Silk Road inspires artistic leap

With fluttering steps, women in light dresses dance in circles, while their long scarves billow in the wind. This is the typical image of the Flying Asparas painted on the walls of the famous Dunhuang Grottoes in northwest China's Gansu province.

The Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Company, on Thursday evening performed the six-scene dance drama Episode on the Silk Road, at Tianqiao Theater, which features choreography derived from ancient murals and paintings, including the Flying Asparas at the Dunhuang Grottoes. The dance shows off the prosperity of the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), telling of the love story between a Chinese artist surnamed Zhang and his daughter Yingniang with a Persian merchant, as well as the friendship between Zhang and the merchant.

A group of choreographers, including Liu Shaoxiong, Zhang Qiang, Zhu Jiang, Xu Qi and An Jianzhong, spent a lot of time at the Dunhuang Grottoes studying the unique dances that derive from the Buddhist mural dancers on the walls.

The show premiered on Oct 1, 1979, at Beijing's Great Hall of the People to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the founding of new China and ever since the distinctive score of the folk music Along the Silk Road and the unique choreography have been popular. In 1982, the drama was made into a movie of the same title. And in the last 29 years, it has toured more than 20 countries for 1,500 shows. To celebrate the Beijing Olympic Games, Gansu Provincial Song and Dance Company revived the show and brought it back to Beijing. The young dancer Sun Qiuyue performs as Yingniang, Shao Yong is the Persian merchant, and Wang Zihan is the artist Zhang.

National Center for the Performing Arts,

7:30pm, Sat, Sun, 6655-0000, from 80-480 yuan

国家大剧院