Dream Trip takes acrobatic surrealism on the road

Audiences attending the Hunan cultural exchange event to be held in Finland from June 29 to July 3 will see an acrobatic show called Dream Trip performed by acrobats from the central Chinese province, the event's organizers said.

The show, created by the Hunan Acrobatic Art Theatre, presents a moving story by combining diverse art forms of acrobatics, dance and drama.

Zhao Shuangwu, general manager of the theater, said that the show has been performed about 1,000 times at home and abroad and has impressed overseas audiences in particular.

The story follows a young man looking for a fairy in a dream and encountering several challenges. It is infused with human feelings and pays attention to international aesthetic tastes, combining acrobatics and Chinese classical ink and wash painting with Western pop songs and dances.

Dream Trip's stunts include stunning and beautiful ballet performed on shoulders, trampolines and poles, creating an acting space where movement and static expression are mixed and full of imagination.

Zhao said: "We hope to inject emotions and thoughts into the story to make the whole show more free and complete and bring spiritual things to the spectators."

Using acrobatics to present a complete story has been the primary mission of the acrobatic troupe from Hunan. The performance employs Chinese elements such as costumes and music of Hunan and the Miao ethnic group.

Zhao said acrobatics is a unique form of performance as it combines surprise, danger and beauty. It requires excellent skills, but should also allow spectators to enjoy beauty and have emotional appeal.

The Hunan Acrobatic Art Theatre has been evolving in recent years and communicating more with overseas counterparts. The theater cooperated with a Canadian symphony orchestra in 2012 to share the stage.

The theater company has visited more than 50 countries and regions including Turkey, the US, France, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Italy and Portugal to offer performances.

"We have to adapt to a new stage for each overseas performance and we have to make adjustments at every stop, sometimes even adding to the plot to make up for any deficiency of the stage," Zhao said, adding that the music, roles and costumes all have to be changed, which requires teamwork and improvisation.

Zhao said as the team has had more opportunities to perform abroad, performers have improved much in adapting to differing stages.

Last year, Dream Trip was performed more than 100 times and attracted more than 200,000 spectators from 73 cities in 25 states in the US and two provinces in Canada. "Every time we answered a curtail call, the audience would stand up and give us warm applause and cheers, which moved me a lot," Zhao said.

He said they have contacted a local cultural company in Finland and the company has intentions to invite Zhao's team to provide tournament performances in the country.

The team hopes to enter into the local market in Finland through the Hunan cultural event and establish long-term partnerships with the country's players.

fengzhiwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 06/23/2017 page27)