Dance inspired by painting set for US tour

Poetic Dance: The Journey of A Legendary Landscape Painting, a dance drama by the China Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, will perform in cities in the United States, including San Diego, Los Angeles and New York, at the end of December.

It will be the first tour of the dance drama in the US. Tickets will go on sale on Dec 9.

The dance drama was inspired by A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains, a classic artwork by artist Wang Ximeng during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The painting, now in the collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing, is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important works in the history of Chinese fine art.

The 11-meter-long scroll painting is a record of people's lives and the natural scenery of that time, mixing realism with creative imagination.

By choreographers Zhou Liya and Han Zhen, the dance drama premiered at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing in August 2021 and toured nationwide, as well Singapore, Russia and Turkiye.

So far, the dance drama has been staged more than 640 times worldwide and won top national performing arts awards.

In October, the dance drama was turned into a movie and the music of the production was staged in concerts.