Festival celebrating world culture

In a circular letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dated April 2, 1906, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games invited members to an advisory conference to determine "to what extent and in what form the arts and literature can participate in the celebration of the modern Olympiads".

Coubertin's version of Olympism - what the Olympic Movement aspires to be - is inextricably linked to the arts and humanities "harmoniously joined with sports".

Thanks to his vision, his work has been as applicable to host cities of recent Olympic Games as it was to the nascent Olympic Movement of 1906.

In 2003, Norbert Muller, Manfred Messing, and the Research Team Olympia of the University of Mainz (Germany) studied the meaning of the cultural program to spectators. Research from the 2002 Salt Lake Games showed 84 percent of respondents agreed with the statement - "The Olympic idea combines sport and art."

This significantly high response compares with 72 percent for the 2000 Sydney Games, 23 percent for Atlanta in 1996, and 40 percent for Barcelona in 1992.

The research shows a trend in the growth of awareness of the significance of cultural and arts programs in Olympiads and Olympic Arts Festivals.

"The arts were always at the center of Coubertin's vision for the Olympic Movement. In the years of preparation required to deliver a credible Olympic cultural program, I have found that Coubertin's unflagging belief in the power of music, dance, and words was sustaining," Raymond T. Grant, the artistic director of the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival and managing director of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee writes in his article Contrast, Culture and Courage: A Cultural Administrator's tribute to Pierre de Coubertin.

To inherit the cultural legacy of Coubertin and highlight the value of cultural programs within the Olympic Movement - and the connection between artists and athletes - Beijing will host 2008 Meet in Beijing Arts Festival to celebrate the achievements of athletes alongside the accomplishments of artists.

China Arts & Entertainment Group (CAEG) launches the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival every April to May. This year, under the direction of the Ministry of Culture, the festival has been postponed and expanded upon. It will start on June 23, International Olympics Day, and run until mid-September.

"Sports, culture and education are the three main ideas of Coubertin, who is both a sport and arts administrator. The Beijing Olympics Games is a rare party for Chinese people to communicate with friends from all over the world. And, of course, the cultural and art events are an important part of the party," says Ding Wei, assistant to the Minister of Culture.

"With the principles of Olympism - peace, friendship and progress, Beijing will provide a platform for locals and visitors to share culture and arts with each other and celebrate the accomplishments of artists from all over the world," Ding says.

"Arts and sports both are universal languages that bridge people from different countries and backgrounds. I believe the cultural events will create a magic and harmonious atmosphere for the Olympic Games," says Zhang Yu, general manager of China Arts and Entertainment Group.

Some 260 shows ranging from music, dance and theater, and 160 exhibitions of visual arts from 80 countries, will run at the festival.

Every year, the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival has a main guest country. This year, the focus will be on Greece, the birth country of the Olympic Games.

At the Great Hall of the People on June 23, the festival will kick off with a ritual performance by some 40 Greek musicians and dancers along with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra and dancers from the Beijing Dance Academy.

The show is directed by Lambros Liavas, artistic director of the Greek National Opera, and choreographed by Artemis Ignation, who created the flame-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. It is a theatrical version of how the Olympic flame was lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia.

"Traditional Greek music and Chinese music have much in common, for example they are all five-tone scales. I believe we can understand each other better and easier through music," says Liavas who is also a professor of musicology at the University of Athens, and the founder and director of the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments.

In addition to the opening show, Greece will also bring the modern dance Medea, created by Dimitris Papaioannou, director of the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The Greek National Theater will perform the classic Greek tragedy Prometheus Bound.

Aside from Greece, Russia and South Korea will each present a mini-festival within the Meet in Beijing Festival.

Russian highlights include the Russian Ballet Star Gala, a song and dance show performed by Russian Starlight Express and a concert by four-man band Na-Na X.

South Korea will perform a variety of shows including ancient royal court music, dance, opera, as well as musical and cutting-edge drama.

Other major international productions include the Irish hit Riverdance, the Broadway musical Hair Spray, opera Aida by Cairo Opera House and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel.

Festival organizers will, of course, also present a diversity of Chinese programs.

"The Chinese programs will show the world an open-minded country of cultural diversity, inheriting the tradition as well as encouraging innovation," says Ding.

One special focus of the Chinese program is the Intangible Cultural Heritage show, which is listed by China's Ministry of Culture.

At the Cultural Palace of Nationalities from June 10 to September 1, folk artists from small towns and the countryside will perform folk operas, ballads, storytelling sessions and dances. They will also perform ethnic music and play on traditional instruments.

Besides Peking Opera, known as the "national opera", China boasts more than 360 local styles of operas, at least 50 of which enjoy great popularity. This year, the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival will give visitors the rare opportunity to see most of the country's local operas in Beijing.

Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao will also dedicate wonderful shows to the Festival. Hong Kong Drama Company's play Princess Delin and Queen Mother Cixi, Hong Kong Dance Company's Dance Along the River during the Qingming Festival, Macao Chinese Orchestra's concerts and Taipei Liyuan Chinese Opera Theater's Peking Opera.

Oscar-winning musician Tan Dun's captivating opera Tea: A Mirror of Soul will premiere in China, at the National Center for the Performing Arts on July 30 and 31.

(China Daily 06/10/2008 page19)