Along the Silk Road...

The picture showing above is one of the stage scenes of a Chinese dance drama—“Along the Silk Road”—which will be performing in Eisenhower Theater of  the John F. Kennedy Center on December 9^th - 10^th, 2011.

I am excited about it since this is my second time hearing its name.

Ten years ago, when working in TV station, at one time, I chatted with one of my colleagues during the lunch break. She was an obsessed fan interested in entertainment business.   

“Did you hear about the Yanyun He?” she asked enthusiastically.

I shook my head.

“Do you know who she is? She is the leading actress of the “Along the Silk Road.” She spoke slowly, emphasizing the every words of leading actress for me. Her eyes were full of admiration, as if she was talking about a heroine in the dance history.

I absolutely understand her enthusiasm.

As the top-ranking Chinese ballet, in 1982, "Along the Silk Road"  performed in the Teatro alla Scala—a historical theatre, located in Milano of Italy, its fame resounded all over the world. For this reason, the ensemble became the first Asian performance group that had ever entered the supreme theatre of the world.

The drama not only required its leading actress had an appealing face, which conformed with Chinese's aesthetics—graceful and pretty—but it also called for its performer must be an excellent dancer mastering in all kinds of dance movements, such as Chinese Classical Dance, Indian Dance, and Persian Dance. Moreover, the dancer needed to be familiar with the culture of the Ancient China.

Actually, all of the dance movements abstracted from color sculptures and wall paintings made by 3,000 years ago. That was the big challenge both for choreographers and dancers.

One of the typical movements, for instance, asked for its performer to play a musical instrument eccentrically. Instead of holding the tool in front of her, the performer needed to put stringed instrument on her back, using her both hands above the head. It looked like a wonderful stunt showing in the stage.

In addition to innovative dance skills, the drama reflected the Chinese history value.

It told us a story based on a particular time—when Ancient China initiated its foreign trade with some East-Asian countries, such as the Persian Empire, Ancient India and Mediterranean, during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220CE), while the Silk Road appeared.

Thousands of years later, tons of legends left behind the Dunhuang, a city, along the Silk Route, located in far Western China, was on the wane after its period of prosperity. 

All my knowledge about Dunhuang was to envision tons of exotic traders riding the skinny camels were processing in the endless dessert. Desolation blinded my imagination.

Fortunately, the drama could save me from ignorance. It replicated a real world tracing back to 3,000 years ago, with its art treasury and a romantic journey along the Silk Road. Exquisite costume and grand stage-design will lead me into a mobile art gallery, exploring an early Chinese history.

That will be an exciting moment for a holiday season.