STAGE
Dramatic art of Tango: The Second International Drama Festival's "Forever
Ibsen" series will be "TanGhost," which is based on "Ghost," a masterpiece by
Ibsen.
"TanGhost," a tango version drama, combines the classical text of "Ghost,"
tango dance, original music and video art in one form.
Brought by the POP Theatre Company from Norway, this play tells a story of
lonely people trapped in their traditions and unable to fulfil their dreams.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 8, 9
Place: Haidian Theatre, 84 Haidian Lu
Tel: 6255-802
Forever Ibsen: "Peer Gynt," the monodrama adapted from Ibsen's 1867
masterpiece, will be staged by a Norwegian actress.
This is an important event of the Second International Drama Festival:
Forever Ibsen.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 10-12
Place: The Eastern Avant-garde Theatre of China National Drama Theatre, 8-2
Dongdan Santiao, Dongcheng District
Tel: 6527-6911
Musical memorial for Mao: To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the death of
the late Chairman Mao Zedong on September 9, a grand epic concert will gather
more than 500 performers.
The programme will include a cantata, recitation of Mao's poetry and tenor
and soprano solos.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 8
Place: Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square
Tel: 6417-7845, 6608-1188
Foot-stomping spectacle: Ireland's foot-stomping show "Spirit of the Dance"
will start its China tour next month. The international smash, a hit in 15
countries, is valued as one of the most successful shows to come out of Ireland.
Winner of nine Global Awards, including Best Choreography and Best International
Production, it has up to 10 dance troupes touring the world.
The show is based around a love story in which a spirit searches the world
for her true love.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 24-29
Place: Century Theatre, 40 Liangmaqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 6468-3311
Joyful jugglers: The China Acrobatic Troupe is staging a night variety show
at the Tiandi Theatre, where the seemingly impossible becomes reality, and
performers spin plates and juggle umbrellas.
Contortionists show incredible feats of flexibility as acrobats leap through
the air.
Integrating superlative juggling, unicycling, balancing and jumping through
hoops with the finest ancient Chinese dancing, the star-studded cast aims to
impress.
Time: 7:15 pm, daily
Place: 10 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Chaoyang District
Tel: 6502-3984
All-year acrobatics: Chaoyang Theatre is one of the few Beijing theatres to
present acrobatics all year round.
Top acrobats invited from all over the country perform for Chinese and
foreign audiences.
The programme features trick cycling, leaping through hoops and Chinese magic
tricks.
Some of the artists have won prizes in international competitions.
Time: 7:15 pm, daily
Place: 36 Dongsanhuan Bei Lu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 6507-2421, 6507-1818
CONCERTS
Marie and The Frogs: British singer and pianist Marie Batchelder will team up
with a young Chinese band called The Frogs to present their newly released
album.
Batchelder, 22, blends the styles of such singers as Tori Amos, Ricky Lee
Jones, Aimee Mann, Norah Jones and Kate Bush.
She is also a skilful piano and cello player and works include "Believe in
Yourself," "The British at MIDEM" and "Remembered."
Time: 7:30 pm, September 2
Place: Peking University Concert Hall
Tel: 6275-2279
Moscow maestro: Violinist and conductor Vladimir Spivakov will perform with
Moscow Virtuosi, on stage in Beijing.
Starting to play the violin at four years old, he gained his fame in his 20s
and has performed over 120 concerts a year throughout the world.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 4
Place: Poly Theatre, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang District
Tel: 6506-5345
Chopin at the bit: The Fifth International Chopin Competition for Young
Pianists, held every four years since 1992, but for first time in China,
attracts 40 young pianists from 14 countries.
The opening concert will be Anna Malikova from Germany, Eva Osinska from
Poland, Rem Urasin from Russia and Wu Ying from China.
Under the baton of Chinese conductors Li Xincao and Jiang Jinyi, China Youth
Philharmonic Orchestra will play its heart out.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 9-17
Place: Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District
Tel: 6605-7006
Pulling the strings: Veteran guqin performer Gong Yi and female guqin artist
Qiao Shan will lead audiences to a scene of high mountains and flowing waters.
A 1966 graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory, Gong has absorbed the essence
from his teachers and pioneers and developed a fresh way of presentation.
With elegant, unstrained style, his performance focuses on the variation of
timbre and the transmission of mood.
Canadian-Chinese Qiao Shan, both a guqin performer and a singer, and a
graduate from China Central Conservatory, has contributed to promoting Chinese
traditional music to overseas audiences.
Time: 7 pm, September 9,10
Place: Minghui Tea House, inside Dajue Temple, Bei'anhe, Haidian District
Tel: 6246-1567
Rocking Beijing: Some of the world's best bands will perform at three special
shows as part of the 2006 Beijing Pop Music Festival.
