The Chinese Hua Mulan Dancing in the Western Spring Breeze

[PureInsight.org] The main performance of New Tang Dynasty Television's (NTDTV) third Global Chinese New Year Gala was held at the Radio City Music Hall, one of New York City's top performing arts halls. It was a first in the Chinese community, and thus has attracted a great deal of attention. We have interviewed one of the principle contributors to the Gala, Ms. Xu Li. Ms. Xu is the founder of Tian Jiao Art Troupe, which was established in 2004 at the historical moment when NTDTV had its first Global Chinese New Year Gala. It has developed a terrific reputation in New York during the last two years. Ms. Xu shared her experience in founding the art troupe in the U.S. and some behind the scenes stories of NTDTV's Global Chinese New Year Gala.

The Pure-Minded "Hua Mulan"

Xu Li came from Mainland China. She was formerly a professional ballet dancer. At the time of the interview, she wore a jacket of military green color, making her look like a modern Mulan. Xu Li explained: "I've always been drawn to the military. Maybe I was one in a past life. Once I graduated from the dance school, I joined a military performance troop as a dancer."

Possibly for this reason, Xu Li especially choreographed a dance called "Hua Mulan" for the NTDTV's Global Chinese New Year Gala. In the dance, an army of majestic looking and awe-inspiring Mulans galloped about the battlefield. The dance was a perfect reflection of Ms. Xu's personality. When dancing with performance troops in Mainland China, she traveled all over China giving group or solo dance performances. One performance trip would cover more than ten Chinese provinces. "As a dancer, my life and work were very simple. It was very different from those who scheme or plot constantly. A dancer's life is the simplest."

The Thrilling Battle Drums

During last year's Global Chinese New Year Gala, Xu Li was involved in the arrangements for two key dances, "The Dragon Drum and Great Tang Wind" which served as the opening number and "Sentiment for the Land of China" which set the tone just before the grand finale. Both dances utilized the big battle drums despite having totally different music and choreographic concepts. The big battle drums filled the whole performance with unmatched vitality and provided people with a grand scene of the courage-inspiring drumming on the battlefield. Choreographing such dances felt very natural to Ms. Xu because of her military background.

During the 2006 Chinese New York Gala, Ms. Xu unveiled a brand new drumming dance – "Drums of the Fa Spreading the Grand Message" with five singers singing with the dance. Xu Li said that her new dance is a sentimental dance. The drumming was transformed into a dance, which is different from what people usually see. The Tang drums were held upright, demonstrating their great power. Radio City's newly renovated performance hall with its large movable stage was fully utilized for the dance.

A Cure for a Broken Heart

Xu Li's dance not only makes people happy, but also heals wounds. She related a little story, "Last year, a man purchased tickets and hoped to come to watch the NTDTV's Global Chinese New Year Gala with his girlfriend, Unfortunately, his girlfriend broke up with him on the same day as the gala. Angered and frustrated, he eventually decided to come alone. It was already the second half of the performance and "The Pure Lotus in a Contaminated World" happened to be on stage. With peaceful and lofty music, 28 fairies floated out from a giant lotus flower, pure and glorious, transcending the worldly and mundane. With layers and layers of pink fans drifting elegantly, one would imagine he was in a heavenly palace. The man felt that he had forgotten all the pain of losing a loved one and carried with him only the beautiful memory of the night, and with that he felt better right away."

Xu Li said: "This classical fan dance consisted of three sections of pink, yellow and green fan dances, representing the themes of 'serenity and peace,' 'kindness and honesty' and 'liveliness and purity.' Many movements came from the fairies painted in the ancient Dunhuang Caves. Modern people are so attached to material enjoyment and have neglected the spiritual pursuits. I hope to express the benevolent, beautiful, pure and lofty sentiments in the human world and help the audience sense the higher level call of the soul realm."

Mind-Purifying Art Creation

When asked about her thoughts on the purpose of art, Ms. Xu commented, "Regardless of the art form, art is a pioneer in a society's civilization. From literature, fine arts, music, dance, TV to films, once it is widespread, it will be imitated by the people in the society and become a trendsetter for the society."

