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Famous dancer in mid-life crisis stage play
By Nie Xin |
June 10, 2012, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Multi-talented Jin Xing is China's "queen of modern dance," a successful choreographer, film actress, singer, talk show host, commentator and an outspoken transgender woman who fights prejudice and discrimination.
Her latest artistic endeavor is a modern stage play this month about a couple's mid-life crisis, in which she plays a successful 50-year-old college professor whose 17-year-old son has died and whose husband has embarked on an affair.
It's a two-person play in which she acts opposite famous Peking Opera performer Guan Dongtian. It is her fourth stage play.
Jin is founder of the Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theater, which she started 12 years ago. Her brilliance as a dancer has always been acknowledged. She has traveled widely and her innovative works are immensely popular in Europe. When she first performed as a man in New York, The New York Times called her "a genius."
She has also been a TV talent show judge, but she announced on her microblog last September that she had been kicked off the show because of her transgender identity.
Jin, around 44, is the first transgender woman recognized by the Chinese government. She was born a boy in Northeast China to Korean parents and always loved dancing. She joined the dance troupe of the People's Liberation Army, became a colonel, studied dance in New York and decided to return to China for sex-reassignment surgery. She was 28.
She is married to a German and has adopted three children.
Jin is always talkative, whether in a talk show, facing an audience, or talking about her life, her career, her family and her transgender identity.
She calls herself a "typical Leo," saying she has always wanted to show off and present herself since she was young.
Q: Describe the drama and your work with "opera prince" Guan Dongtian.
A: Guan and I, just two people, play four characters in three acts. I am alone in the first act for 35 minutes, with a long monologue and body language. Guan and I appreciate each other's talent and wanted to work together. It's a pity I cannot sing traditional Chinese opera, nor can he dance, so we chose the stage as a platform where we can work together.
Q: How do you prepare?
A: One of the characters I play is a 50-year-old woman who is a successful college professor in mid-life crisis. She lost her 17-year-old son and her husband started an affair. This role is very far from my real life. To get into the character and her crisis, I cut my long hair and put on glasses - I want to find the feelings from the appearance first. I don't want to wear wig, since I want to perform on stage without pressure of that kind.
Q: You first acted on stage in 1997 and this is your fourth role. How do you decide on a play?
A: A valuable script and a good director are key. I am very into this play because it's an excellent script written by Yu Rongjun and directed by Yin Zhusheng. I have more than 20,000 lines and in the last three minutes of the first act, I have to recall my whole life in a monologue, just like an aria. At first it was hard for me to get rid of the influence of dance but the director helped me a lot building the role. Challenging roles also attract me; I played a female dog in my second play "Dog Sister" in Shanghai, and played two roles at the same time in my third play "Right Place Wrong Time" (2009), a comedy.
Q: You have been very critical of talent show contestants. What's your advice to young actors now?
A: Acting is in the nature of an actor, it's basic. Fame and wealth come only if you work hard. I have to say modern society is crazy. Some young actors don't know themselves well. My suggestion to them is to learn from our generation - be humble, accept others' advice and work hard. Don't be deceived by your little successes and show off.
Q: What does your family mean to you?
A: Stepping forward actively and enjoying every moment is my life principle. To me, dancing is the charger of my career, and family is the charger of my life. Family gives me stability and responsibility. Only if you take good care of your own family can you handle yourself well in the big family of society.
I am naturally maternal and have loved children since I was young. They bring people hope and I hope to establish a kindergarten when I get old. When I go home tired after work, the smiles of my children make me feel any hardship is worthwhile. I am honest with my children and apologize to them when I make mistakes.
Q: What's the key to a good marriage?
A: First adjust your own mood and mind. There's always crisis in the relationship with your husband, but I always remind myself that each woman plays three roles with her husband - wife, lover and mother. Understanding, endurance and confidence are your chips to win your husband's love, no matter what happens.
Q: Is there anything you're not confident about?
A: I am super confident on stage, and good at taking care of my family. But I am weak at IT and it's hard for me to keep up. Now I am learning new computer skills from my children, like chatting on Skype with them.
