Yunnan Netnews (reporter Zhang Marui) Ashima is a golden business card of Yunnan national culture and art. After nearly 30 years, on July 15, the dance drama "Ashima", as a traditional fine work of "one hundred years and one hundred works", after half a year of meticulous polishing and choreography, was once again unveiled, bringing people a national art feast.
In 1990, in order to welcome the third China Arts Festival, under the direct leadership of the former Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture, the former Yunnan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe (now Yunnan Performing Arts Co., Ltd.) began to create the dance drama "Ashima" based on the folk narrative poem "Ashima". In 1993, the large-scale national dance drama "Ashima" became the first "Wenhua Award" won by Yunnan Province since the founding of New China, and in May of the same year, it won two honors in the "Five One Project Award" of the Central Propaganda Department. In the book "Chinese Dance Drama", "Ashima" is called another milestone in the history of the development of Chinese dance drama, known as "Swan Lake in the East" and "the wonder of national art".
The scene of the performance was taken by Zhang Marui
In 2020, the General Office of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China issued the notice of the "Work Plan for Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China stage art creation project", and after careful selection and recommendation by the Department of Culture and Tourism of Yunnan Province, the large-scale national dance drama "Ashima" was selected into the "100 Years" traditional boutique rearrangement plan in October 2020.
The development of the times and the progress of science and technology have brought about the transmutation and sublimation of stage art. The rearrangement of the dance drama "Ashima" is not simply copied and pasted, but a deeper level of innovation and improvement in the infrastructure of the original repertoire, adhering to the people-centered creative orientation, which is an excellent work worthy of the times, carrying forward the Chinese spirit, condensing Chinese strength, and having the Chinese spirit, Yunnan style and national characteristics.
According to reports, the Yunnan Cultural Investment Group attaches great importance to the rehearsal of the dance drama "Ashima", organizes the original creative team of Zhao Huihe, Zhou Peiwu, Tao Chun, Min Guangsen, Wan Li and other core personnel, once again shoulders the heavy responsibility of creation, organizes Yunnan Performing Arts Co., Ltd. and the vast number of literary and art workers to form a strong creative and performance team, and actively participates in and strictly controls all aspects of the rehearsal work of the dance drama "Ashima". On July 15, 2021, the dance drama "Ashima" was officially performed at the Dream Theater of Yunnan Provincial Song and Dance Theater with a new look, presenting a splendid and colorful artistic feast to the audience.
The dance drama "Ashima" follows the original plate structure without scenes, so that the storyline of the dance drama is continuous and orderly, and it is completed in one go, and uses 7 different color dance segments such as black, green, gray, red, gold, white, and blue to show affection in color at the same time, complete the whole process of dramatic conflict in different color dance sections, portray the inner world of different characters, and tell the touching love story. Standing at the height of carrying forward the national culture, the dance drama inherits, draws on and creates a new form of dance drama rich in national personality with an open spirit, integrates the main Yi folk dances popular in Yun, Gui, and Sichuan into the dance drama, collects and compiles the most stylish dance rhythms of the various branches of the Yi people, serves the plot arrangement, and presents a regional ethnic style that is extremely appropriate to the theme.
The creative performance team interacts with the audience Photo by Zhang Marui
The music of the dance drama is dominated by the rich Yi folk songs, which integrate many distinctive ethnic instruments, and every note and melody in the play is permeated with the characteristics of Yunnan national culture, all of which highlight the folk style of the dance drama. The biggest highlight is the extensive use of group dance landscapes and emotions, with the rich changes of group dance formations, style costumes and action vocabulary, to create a variety of wonderful natural scenes, stone forests and sheep in the black dance section, green seedlings in the green dance section, white clouds in the white dance section, cages in the golden dance section and floods in the blue dance section.
The relevant person in charge said that the dance drama "Ashima" is an artistic monument, and after the rehearsal, it has once again achieved a leap forward and reached a new artistic height. After the official performance, it will continue to participate in the 2021 Yunnan Provincial Excellent Repertoire Exhibition and Performance, and further promote and guide the inheritance and development of Yunnan national literature and art. In the future, Yunnan Province will create more fine works with temperature, depth and height, and boost Yunnan's literary and artistic undertakings to a new level and create new brilliance.