Music and dance are ways for performers to naturally express their own philosophies of life. When they watch the dance, "Pure Lotus Flowers in the Muddy World," the audience is so drawn by the performance that they forget about the troublesome world and feel as if their souls are soaring freely in the open sky. Perhaps it is because Ms. Xu has a broad, receptive mind that she is capable of choreographing so many different styles of dances

Ms. Xu said, "During the 1980's, the performing arts in China were still fairly good and nothing like what goes on in China today. Actually, a lot of modern performing art is an eyesore with a dark stage full of modern, degenerate contents. Sometimes when a dancer dances as a Bodhisattva on the stage, she seems to carry a demonic air. It is because of the moral decline of the performers in general." In response to the problem, Ms. Xu aspires to present the purest and most righteous performing art. Her contributions are based on her professional training, continuous learning and her personal cultivation practice of body and mind.

Her Art Career Overseas

Normally a dancer has to retire when she gets older because of fierce competition. As a result, Ms. Xu has always been interested in continuing her education and broadening her horizon. When she was a young dancer in Mainland China, the leaders of her art troop forbade her to continue her education with a lame excuse, "The stage needs you." Ms. Xu said, "In hindsight, the Chinese Communist Party only uses dancers, but they do not nurture your talents and skills." After a lot of effort, she finally went to a college in Japan and later came to the United States to develop her art career.

In April 2005, just one year after the Tian Jiao Art Troupe was established, the group held a large music and dance concert titled, "With 5,000 Years of Leading Civilizations, Exquisite Performers Gather at Tian Jiao." The concert was a smash hit and received a lot of excellent reviews. Ms. Xu said, "We have created choreography for about a dozen large stage dance programs. We are often invited to perform on stage by many organizations of different sizes. The audience thinks our programs are beautiful, orthodox and very comforting. Starting from last month, we are no longer accepting any booking until the 2006 NTDTV Global Chinese New Year Gala concludes because we need to focus on preparing for the gala."

Teamwork

Ms. Xu said, "The performing arts are spiritual creations, and a dancer reinterprets the dance as she performs it. With that in mind, it is essential for both the choreographer and the dancers to have pure hearts. The dancers in the Tian Jiao Art Troupe are able to express the genuine essence of art because they put a lot of emphasis on the cultivation of their morality. When their spirit and soul are elevated to a high level, they are able to present a very ethereal style, disposition and air in their performance."

Ms. Xu continued, "The Tian Jiao Art Troupe includes a chorus and a dance group. As a non-profit organization, Tian Jiao faces a lot of challenges due to insufficient funding. Yet the performers in Tian Jiao share the common wish to spread pure and orthodox Chinese traditional culture. They are kindhearted people who do not work for monetary rewards. Every weekend they travel from different places to gather together and practice. They are willing to sleep on the floor at night, but they will never compromise their standard when it comes to art. It is rare these days to see performers being so selfless and giving. Together they have made the Tian Jiao Art Troupe a loving, cooperative and harmonious family. Because of their lofty character and spirit, the Tian Jiao Art Troupe is bound to become increasingly influential in the society."

In terms of actual dance training, Ms. Xu gives the dancers fundamental ballet training as well as classical Chinese dance training on rhythm and tempo. She said, "After giving many professional performances, the performers in Tian Jiao have improved much faster than professional dancers I have trained in the past."

Be Responsible for the Art

Although Ms. Xu felt it was an honor to be able to perform at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City, she was not overly excited. She said, "We require our performers to be equally dedicated wherever they perform. Naturally, we expect a much higher level of standard for an international performance of the caliber of the NTDTV New Year Gala, so we have created a number of different programs for NTDTV to choose from. Finally they selected three programs to be presented at the Chinese New Year Gala."

Finally she said, "A performer or an art director must be ethical. A performer with high art ethics will do her best wherever she performs. For example, when I was a dancer in China, I performed at the Chinese National People's Congress as well as in farming villages. But I was equally serious in my performance no matter what the setting was. We need to make accommodations to different stages. Other than that, all other requirements for the performers are the same."

Translated from: http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2006/1/3/35158.html