Scintillating show of Chinese culture

Photo: Ridwan Adid Rupon

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and China and to hail Chinese New Year 2015, Bangladesh-China Friendship Center in association with Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) organised a memorable cultural programme titled “Dunhuang Melody-Charm of the Silk Road”.

Chinese troupe “Gansu Opera House” displayed an array of performing arts including dance, music, magic and acrobatics at the National Theatre Hall on February 2.

Foreign Affairs Minister Abul Hassan Mahmud Ali inaugurated the programme as chief guest. Cultural Affairs Minister Asaduzzaman Noor and Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Ma Mingqiang were special guests at the event, among others.

Expressing the charm of music and dance of ancient China incisively and vividly, the show set off with “Piper Bounce”, a reminder of the Tang Dynasty.

Next, a singer performed popular Chinese folk songs “Jasmine” and “The Coolest Ethnic Trend” evoking pictorial poetry with untainted melody and delicate emotions. “Snow-covered Plateau” was a revitalising dance where the artistes excelled in articulating the vigour and youth of Tibetan life in perfect rhythm.

Magic came next to show moments of disappearing into thin air and more, followed by a soulful melody “The Vagrant's Homesickness”.

Then a dazzling dance, “Moon Spring”, captivated Dhakaites. According to a legend, the Crescent Moon Goddess during spring sang and danced to spread the water of the spring all over the desert and granted a beautiful oasis to people.

“Ten Thousand Horses Stampeding” was another marvellous item where an artiste, playing a two-string horse head string instrument styled a musical high, followed by a beatific dance form named “Thousand-Hand Kwan-yin”. The ever-changing and fascinating hand gestures in the item represented good fortune.

“Head Skills” delineated the apparently visual shock and enjoyment of traditional Chinese acrobatics. “Pretty Horse” was the theme for another dance piece that represented majestic horses in motion.

The unique charm of Chinese women was exposed in magic called “Dream of Dress” that showed the Chinese dress culture, making the costume and the performance more artistic and magical.

The show also included classical sword dance “Flowing Water and Streaming Cloud”, vocal performance of folk tracks and a musical named “Together Forever” where all the performers conducted entertainment interaction with audiences, calling for an enduring friendship of people of the two countries.

The troupe also performed on February 3 at the same venue and are scheduled to perform at Bangladesh Army Stadium, Dhaka today at 7pm for the members of Bangladesh Armed Forces and family. ATN Bangla will air the programme live.