Symposium Topic Descriptions
Chinese Aesthetics In A Canadian Context
Mr. William Lau
9:05 - 9:50am
A Reflection Of Three Cross-disciplinary Artistic Collaborations
This presentation will explore the successes and challenges in pushing boundaries of classical Chinese opera vocabularies within contemporary expressions. An investigation of the creative process, cross-cultural exchange, and aesthetic negotiation of an ever evolving ancient art form in the 21st centuries will be discussed through specific case-studies in music, theatre and dance. What are the implications of Chinese opera representations in cross-disciplinary works for multicultural audiences in Canada? How to balance artistic choices with cultural relevance? What is the direction of Chinese opera in Canada from a Chinese-Canadian artist perspective?
Aesthetics beyond the Beautiful
Mr. Jinsheng Zhao
The Cultural Politics of "美"(=beauty) and "媚" (≈charm) in Beijing Opera
Jinsheng's paper will briefly introduce the Nandan practice in mainland China and then explore the notions of 美 and 媚 in Beijing Opera in the context of dramatic socio-political changes during the last 70 years and how Nandan actors struggle with their lives and identities by talking about 美 and 媚 on and off the stage. Through the lens of Nandan practice, although not exclusively, the paper will demonstrate how and why certain ideas in the aesthetics of the Chinese traditional theatre have been constantly fashioned and refashioned by the changing configuration of gender and the efforts to make a "new" Chinese nation on the world stage. With video clips, this presentation will help the participants think about aesthetics as a contested site of social practice and embodied knowledge in modern China.
The Relationships Between Contemporary And Traditional Stage Practices
Professor Robert Reid
9:50 - 10:35am
In the perspective of the performance of contemporary works (plays and/or interdisciplinary performances), what can we draw from traditional art forms? And more specifically from a traditional art form like Chinese Opera? How can the poetics, the dramaturgy, the performance techniques, the training, be relevant to the performance of contemporary works?
This communication will examine how the training for performers of Chinese Opera can be pertinent to Western performers (actors) of contemporary works. We will look more specifically at an academic exchange between the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing (NACTA) and Concordia University's Theatre department. During 3 months a master teacher of Chinese Opera from NACTA taught 20 student-actors from Concordia University. How did they react to the training and to the poetics of Chinese Opera (Xiqu)? Where were the points of frictions between Chinese Opera and the Western tradition of training for actors? Where were the meeting points? How did the Chinese Opera training allowed the students to enrich their vocabulary and how did it gave them a larger range of expression?
Creative Explorations Of Chinese Theatre
Concepts And Techniques In Performance
Professor Dongshin Chang
10:45 - 11:30am
Chang's presentation examines a selection of Chinese theatre concepts and techniques and explores the potential and possibilities of utilizing them beyond the original Chinese context. Chinese theatre often engages the audience with its visual appeal: brilliant costumes, intricate make-up designs and stunning acrobatic displays, among other elements, have proven to be awe-inspiring and theatrically effective. Instead of focusing on the visual elements, Chang aims to highlight the spatial-temporal conceptions of Chinese theatre and analyze how a Chinese theatre performer utilizes the body to convey space, time and the character in ways that may be applicable to non-Chinese performing arts. With images and clips of specific examples taken from Chinese theatre, Chang discusses and suggests possible creative uses of each of them.
Cross Cultural Performance
Professor Yin Mei Critchell
1:30 - 2:15pm
Choreographer Yin Mei will present and discuss a post-modern meditation on history, fact and the mutability of human perception.
A Discussion On The Classical Beauty
And Various Schools Of Thoughts
Professor Su Ya
2:15 - 3:00pm
An introduction to the meaning behind Chinese Classical Dance and its aesthetic. The paper reveals the principle and foundation of how Chinese Classical dance is being reconstructed.
Chinese Dance Today As A Function Of Critical Changes During The 20th Century
Professor Shih-Ming L. Chang
3:15 - 4:00pm
Following an overview of ancient Chinese dance history, with close attention to the emergence of the Opera during the Song Dynasty, Chang's presentation explores Chinese dance today as a function of critical changes during the 20th century. The dance of modern China emerged in response to vast political and cultural changes, a critical point to address when demystifying Chinese dance for Western audiences. Through the work of renowned artists such as Ouyang Yuqiang, Madame Dai, and Wu Xiaobang, and contemporary artists such as Zhang Jigang, Lin Hwaimin, and Willy Tsao, among others, Chinese dance continues to reflect and engage the breadth of Chinese culture. The presentation will include both slides and video clips of the many dances that will be discussed. Chang will also introduce her current work on using YouTube for teaching Dance Ethnology, an approach that makes timely use of a technology widely popular among today's students. This approach also engages a philosophical difference between Chinese and Western dance -- that of ownership. Chinese culture celebrates artwork as a platform to move forward, rather than as a result of individual accomplishment and ownership. Concepts of copyrights and distribution are different, and made all the more complex with technological advances. Thus the dance continues to illuminate key aspects of Chinese culture while being a force of change in its own right.
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