Huajin Dance Ensemble from Shanxi
Province is set to wow theater-goers in the United States and
Australia with their latest performance A Handful of Wild
Jujubes.
The ambiguous title is a direct translation of the Chinese name
and may not be immediately inspiring, so choreographer Zhang Jigang
has renamed his work The Forbidden Fruit at the Foot of the
Great Wall.
Set in north China, the performance depicts the tale of how
bitter and forbidden love can destroy lives.
Before the ensemble sets off on their tour overseas,
theater-goers in Beijing will be able to see the performance at the
Great Hall of the People on Thursday when the company performs the
closing show of the Third Beijing International Dance Festival.
The wild jujube was indigenous to north China's Shanxi Province
at the end of 19th century, the time when the five-act dance is
set. Wild Jujube is the name of the heroine who falls in love, with
the story ending in tragedy as the lovers are killed by eating a
handful of poisonous wild jujubes.
The story starts with the death of the wealthy merchant Yin. He
leaves a failing business, a widowed mother and a retarded son. The
housekeeper plots to obtain Yin's property, so he forces his
daughter named Wild Jujube to marry the retarded son so as to
inherit Yin's business and fortune by right and title.
But Wild Jujube loves a young apprentice of Yin's family, which
infuriates the housekeeper, who tries to stop their secret love
affair.
Cultural roots
Born in Shanxi and starting to dance with the Shanxi Song and
Dance Ensemble at the age of 12, choreographer Zhang loves his
homeland and his choreography is greatly influenced by the folk
culture of Shanxi.
After accepting the commission by the Huajin Dance Company three
years ago, Zhang returned to his home province to draw inspiration
from the folk artists, although he has created a dozen critically
acclaimed dances with a unique Shanxi flavour.
For this full-length dance, Zhang has choreographed a series of
touching pas de deux between Wild Jujube and the young
apprentice.
Qiu Hui, who plays the apprentice, displays his breathtaking
techniques in jumping, spinning and lifting Wild Jujube played by
Tian Fang. Except for the last embrace, Qiu expresses his love for
Wild Jujube by embracing her from behind, vividly expressing his
shyness and tenderness and the reserved nature of the lovers.
"Love is universal and timeless, but the way of expressing love
differs from country to country. We Chinese are reserved and the
love between Wild Jujube and the apprentice is secret, so my
choreography tends to bring this out," said Zhang.
In addition, Zhang has arranged many impressive sequences
involving women with bound feet holding silk fans (in Act One), the
hard working apprentices (in Act Two), a wedding dance (in Act
Four) and the businessmen and their camels in the desert (in Act
Five).
"Some of these group sequences help enhance the local flavour
old local artists who are rooted here showed me some historical
records of the folk costumes and culture here. Their experience of
creating and those books greatly helped me to create," said the
choreographer.
In Act Two, he shows how merchant families train their
apprentices and what the young apprentices learn from the
successful businessmen. This reveals the special tradition of
merchants from Shanxi Province.
Shanxi businessmen
Shanxi Province occupies the mountainous region between the
central plain and the northern desert. The routes through it were
essential for trade and communication between the Han ethnic group
of the central plains and the desert tribes living in frontier
regions.
Trading links, dating from the first century BC, flourished
during the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907). The strong family
loyalties of those living in Shanxi coupled with ethics of
diligence, thrift and teamwork brought about a thriving merchant
culture that endured for some 500 years, until the late Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644).
True to their roots, these merchants would bring their wealth back
to their homes where their families had long been settled and they
built impressive mansions.
The music composed by Fang Ming, screen-set by Long Hua and Wang
Ruiguo and costumes by Song Li, all feature rich folk customs and
the culture of Shanxi Province.
On stage, audiences will see realistic Shanxi architecture such
as the high grey walls, the square courtyard and the watch
towers.
The wedding scene similar to Zhang Yimou's film Raise the
Red Lanterns appears in Act Four when Wild Jujube is forced to
marry the son.
A Handful of Jujubes or The Forbidden Fruit at the
Foot of the Great Wall is a showcase of folk Shanxi dance and
music, puppet shows, architecture, the unique Shanxi merchant
lifestyle and most importantly the universal and timeless theme of
love in the mystical region.
(China Daily January 16, 2006)
