Travels in China 2009
Beijing Opera
If I ever had a desire to be a star of stage and screen, this day at the Academy of Chinese Opera certainly more than satisfied even my wildest expectations. As I mentioned in my last message, a primary purpose of this trip is to develop the partnership between Golden Courage International and the University Musical Society at the U of Michigan (UMS) initiated through a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to foster cross cultural understanding through appreciation of different musical expressions, particularly traditional Peking Opera.
That is what brings Ken Fischer, President of UMS, Michael Kondziolka, Performance Director, and Claire Rice, Education Director, to the Academy of Chinese Opera here in Beijing on this bright and sunny but bitterly cold day. Learning about the key elements of this renowned art form is important for our colleagues as they begin their planning for the 2011-2012 Musical Season that will hopefully include a performance of the Peking Opera.
We enter the large and imposing building that houses 1400 dedicated students and 200 teachers who come from all over China to train and be trained in this most popular and wide-spread form of opera in China. We are welcomed into each classroom to witness highly disciplined instruction in singing, dancing, acting, acrobatics, kung-fu, and the playing of musical instruments. Dr. Lu Sr., the former Dean of the Academy, has brilliantly orchestrated this remarkable day for us to experience all the various elements that must come together for a successful performance of this complex art form.
But the most fun part of the entire day is surely the afternoon we spend being transformed by skillful make-up artists carefully painting our faces for over an hourfollowed by the donning of sumptuous layers of very heavy and ornate costumes complete with fake hair glued onto our heads as the foundation for towering bejeweled headdresses. Each elaborate costume compliments the very stylized make-up of the actor to denote a special character type immediately recognizable to audiences who frequent Peking Opera. I walk gingerly to the wall of mirrors to look at myself in full dress regalia and truly do not recognize myself in the character staring back at me, a very odd experience I must admit.
I learn from master professors how to move in very specific ways to convey subtle emotions through the turn of my head, the uplift of my finger, the crossing of my right foot behind my left foot. I'm sure you immediately notice that I'm the Heroine, Claire is the beautiful Concubine, Ken is the wise, elder scholar, and Michael is the handsome and dashing military officer.
We are so into character that we refuse to wipe the make-up off of our faces and walk 10 blocks to the Tea House to discuss the impressions of the day. There is a strong agreement that this experience has helped us to move forward as a team in understanding how best to introduce Peking opera to our Ann Arbor community. We bid goodbye to our UMS friends as they depart and prepare ourselves to return home after a very productive and fascinating journey.
We wish you a very happy and healthy new year and look forward to staying in touch. If you have an interest in sponsoring a Golden Courage child and making a life changing contribution to a young person, please visit our website at www.goldencourage.org and donate on-line. You can give a gift of hope and opportunity at this holiday season to a deserving child.
Many blessings,
Lucinda Kurtz and the Golden Courage Family