Stills courtesy of the crew
Beijing, 13 Dec (Xinhua) -- A city, a period of martyrdom, and a history that cannot be forgotten. On the evening of the 12th on the eve of the National Festival Day, the dance drama "Deep in Memory" was staged at the Jiangsu Grand Theatre. It is reported that the play will also be performed on December 13.
In the face of the Nanjing Massacre, a tragic catastrophe in human history, the dance drama "Deep in Memory" strictly relies on historical facts, takes the Chinese-American writer Zhang Chunru's path of exploration of the "Nanjing Massacre" tragedy as a clue, and through the intertwined memories of the rescuers based on Rabe and Wei Telin, the survivors with Li Xiuying as the prototype, and the confessors with Dong Shilang as the prototype- the four witnesses of the tragedy, they have jointly completed a revelation of the historical truth and also sincerely commemorated and paid tribute to the compatriots who died in the massacre.
With a concise stage, a monologue from the heart, epic and majestic music, and a costume that abandons the decorative components as much as possible, "Deep in Memory" is like Zhang Chunru, who wrote "Nanjing Massacre", with the momentum of breaking the boat and the unquestionable brushstrokes that reach the depths of the viewer's heart. Sometimes it is impossible to say because it is too painful, and the silent language of dance has exploded with its unique powerful appeal under the director's ingenious choreography and the actors' tireless interpretation.
The drama is directed and written by Tong Ruirui, bringing together famous composers Guo Sida, choreographers He Tao and Li Hongjun, national first-class stage lighting chief designer Ren Dongsheng, famous costume designerS A Kuan and Li Yuduo, multimedia designer Hu Tianji, chief stylist Of the National Ballet of China Xu Bin and other top talents in the industry, and also invited Zhu Chengshan, former director of the Memorial Hall of compatriots killed in the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese invasion of China, and Luo Huaizhen, a famous playwright, as historical and literary consultants.
"'Deep in Memory' is not a dance drama premised on beauty, but a dance drama premised on truth," Tong Ruirui said in an interview.
Since the birth of the work in 2017, "Deep in Memory" has been performed on December 13, national public festival day, in which Zhang Chunru's actor Tang Shiyi, Li Xiuying's actor Qin Xi, Dong Shilang's actor Qu Jicheng, Rabe's actor Hu Xingdong, and Wei Telin's actor Song Fei'er have been with this work for four years. In this performance, the outstanding dancer Li Yiran will inject fresh blood into "The Depths of Memory" and become one of the main characters Zhang Chunru, carrying this heavy memory together with the famous dancer Tang Shiyi.
"Those who are really painful, really sad, really angry, are beautiful", "I am completely immersed in it, every place is directly hitting people's hearts, just right", when the audience gives such moving and powerful feedback, when "Deep in Memory" scores a high score of 9.1 on Douban and Barley, all this is enough to prove that in the face of such a heavy history, any mannerism and sensationalism are pale, and the truth has its own unforgettable power.
It is reported that the play is jointly produced by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group and Beijing Nine Dance Jinshui Culture Media Co., Ltd., and performed by Jiangsu Performing Arts Group Opera and Dance Theater, and has been included in the "National Arts Fund 2020 Annual Large-scale Stage Drama and Works Rolling Funding Project". (End)
Source: China News Network