Click on the video to watch the show. [Video provided to Henan Daily]
In recent days, the classical dance programme Night Banquet in Tang Dynasty Palace created by Zhengzhou Song & Dance Theater has become a hot topic on China's social media platforms after its debut on the 2021 Henan TV Spring Festival Gala. The programme presents a banquet at which lovable ladies in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) sometimes dress themselves up and sometimes play together. Many say it is pretty much like walking in an ancient painting scroll which shows the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty in an incisive and vivid way and praise it as "Wonderful Night at the Museum Starring the Tang Ladies".
"Chinese classical dance is deeply rooted in the nation's excellent traditional culture, so every year we go to museums as a crucial source of inspiration for our creation. When we saw the distinctive singing and dancing figures unearthed of the Tang Dynasty at Henan Museum and Luoyang Museum, we began to think how to recreate such scenes in our dance work with artistic skills." Chen Lin, choreographer of Zhengzhou Song & Dance Theater, told the reporter on February 14. So the dance begins with a group of painted terracotta figures who "walk" out of the museum one after another as the chime and ancient flutes start playing, and then turn into the noble and lovable ladies of the Tang Dynasty. (Chinese source: Henan Daily Translator: Zhao Hanqing Proofreader: Ding Lan)
