Traditional evolves from thick history, and gradually loses its original spirit. Dancers step on the stage and re-summon the lost voice. Retake traditional pace, listen to flowing rhythms and sounds in space. They are familiar and unfamiliar, being consolidated step by step. Despite a vast world, it is buried in the dark jungle and suddenly becomes extensive. Before that scene arrives, however, there is a dark hallway. They ask us to concentrate on our body, listen to the voices of those undercurrents, find the shape in our body again, and follow dense and scattered rhythms.

In the 21st Century, Under Siege enriches traditional expression language in the modern sense. Outstanding new blood is injected into Yang Liping’s cast. The dancers devote to this great project, giving their skills into full play, and enjoying new inspiration for confluence of the traditions in the future.

Yang Liping: Artistic Director/Chief Choreographer

Crowned as “Peacock Princess” and “Dance Goddess”, Yang Liping is a Bai ethnic native of Dali, Yunnan. She joined into the Xishuangbanna Song and Dance Ensemble in 1971. She starred in the large-scale ethnic dance drama Peacock Princess which won the First Prize of Performance in Yunnan Province in 1979. In 1986, she created and performed the solo Spirit of Peacock which made a name for herself. The Spirit of Peacock not only won First Prize of Creation and ranked 1st place of Performance in the Second National Dance Competition, but was also staged for the Closing Ceremony in the 11th Asian Games in 1990. In 1994, the Spirit of Peacock won the Gold Medal of Dance Classics of the Chinese Nation across the 20th Century.

Three grand singing and dance sets created by Yang Liping, Dynamic Yunnan, Sound of Yunnan and Tibetan Mystery, bear plentiful fruits in the tours across China and all over the world. In 2004, Dynamic Yunnan won five gold medals in “Lotus Award Dance Contest” (one of the highest-level dance contests in China).

Yang Liping tours around the world, stages special dance performances, and is devoted to cultural exchanges. She leaves her footprints in Singapore, Philippines, the U.S., Canada and Japan. She is also the first mainland dancer to have performed in Taiwan, China.

Add: Opera House, National Centre for the Performing Arts, West of Tiananmen Square, Beijing (北京市天安门广场西）

Source: ncpa.com