The Peony Pavilion

The National Ballet of China completed a short season at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London on Saturday. I attended the mesmerising final matinée. Although previously unknown to me, the ballet is a shortened version of a famous story in Chinese literature. An epic Chinese opera has been transformed into a two-act ballet blending Western and Chinese influences.

Chinese literature is not well-known in the West. The programme's synopsis was greatly appreciated by the audience. It helped us to understand that the three principal characters on stage conveyed different aspects of Du Liniang. The dancing, choreography and intense colours of the production were mesmerising. The stage bore minimal yet striking scenery. The colour palette was equally minimalist: white, red, an intense blue and black. The costumes were both sumptuous and graceful by contrast.

Audience emerging from Sadler's Wells after the performance

The Kunqu opera singer was intriguing. Chinese opera has a very distinct sound. The beautiful Chinese singing was regrettably just a stream of sound to the largely Western audience. Jia Pengfei still succeeded in conveying a wide range of emotions in the story. Her performance was excellent. It was like being offered the best of an unfamiliar cuisine for the first time. It offered a great foretaste that left you wanting to understand, experience and appreciate more fully in future.

Act II Scene 2 is particularly striking after the dreamy sequences of the first Act. The stage is black to denote the Underworld. The dancers are largely dressed in black. The only relief is the intense red of the Infernal Judge’s long beard. Here punishment fits the crime. An arrogant man sits on the judge’s chair, but leaves the stage humbled on all fours as a dog.

Our heroine returns to the world above. The stage and its costumed dancers are a vivid peony-red. The wedding procession is accompanied by triumphal music. Peony petals fall from above onto the stage. They form a spectacular feast for the eyes at the finale. 

The audience’s ovation continued for a long while – especially in appreciation of the main performers.

A few red peony petals remained in front of the curtains on stage at the end - lingering reminders of a memorable performance and spectacle.

Karen Andrews is a freelance French to English translator, transcreator, content writer and editor. She has a strong background in marketing and project management.

Email Karen for further information via karenanglicityen@gmail.com in French, German or English.

Brazilian Dance Spectacle

The Brazilians are well-known for worldwide for their colourful and exuberant carnivals and parties. Giving a Brazilian flavour to a family celebration evening seemed the perfect recipe. We celebrated in style by attending Baila Brazil at the Royal Festival Hall.

On Saturday 15th August the Balé de Rua dance company staged their final performance in London. Oh yes, it was loud, colourful, energetic and exuberant. The show was as The Scotsman described:

"Stunning. If only, I'd had a sixth star at my disposal."

Baila Brazil has travelled the world since it opened in Sydney, Australia. Over 500,000 performances in 13 cities later, it was London's turn. The company has come a long way. Born of an art project in the favelas, its dancers were discovered at the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon in 2002. Today's professional dancers all trained in the project's free schools.

I was somewhat nonplussed at the beginning. A troupe of male dancers dressed as women was totally unexpected. For the majority of the evening, they were more scantily clad than the two women. That made a pleasant change.

The dancing was simply amazing. I didn't realise that the human body could even bend in such ways - let alone dance in them.

Alexia Falcão Lopes had a great voice. She kept going throughout the noisy, unrelenting show without showing any strain in her voice. She even sang centre-stage without flinching as acrobatics were performed about her ears.

The range of dancing was incredible. I particularly enjoyed the breakdancing. I don't remember seeing a show before in which so much was danced upside down. The head-spinning on a raised platform was breathtaking.

A number of cultural influences seemed to be at play in the dances. The slavery scenes were particularly powerful. They stood out for their change of tone and pace.

I lost track of how many encores there were. The performers didn't want to stop singing and dancing. They still had energy and enthusiasm to burn. They came out into the audience to dance. We all clapped and sang along as invited.

The drummers were brilliant. You could feel the rhythm pulsating through the floor,  your feet, ears and even in your heart during the show.

We could still feel the Brazilian beat and energy, as we spilled out smiling into a warm summer evening on London's South Bank.

Just can't wait for the opening ceremonies of the Rio 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. We'd all better start preparing our superlatives for the spectacles to come.

 

For information on Anglicity's content writing services, email karen@anglicity.com