Peking Opera Master: Very Pleased, Very Pleased, Very Pleased (Photo)
By Minghui reporter Huang Yusheng
(Clearwisdom.net) Mr. Cao Junlin is one of the few special talents in the
Peking Opera circle capable of playing both a martial character and a singing role.
His performance in the song and dance drama "Girl Mengjiang" took
Shanghai by storm in 1945. It was the first song and dance drama in modern
Chinese history. In addition to his many performance experiences, since 1980 he
has also been invited to teach in Sweden, Germany, and Austria. He was a
committee member of a Chinese opera association and the chief executive of the
Fu Hsing Dramatic Arts Troupe. In the 1960s, as a famous Peking Opera scholar,
he hosted a TV program that introduced Peking Opera to its viewers. Mr. Cao has researched the Peking Opera and dance since 1949. His students
have included people whose talent is Peking Opera or dance, and who are now all
faculty members in different schools and educational departments. He designed a
complete curriculum in Peking Opera techniques for the National Fu Hsing
Dramatic Arts Academy, Lu Guang Dramatic Arts Academy, National Institute of the
Arts, Chinese Culture University, and Hai Guang Dramatic Arts Academy. The set
of techniques he taught was very strict and serious, and has become a classic
for studying Peking Opera. The Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan were all in there, something I've not
seen for years Now approaching 80, Mr. Cao attended the Divine Performing Arts (DPA) Chinese
Spectacular performance in Taipei on March 15. He highly praised the
traditional classical Chinese dance in the Spectacular. He said, "I
have not seen such a good dance performance for so many years." Peking Opera Master Mr. Cao Junlin hopes the DPA can promote
the beauty of traditional Chinese culture and dance on a grand scale Mr. Cao said, "The DPA's performance was a comprehensive presentation of
art, including choreography, music, and acting. The performance was totally
about Chinese culture, without any elements from foreign countries. Ethnic
groups like the Han, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan were all represented. I've
lived in Taiwan for so many years, and I've never seen a dance performance as
good as this." Commenting on the costumes, he said, "The designers must have put a lot
of effort into them." The Spectacular moves people subtly Mr. Cao noted that pieces like "The Risen Lotus Flower" and
"The Power of Awareness" had added dramatic elements, which made it
easy for people to understand the presentations. "This was very good. In
'The Power of Awareness,' the audience applauded when three thug-like policemen
beat a good person and then were eventually driven out by the joint forces of a
just populace. From this example, we can see that it was acceptable to the
audience when dance was properly added to a drama." The dancers were in precise unison Mr. Cao further praised the unvoiced agreement demonstrated by all the
dancers in the group dance, "The Power of Awareness." He said,
"It was not just one person, it was instead performed by several dozen
dancers. However, their movements were identical. There was no such thing as you
made a mistake or I made a mistake. Not at all. Whoever was supposed to move
backward moved backward, and whoever was supposed to move forward moved forward.
Their movements were completely in unison when the program ended. That was
simply beautiful." Mr. Cao has been very strict and serious about the performing arts all his
life. He said that the DPA dancers, whether male or female, were all very
beautiful and well trained. About "Water Sleeves" he said, "The
dancers manipulated the long sleeves in great unison. In particular, when they
threw out their sleeves, they had absolutely unified movements." Very pleased, very pleased, very pleased Mr. Cao thought the dancers must have rehearsed for a long time because they
could not possibly have been able to dance in such perfect unison after two or
three days of practice. He said, "It is not an easy task for several dozen
people to dance in such perfect unison." He said that the show gave the audience an opportunity to appreciate this
kind of beauty, and therefore he was "very pleased, very pleased, and very
pleased." He hope that the DPA would promote the beauty and goodness of
traditional Chinese culture and dance on a grand scale.
Chinese version available at
http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/3/16/174452.html
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