Listings: Beijing

STAGE

Ballet San Jose from California hits the Beijing stage with its production of Stravinsky's The Firebird. The ballet is based on a Russian folk tale of the adventures of Prince Ivan in the realm of Kashchei the Immortal, where he meets a magical glowing bird. Established in 1986, the ballet troupe has a repertoire of more than 120 traditional and modern classical ballets.

7:30 pm, June 13-14

Poly Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang District

6506-5345

The contemporary dance troupe Carmina Burana from Israel is soon to perform in Beijing. Led by artistic directors Daniella Schapira and Tamir Ginz, the troupe of 11 young dancers, including Burger Uri, Ferdman Eliana, and Gal Danie, pay tribute to ancient culture in contemporary dance language .

7:30 pm, June 19-20

Haidian Theater, 84 Haidian Lu

6255-8026

The Arabian Nights song and dance gala is performed by more than 100 performers from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria and Qatar. Based on the legend 1001 Arabian Nights and tales of the Silk Road at its zenith, the show portrays the mystical Arabic world and its longstanding friendship with China.

7:30 pm, June 23

Beizhan Theater, Xizhimenwai Dajie, Haidian District

6835-4455

The Greek choreographers of the 2008 sacred Olympic flame relay will be in Beijing on June 23 to celebrate International Olympic Day. They present a performance of traditional Greek dance re-enacting the sacred ceremony held at the ancient Olympian site on March 24.

7:30 pm, June 23

Great Hall of the People, west of Tian'anmen Square

6406-8888

Brigham Young University dance troupe, led by Randy Boothe, are set to charm Beijing audiences with their animated and vibrant performance.

7:30 pm, June 24, 25

Poly Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang District

6506-5345

The Chinese Acrobatics Group, established in 1950, has toured more than 80 countries, won numerous international awards and helped foster friendships between China and other nations. Its performance includes traditional acrobatics, a circus show, magic, old Beijing folk plays and more. The show blends music, dance, local opera and martial arts.

7:30 pm, daily

Tiandi Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, 100 m north of Poly Theater, Chaoyang District

6416-9893

CONCERTS

The China Philharmonic Orchestra closes its 07/08 season with a concert featuring French violinist Augustin Dumay. Dumay will play solo during the orchestra's performance of D Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor and Beethoven's First Violin Romance in G Major in the first half of the concert . The violinist takes up the baton in the second half of the concert to conduct the orchestra's rendition of Schubert's Symphony No 5.

7:30 pm, June 15

Poly Theater, Dongsi Shitiao, Chaoyang District

8838-4171

The Pittsburgh Youth Symphony Orchestra, established more than 110 years ago, and its conductor Daniel Meyer present Michael Torke's Javelin, Zhou Tian's The Palace of Nine Perfections, Copland's El Salon Mexico, and Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances.

7:30 pm, June 19

Beijing Concert Hall, 1 Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District

6605-7006

The 2008 International Game Music Festival is the venue for an audio program of themes and background music to various grand sporting events. More than 10 bands from around the country perform old favorites such as Coming Down To Beijing, EA Sports FIFA Online 2 and The World.

8 pm, June 21

Star Live Concert Hall, third floor, Tango, 79 Heping Xijie, Dongcheng District

6425-5166

Exhibitions

The 2008 International Auction Company of China's spring auction is scheduled for next week at the Beijing Asia Hotel. Coming under the hammer will be precious ceramics, jade ware, paintings, calligraphy works, ancient coins and bronze mirrors. Many of the exhibits, notably Buddhist gold statues and pagodas, are the sole items extant of their genre.

Exhibition: June 19-20; auction: June 21-22

Beijing Asia Hotel, 8 Xinzhong Xijie, Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District

8838-0052

The cultural relics of the Mapuche show is a rare chance to see the silver ware, textile products, ceramics, musical instruments and stone vessels crafted by the Mapuche of Chile, one of the oldest and most brilliant aboriginal civilizations on the American continent.

9 am-5 pm, until June 20

Capital Museum, 16 Fuxingmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District

6337-0491/2

There Is No Story to Tell, an exhibition of works by young international artists is now on at the gallery of Tang Contemporary Art. The show highlights cultural contrasts as apparent in the works of Chinese, German, Swiss, Norwegian and Spanish artists. The paintings, sculptures and installations on exhibit also imbue the show with an ethos of global art.

11 am-6 pm, until June 14

Tang Contemporary Art, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

6436-3518

The Homesickness - Memory and Visual Reality show introduces the works of 30 or so artists who, inspired by pluralistic vision, plot their own course of return to reality. Their personal experiences liberate viewers' perceptions, illuminating interpretations of the world from a fresh viewpoint.