Japanese band 920 and Don Juan Dracula from Norway will kick off with the
first show.
The second will introduce domestic band Muma and Johnny Hi-Fi from the United
States. Doc Holiday and Apache Train of Japan and Chinese Zhang Tie will
conclude the festival shows.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 7-9
Place: Star Live Concert Hall, third floor of Tango, 79 Heping Xijie,
Dongcheng District
Tel: 6425-5166
Creating a scandal: South Korean singer Kangta (Ahn Chilhyun) and Vanness (Wu
Jianhao), a singer from Taiwan Province, founded a band called Kangta &
Vanness in 2004.
Encouraged by the success of their first album "Scandal," they will perform
on the capital's grand stage.
In Chinese, Korean and English, the album includes such works as "Stop Power
Move Dance" and "127 Days and One Day." Fast-paced dancing will accompany their
performance.
Time: 7:30 pm, September 22, 23
Place: Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square
Tel: 6417-7845
EXHIBITIONS
Touch of Southeast Asia: The original flavour of Southeast Asia comes out in
the collection works of the Singapore Fine Arts Museum.
The show displays about 70 paintings, from the late 19th to early 21st
centuries, by more than 50 artists from Indonesia, Viet Nam, Cambodia, the
Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.
Using realism, the artists portray the tropical area with bright colours and
fluent strokes. Culture, religion, geography and race are presented through
various artistic techniques.
Time: 9 am-5 pm, until September 10
Place: National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie
Tel: 8403-3500
Green design: "Green Olympics" is the topic of the International Poster
Designing Invitation Exhibition. Twenty-five renowned designers from home and
abroad are invited to present their works.
Time: 9 am-5 pm, until September 11
Place: National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Dajie
Tel: 8403-3500
Looking back: The duo show of Wang Hui and Wang Janwei will gather ink
paintings and oil on canvas. Both middle-aged, the two artists will show their
findings about creation and life.
Time: 9 am-4 pm, until September 7
Place: The gallery of Today Art Museum, 32 Baiziwan Lu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 5862-1100, ext 142
Going bananas: Japanese female photographer Megumi Shimizu's solo exhibition
of self-portraits represent her exploration between the genders and external
physical symbols. She ritually uses a symbolic banana to accentuate the
existence of human genders known as the yin and yang. Shimizu has also painted
over the photographs.
Time: 10:30 am-5:30 pm, until September 10
Place: Imagine Gallery, Feijiacun Donglu, Cuigezhuang, Laiguangying Donglu,
Chaoyang District
Tel: 6438-5747
Date with an angel: "Another Day of Angel," a group exhibition of
contemporary photographs, gathers works of Liu Jin, Ma Yanling, Wang Guofeng,
Shen Yang and others.
Through satire, analysis and metaphors, they express their hopes and longing
for beauty as well as their concern for reality and humanity.
Rooting their inspiration on spiritual world and self-experience, the artists
communicate spiritual expression of imagination and nostalgia.
Time: 10:30 am -6:30 pm, until September 14
Place: 3818 Cool Gallery, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 8688-2525
Power of positive inking: A joint exhibition of artists Jia Haoyi, Yang Gang
and Li Geng shows the emotional charm of ink.
Abstract, expressionist ink works put forward that when the expression is
more pure and forceful, the configurations become weaker and non-figurative.
Expressionist ink works do not focus on configurations with external details.
Configurations are only the emotional symbol for artists.
Time: 10 am-7 pm, until September 15
Place: Creation Gallery, North end of Ritan Lu, Chaoyang District
Tel: 8561-7570
Cream of the art crop: A grand exhibition of the outstanding works of 2006
graduates from national fine arts institutes is sure to impress art lovers. It
features 318 exhibits, including oil and ink paintings, sculptures, prints and
synthetic material works.
Absorbing post-moder multi-cultural presentations, and academism, the young
artists have developed their individual styles to explain trends, people, the
world and nature.
Time: 9 am-5 pm, until September 16
Place: Today Art Museum, 9 Wenhuiyuan Bei Lu, Haidian District
Tel: 5862-1100
EVENTS
Made in India: The 2006 Made in India Expo will introduce consumer goods,
iron and steel products as well as technology and service information from the
neighbouring country in the Chinese market.
Time: 9 am-4 pm, September 8-11
Place: China International Exhibition Centre, 6 Beisanhuan Donglu
Tel: 8460-0000
Decoration art: More than 100 international art manufacturers and dealers
will come to the China International Decoration Art Expo.
Domestic visitors will be introduced to new designs and products in the three
exhibition halls.
Time: 9 am-4 pm, September 6-10
Place: National Agricultural Exhibition Hall, 16 Dongsanhuan Beilu
Tel: 6501-8877
(China Daily 09/02/2006 page8)