe are always very successful and widely praised,” he added.
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