The dance drama "A Dream of Red Mansions," adapted from the Chinese classic novel that tells the stories about the rise and fall of four noble families, was staged in Beijing on Saturday to the delight of dance drama enthusiasts.
Written by Cao Xueqin in the 18th century, "A Dream of Red Mansions" is recognized as one of the four great classical novels in Chinese literature. It centers around Jia Baoyu, a young man from an aristocratic family, and his tangled relationship with the two female protagonists, Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai. It's an epic tale reflecting the ups and downs of the Jia family and, by extension, the entire Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).
The show was created and staged by Jiangsu Center for the Performing Arts (JSCPA). Since its premiere in 2021, the dance drama has toured 36 cities with over 260 performances and made its overseas debut in Singapore in September this year.
"I am from Chengdu and have come to Beijing during the National Day holiday to watch the show. As a fan of dance dramas born after 2000, I have traveled to other cities to see the dance drama 'A Dream of Red Mansions' dozens of times," said an audience member.
The dance drama is popular among young audience members thanks to its young creative team born in the 1990s. However, adapting the complex literary masterpiece into a dance drama was challenging for the young creators.
"In the early stages of our creation process, we frequently traveled to places such as Nanjing and Beijing, including the Jiangning weaving bureau and Cao Xueqin's former residence, for inspiration and insights. We've striven to capture the cultural background and literary essence of "A Dream of Red Mansions." It's only when we are fully engaged in the creative process can we truly discover the charm of literary masterpieces," said Li Xing, director of the dance drama, who also played the role of Jia Baoyu.
Meanwhile, the team has put great effort into details such as stage and costume design.
"We drew inspiration from Sun Wen's art book [artist of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)] and incorporated elements from Peking opera and Kunqu opera, along with our own interpretations and designs," said costume designer Li Kun.
"A Dream of Red Mansions" is in inheritance and publicity of excellent traditional Chinese culture, showing respect to the principles of the original work, and integrates a young, imaginative and innovative perspective into the work, presenting a re-interpretation of literary classics by young artists.
"We conducted a survey about this dance drama and found out that the average age of the audience is around 27 years old. Basically, most of the audience members in the theater are young people," said Liao Yi, producer of the dance drama.
Chinese dance drama revives literary classic
