National Stage Art Treasure Project Review: 2003-2004

Author: Yu Ping / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Why does "The Great Dream of Dunhuang" Move People to Tears? Zheng Ye Never Knew How to Appreciate a Dance Drama, Only Believing That Dunhuang Could Only Be Shocking When Seen. Before the Performance of the Large-Scale Dance Drama The Great Dream of Dunhuang Was Over, Applause Already Rose in the Audience Seats, and Some Audience Members Quietly Shed Tears. The Subsequent Actors' Curtain Call in the Clap of Applause Lasted for 15 Minutes.
20 Years Ago, the Dance Drama The Fragrant Rain of the Silk Road Took the Dance Poses from the Dunhuang Murals as Its Inspiration, Using Beautiful Dance Language to Tell a Story of Sino-foreign Friendship, Becoming a Classic Work of Chinese Dance in the 20th Century. Now, on the Centennial of the Discovery of the Mogao Caves and Facing the Turn of the Century, Gansu Province Once Again Turned Its Attention to Dunhuang, Determining to Create a Large-Scale Dance Drama The Great Dream of Dunhuang.
The Story Tells of a Young Artist, Mo Gao, Who Travels to Dunhuang in Search of the Highest Realm of Art. During the Harsh Journey Across the Desert, His Life Is Threatened, and He Is Saved by a Female Warrior, Yue Ya, Who Happens to Pass By. Soon After, They Meet Again in Dunhuang and Fall in Love. However, Yue Ya's Father, the Great General, Opposes Their Relationship, Forcing Yue Ya to Marry a Prince or Wealthy Merchant. For Love, Yue Ya Flee in the Dead of Night, Meeting Mo Gao in the Caves. The Great General Then Surrounds the Caves with His Army. In the Face of Blood and Fire, Yue Ya Saves Mo Gao Again, But at the Cost of Her Own Life. Yue Ya Walks Away, Turning into a Clear Spring. Mo Gao Uses the Spring Water to Inspire His Brush, Completing an Artistic Masterpiece in the Profound Sorrow.
According to the Main Creative Team, the Play Reinterprets the Humanistic Landscape of the Ancient Silk Road, Represented by Dunhuang, Through the Eyes of Modern Cultural Figures. They Strive to Examine Dunhuang Art from a Contemporary Perspective, Seeking Its Profound Inner Reason, Exploring the Value of the Ambitions, Talents, and Hard Work of Ordinary Painters and Craftsmen Behind Its Glorious Achievements. Thus, They Outline the Essential Connection Between Dunhuang and Its Artists, or the Deep Relationship Between Brilliance and Simplicity, Color and Innocence, and the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth and Human Emotion. Moreover, the Creators of the Dance Drama Hope to Interpret a Piece of History Through Modern Aesthetic Concepts, Rekindling the Spark of Art in the Clash and Friction Between Traditional Chinese Cultural Spirit and Contemporary Dance Drama Concepts.
Interestingly, During the Performance, a Viewer Compared the Play to Titanic, Saying the Two Shared Some Similarities. In Response, the Main Creative Team Said, "Perhaps Both Reflect the Process of Human Emotions Being Tested in the Face of Hardship." Perhaps This Is Also the Reason The Great Dream of Dunhuang Moves People to Tears.
Like a Dream, a Poem, and a Painting—Watching The Great Dream of Dunhuang
Dunhuang Is a Dream, a Poem, and a Painting. No Matter How Far Our Imagination Reaches, It Is Difficult to Describe Its Poetic Charm, Artistic Beauty, and Dreams. However, the Lanzhou Song and Dance Theater, Hailing from the Homeland of Dunhuang, Can Use a Romantic Dance Drama to Recreate the Dream of Dunhuang We Have Longed to See.
The True Dunhuang in the Desert May Not Be Like This, But the Artistic Dunhuang Is Even More Enchanting. A Theater from a Remote Western Region Can Perform Such a Grand and Extraordinary Historical Epic. Mr. Yu Qiu in his essay Mogao Caves Wrote, "Why Can a Gansu Artist Just Snatch a Dance Pose Here and Stir Up National Enthusiasm? Why Can Zhang Daqian Take Some Lines Here with a Lantern and Become Famous Worldwide?" I Fully Agree with Mr. Yu's Analysis: Overthinking Their Techniques Is Not Very Useful. Their Success Lies Solely in Their Wholehearted Worship of Dunhuang.
Indeed, the Artists of Lanzhou Have Not Lost Their Way in the Tide of the Market Economy. They Have Always Kept Their Creative Focus on This World-Famous Desert. 21 Years Ago, They Became Famous with The Fragrant Rain of the Silk Road, and the Dance Language of "Rebounding Peony" Has Become a Classic Term in Modern Dance Drama. 21 Years Later, They Have Sharpened Their Sword Again: The Great Dream of Dunhuang.
To Create This Dance Drama, They Made Five Trips to Dunhuang, Revised the Script Six Times, and Spent Over a Year Building the Framework of the Four-Act Play. Then, They Refined and Perfected It, Bringing the Final Version to the Stage Today. 21 Years, Two Masterpieces—Truly, "Silence Until the Roar."
If We Talk About the Dance Language of The Great Dream of Dunhuang, It May Not Have Surpassed the Original The Fragrant Rain of the Silk Road. However, There Are Many Innovations in Character Portrayal, Music, Stage Design, and Costumes. It Seems the Theater Has Learned the Trick of "Laying Eggs with a Borrowed Hen," Inviting Literary and Artistic Elites from Outside Lanzhou to Create Cultural Treasures.
The Composer Zhang Qianyi, Who Has Composed Beautiful Music for Works Like Red Lover, Kong Fansen, and Qinghai Plateau, Used a Symphony and the Chinese Pipa to Create a Harmonious Blend of Resonance and Melody, Reenacting the Marching on the Desert Battlefield, the Trumpets in the Military Camp, and the Tenderness Between Mo Gao and Yue Ya. Whether Solemn and Majestic or Melancholy and Heartbreaking, Every Note Moves People to Tears.
The Stage Design Is Brilliant in Acts Two and Four. The Entire Scene of the Mogao Cave Hangs Down, With Singing and Dancing Courtesans, Painters and Stone Carvers, Merchants and Beggars, Cloud-Walking Monks, and Playful Children Wandering Among Them, Creating a Vivid Scene of Dunhuang Customs of the Time. The Story of the Great General Interfering in His Daughter's Marriage May Seem Forced, But We See the Creator's Ingenuity in His Depiction of the General Stripping Off His Armor and Helmet, Letting Down a Head of White Hair, and Walking Away in Sorrow: "Unearned Glory Brings Public Resentment, Dying Without Rest."
The Artistic Achievements of The Great Dream of Dunhuang Far Exceed These, But Even Its Poetic, Painted, and Dreamlike Atmosphere Is Enough for Us to Savor and Enjoy. Its Artistic Pursuit and Taste Alone Earn the Artists of Lanzhou Our High Esteem.
P89-92