"Awkwardness"
Date: June 21-30, 7:30pm
Tickets: 180-580 yuan (US$28-91)
Tel: 5466-0030
Venue: Lyceum Theater
Address: 57 Maoming Rd.
Her latest artistic endeavor is a modern stage play this month about a couple's mid-life crisis, in which she plays a successful 50-year-old college professor whose 17-year-old son has died and whose husband has embarked on an affair.
It's a two-person play in which she acts opposite famous Peking Opera performer Guan Dongtian. It is her fourth stage play.
Jin is founder of the Shanghai Jin Xing Dance Theater, which she started 12 years ago. Her brilliance as a dancer has always been acknowledged. She has traveled widely and her innovative works are immensely popular in Europe. When she first performed as a man in New York, The New York Times called her "a genius."
She has also been a TV talent show judge, but she announced on her microblog last September that she had been kicked off the show because of her transgender identity.
Jin, around 44, is the first transgender woman recognized by the Chinese government. She was born a boy in Northeast China to Korean parents and always loved dancing. She joined the dance troupe of the People's Liberation Army, became a colonel, studied dance in New York and decided to return to China for sex-reassignment surgery. She was 28.
She is married to a German and has adopted three children.
Jin is always talkative, whether in a talk show, facing an audience, or talking about her life, her career, her family and her transgender identity.
She calls herself a "typical Leo," saying she has always wanted to show off and present herself since she was young.
Q: Describe the drama and your work with "opera prince" Guan Dongtian.
A: Guan and I, just two people, play four characters in three acts. I am alone in the first act for 35 minutes, with a long monologue and body language. Guan and I appreciate each other's talent and wanted to work together. It's a pity I cannot sing traditional Chinese opera, nor can he dance, so we chose the stage as a platform where we can work together.
Q: How do you prepare?
A: One of the characters I play is a 50-year-old woman who is a successful college professor in mid-life crisis. She lost her 17-year-old son and her husband started an affair. This role is very far from my real life. To get into the character and her crisis, I cut my long hair and put on glasses - I want to find the feelings from the appearance first. I don't want to wear wig, since I want to perform on stage without pressure of that kind.
Q: You first acted on stage in 1997 and this is your fourth role. How do you decide on a play?
A: A valuable script and a good director are key. I am very into this play because it's an excellent script written by Yu Rongjun and directed by Yin Zhusheng. I have more than 20,000 lines and in the last three minutes of the first act, I have to recall my whole life in a monologue, just like an aria. At first it was hard for me to get rid of the influence of dance but the director helped me a lot building the role. Challenging roles also attract me; I played a female dog in my second play "Dog Sister" in Shanghai, and played two roles at the same time in my third play "Right Place Wrong Time" (2009), a comedy.
Q: You have been very critical of talent show contestants. What's your advice to young actors now?
A: Acting is in the nature of an actor, it's basic. Fame and wealth come only if you work hard. I have to say modern society is crazy. Some young actors don't know themselves well. My suggestion to them is to learn from our generation - be humble, accept others' advice and work hard. Don't be deceived by your little successes and show off.
Q: What does your family mean to you?
A: Stepping forward actively and enjoying every moment is my life principle. To me, dancing is the charger of my career, and family is the charger of my life. Family gives me stability and responsibility. Only if you take good care of your own family can you handle yourself well in the big family of society.
I am naturally maternal and have loved children since I was young. They bring people hope and I hope to establish a kindergarten when I get old. When I go home tired after work, the smiles of my children make me feel any hardship is worthwhile. I am honest with my children and apologize to them when I make mistakes.
Q: What's the key to a good marriage?
A: First adjust your own mood and mind. There's always crisis in the relationship with your husband, but I always remind myself that each woman plays three roles with her husband - wife, lover and mother. Understanding, endurance and confidence are your chips to win your husband's love, no matter what happens.
Q: Is there anything you're not confident about?
A: I am super confident on stage, and good at taking care of my family. But I am weak at IT and it's hard for me to keep up. Now I am learning new computer skills from my children, like chatting on Skype with them.
"Awkwardness"
Date: June 21-30, 7:30pm
Tickets: 180-580 yuan (US$28-91)
Tel: 5466-0030
Venue: Lyceum Theater
Address: 57 Maoming Rd.
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