“The spirit of the Great Wall” dance festival hits the London stage

The Chinese dance festival “The spirit of the Great Wall” hits the London stage. CGTN’s Jen Copestake reports.  #dance #london #art chinese

Transcript

00:00Back on Earth, a cross-cultural fusion project set against the backdrop of one of China's most iconic symbols

00:07has arrived on the London stage after debuting at the Edinburgh Festival.

00:11The spirit of the Great Wall features a variety of unique Chinese performance styles.

00:17Our correspondent Jen Copestake reports.

00:21This stunning variety show weaves together stories from China's ancient times to the present.

00:27Called the Spirit of the Great Wall, performers from the Jilin Province International Cultural Exchange Centre

00:32seamlessly weave together 13 performances of traditional folk opera, acrobatics, martial arts and dance

00:40at the Shaw Theatre in central London.

00:42With five of China's 56 ethnic groups represented on stage,

00:45the Spirit of the Great Wall represents not just the regional diversity of Jilin,

00:49but of performing arts and culture throughout the country.

00:53From the Mongolian White Horse Dance to the Dai ethnic dance Song of Coral

00:57to the Xinjiang style Folk Dance and Korean Long Drum Dance,

01:01there's a range of styles on display.

01:05Throughout the performance, we present court costumes from various dynasties,

01:08beautifully exhibiting the elegance of the East.

01:11At the same time, we also incorporate modern elements,

01:13showcasing the diversity of our ethnic cultures.

01:16These are all seamlessly integrated into this performance.

01:19The Great Wall is a symbol that represents the depth of Chinese culture and history.

01:23There is a famous saying,

01:25he who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true hero.

01:28This is why we chose this name, to showcase the profoundness of Chinese culture.

01:32The Changu Dance originated from the agricultural activities of the Korean ethnic group.

01:38It was a form of entertainment to perform by people during their farming breaks to enrich their lives.

01:45I hope that the British audience as well as the local Chinese community

01:49can feel the power and beauty of traditional Chinese culture through our performance,

01:53and that this will help to deepen the friendship between us.

01:57Before coming to London, the group performed at the Edinburgh International Festival.

02:01Arts is the greatest platform for people to communicate.

02:05We all love music, we all love to see the performance.

02:08I think that's such a platform for us to communicate our culture.

02:11We don't need to say anything, we just need to perform, use our body language, use our music.

02:15It's fantastic, it really shows the true ethnicity of China and how incredible it is.

02:21I'm Chinese, I'm so proud of them, they fantastic show tonight.

02:26I really, really enjoyed it.

02:30Jen Copestake, CGTN, London.