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Photograph courtesy of Cirrus Dance and Arts
Cirrus Dance and Arts of San Jose performed 'Silk Road Flower Rains' at the Mexican Heritage Theatre to celebrate its fifth anniversay. 'Silk Road' was the first Chinese dance drama to be produced and presented in the Bay Area.
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Local dance group lives Chinese history on stage
By AMY JENKINS
Cirrus Dance and Arts has put on performances for the community for several years, but its first professional performance took place on Jan. 26 and 27 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza Theater in San Jose.
Artistic and Executive Director of Cirrus Dance and Arts Junfeng Zhang says he decided to put on the dance drama, Silk Road Flower Rains because "This project brings part of very fantastic Chinese history to the community; it contributes to the multicultural community we live in and it is an opportunity to exchange with other ethnic groups to better understand each other."
Cirrus Dance and Arts has 200 students of all ages, from 4 to 64 years old, says volunteer Peggy Liou. Past community performances the group has been involved with include the Chinese New Year Celebration at San Francisco City Hall, the Moon Festival in Cupertino and Emerging school in Cupertino. Because "Silk Road Flower Rains" is a dance drama that tells a story and is closely tied to Chinese history, the organization decided to hire professional dancers, Liou says.
The production is well known in Mandarin, China, but Liou says the organization added original choreography and staging to make the performance its own.
"This production is significant because no one in this area has done a full dance drama because it involves too much; you need experienced dancers that can also act," she says. "This is the first time this story has been told in America."
The Chinese history that is drawn upon in the story is the Silk Road, which was used as a safe passage to exchange goods between the East and West. She says the show has magnificent backdrops that represent art and religion in China as far back as 1,000 years ago. Wall paintings, statues and other art were preserved in caves in the city of Dunhuang and can still be seen there today.
Zhang spared no expense as he made replicas of musical instruments that were used and documented from the time period. He also ordered extravagant costumes from Shanghai to make the show even more colorful and brilliant. Truckloads of props were brought in for the production and they even replicated a piece of the Great Wall.
But the show isn't completely realistic or historical. Although the art and history are accurate, the story is completely fictional. The story involves a father and daughter who rescue a Persian merchant who was robbed and left to die in the desert. The merchant then helps the daughter to escape from a corrupt government official and takes her to Persia. While the two are separated, the father paints in the cave, and as he dreams about his daughter, his dreams come to life on stage.
The professional dancer who plays the daughter is Cupertino resident Jian Ping Lu. Originally from Shanghai, this is her eighth dance drama. She says this production is exciting because it is promoting Chinese culture and history in this community.
The types of dances involved in the show are Chinese dance, classical, Persian, Arabic and Indian. The dancers have practiced since last October and have spent close to 400 hours of practicing. More than 200 people were involved with this project, including artists, professionals, volunteers, parents and students.
Lu says she had to adjust to being in a performance with other dancers who were not professional. One of the dance students was Cupertino resident Lena Ling. Ling has danced with the organization for 6 years and says although she got a late start she enjoys dancing.
Ling, originally from Taiwan, says, "I didn't have the chance there to be taught by a professional, but now I get the opportunity."
"The Silicon Valley is like a modern- day Silk Road," Liou adds. "America is made up of different ethnic groups and we accept every good part of every culture."
Cirrus Dance and Arts will hold a lecture series about the Silk Road, Chinese history and the Dunhuang caves. To find out more about the organization, call 408.348.2184.
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