10:30 am-6 pm, until June 14

T Space, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

The 10th Chinese Abstract Oil Painting Exhibition of works by Beishui opened this week. Entitled Self and Impermanence, certain of the paintings on show feature the artist's impasto technique that gives his works a distinctively melancholic flavor, while his ink and wash exemplify the eloquence of blank spaces in the composition of this genre. Other works feature aesthetically schematized colors that create a harmonious visual effect.

10 am-5 pm, until June 14

Beijing Jindu Art Center, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu,Chaoyang District

5130-5546

The installation works in the latest show by Italian artist Carlos Garaicoa are created out of glass, metal, rubber and clay, and also include shoes and a microscope. His latest series entitled Revolucin o Rizoma includes the installation named Things That Happen When Life Goes Very Wrong - Chemical Experiment. Also on display is video work The Year of the Rat.

11 am-5 pm, until June 15

Galleria Continua, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

6436-1005

Guo Wei, born in the 1960s, expresses his perceptions in strong visual language. His works are executed in symbolic brushwork and combine landscapes and figures. His paintings focus on specific periods of human growth, as observed, for example, in childhood and adolescence.

11 am-6 pm, until July 19

Tang Contemporary Art, 2 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

6436-3518

Michael Joo, Korean-born American, grew up in the American Midwest and studied biology at college before going on to graduate studies at the Yale School of Art. Joo's representative work Space Baby is a distinct expression of East/West reconciliation.

10 am-5 pm, until June 20

PKM Gallery Beijing, C46 Art Zone, Caochangdi, Chaoyang District

8456-7429

9 am-6 pm, June 14, 15

Beijing International Hotel, 9 Jianguomennei Street, Dongcheng District

6518-2315 ext 6163

Three veteran Chinese painters are hosting a joint exhibition of Chinese ink figure paintings. Li Xiaoxuan from Tianjin depicts the troubled inner world of some urbanites in fast-changing China; female artist Wang Yanping from Beijing portrays daily scenes in a poetic way; and Hai Rihan from Inner Mongolia presents dream-like life on the prairies in Northern China, drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese rock murals and drawings.

10 am-6 pm, until July 18

Beijing Changjiang Art Center, No 25 Guanyintang Wenhua Jie, Chaoyang District

8739-426

Huang Yongping's solo show, House of Oracles comprises 40 installation works. Huang, by working with diverse traditions and media, has created an artistic universe of provocative installations that challenge the viewer to reconsider everything from concept of art and national identity to recent history.

10 am -7 pm, until June 22

Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, 798 Art Zone, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

8459 -9269

The Beijing Bridge Art Center will hold exhibitions for overseas Chinese artists Tsing-Fang Chen and A-Sun Wu.

Chen, 72, has won international prestige for his Neo-Iconography paintings that eulogize the Olympic movement. Over 70 of his latest works are dedicated to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The artist claims, "art is a unifying tool to rebuild a world of peace and harmony."

Wu's over 40 works on display range from visually imposing oil paintings, elegant sculptures to steel installations, which resemble traditional African wooden carvings.

10 am-6 pm, until July 14

Beijing Bridge Art Center, 78 Jianguo Lu, Chaoyang District

8580-026

Wang Yongsheng's works have been described as impressionistic ink on landscapes. His technique consists of traditional Chinese ink and wash with elements of oil painting and gouache. The splashes of black on his recent works are intended to have a rational affect. In his youth Wang, who is from Shanxi province, painted in watercolors and gouache. He later made the transition to Chinese calligraphy and ink and wash paintings. Wang is also a modern poet, and finds inspiration from philosophy, history and literature.

9 am-5 pm, until Aug 8

Beijing Books Building, Xidan, Xicheng District

Spanish artist Joan Fontcuberta is holding his solo exhibition entitled Googlegramas at the Instituto Cervantes. The artist combines the use of leading search engine Google and custom softwares - with mosaic artwork to create visual pieces.

10 am-7 pm, until July 27

A1 Gongti Nanlu, Chaoyang District

5879-9666

From Yuanmingyuan to Songzhuang, this documentary exhibition traces a contemporary Chinese artists group. The show is divided into three parts based on art forms. Video works are on show till tomorrow, with exhibits by such artists as Xu Zhiwei, Lu Dongzhi and Wang Hao. The following show, from June 1 to 14, presents works by artists who once lived in the Yuangmingyuan Artists Village. The Songzhuang group, who come from Yuanmingyuan or young artists who reside at Songzhuang, appear in the third show, until June 30.

10 am-5 pm, until June 30

Jixiang Bole Gallery 798, 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu, Chaoyang District

6959-9657

(China Daily 06/13/2008 page20)