Published on Nov 3, 2017

Rating:

Genre: NCPA

Dates: November 2-3, 2017

Venue: Drama Theatre of NCPA

Prices: 100, 200, 300, 400, 500

Features: Taiyuan Dance Troupe will be presents the Wild Geese at drama theatre of NCPA from December 2-3, the dance drama is choreographed based on modern dance and integrated with many traditional cultural elements of Shanxi province.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Wild Geese is a modern dance drama created with an inspiration from Groping for Fish: Wild Geese, a masterpiece by YUAN Haowen, a famous poet in the Jin Dynasty of China. In terms of performance style, the dance drama is choreographed based on modern dance and integrated with many traditional cultural elements of Shanxi province. Especially in the second half of the drama, the music is mixed with Jin Opera, the traditional opera of Shanxi. In addition, projection technology is extensively applied in the dance drama. The projection picture of Chinese painting style serves as a background and serves to change the stage scene, and pushes the story forward.

Synopsis

Act 1
There appears the Fenhe River of the day, beside which are high-rise buildings standing in great numbers. The riverbank is packed with visitors, and many young lovers are enjoying a good time there. Suddenly, time goes backwards, back to one thousand years ago. The Fenhe River of those days is to suffer from a war between the Song Dynasty and the Jin Dynasty.

There is a small village near the Fenhe River, where Yan’er and her father depend on each other for survival. Returning from the hunting ground, her father gives her an unhatched wild goose egg. A little life is hatched and grows gradually into a female wild goose.

In spring, the riverbank is overflowing with vigour, where there are tall grasses and flying swallows. Yan’er’s sweetheart LI Tang, whom she misses all the time, comes back, and so the female wild goose returns home with a male mate. Yan’er and LI Tang enjoy the pleasure of love in the company of the wild gooses.

A war breaks out and disturbs the tranquility of the village, which is not far from the battlefield. LI Tang and other male villagers join the army one after another to defend their homeland against the troops of the Jin Dynasty. Before long, the troops of the Jin Dynasty arrive. The Jin general WANYAN Lü carries Yan’er off and takes her to the Cloud city. The wild geese tail after them.

In the Cloud city, WANYAN Lü covets Yan’er’s beauty and browbeats her into promising him, but to no avail. So, he puts her under house arrest. Yan’er lets the wild gooses send word to LI Tang that she misses him, but they are separated by vast clouds and snow mountains…

Act 2
LI Tang goes into raptures at the letter, and writes in return immediately and then lets the wild geese go back with his letter. At the time, the Jin soldiers are drinking in the General House in the Cloud city. Failing again, WANYAN Lü walks off in a huff, and Yan’er almost falls into despair. The wild geese come back with LI Tang’s letter. Yan’er flees in the chaos, and lets the wild geese bring a second letter to LI Tang. In the reed marshes, the female wild goose enters a hunting net accidentally and dies. Delivering the letter, the male wild goose returns to the reed marshes, where it laments with its neck thrown back and dies for love by knocking its head against the ground.

On the snow-capped ground in northern China, the Song troops are fighting against the Jin troops. LI Tang and Yan’er meet on the battlefield, but WANYAN Lü comes soon. After fierce fighting, LI Tang and Yan’er are seriously wounded, WANYAN Lü dies, and the Jin troops retreat.

One year later, when spring comes with blooming flowers, LI Tang, Yan’er and the returned villagers build a tomb for the wild geese. As time goes by, it goes back to today. The geese’s tomb is still there beside the Fenhe River, where it seems as if LI Tang and Yan’er were meeting again. Their love has been witnessed for one thousand years.

Taiyuan Dance Troupe
Established in 2009, Taiyuan Dance Troupe invites the celebrated playwright and director ZHANG Jigang as a permanent chief Artistic Director. So far, its dance drama Thousand-hand Bodhisattva and modern dance drama Wild Geese have become very popular and performed overseas for many times. The Thousand-hand Bodhisattva was rated as a programme sponsored by China National Arts Fund in 2015 and performed in Malaysia in the following year.

Tickets for Taiyuan Dance Troupe Wild Geese are Available now!