Diverse Chinese performances light up Helsinki Festival

Dancers in Tao Dance Theater group perform contemporary dance in Helsinki during the festival. [Photo/Xinhua]

Focus China project came to an end on Sunday in Helsinki, capital of Finland. More than 400 Chinese artists participated in the event, offering different performances or cultural activities almost every day during the well-known Helsinki Festival.

With the theme of "Genuine China: Linking Past and Future", the 17-day project covers 13 categories ranging from symphonies, ballet performances, traditional operas to movies, visual arts as well as intangible cultural heritages which deeply attracted Finnish people and tourists from other countries.

The Red Detachment of Women, a revolutionary ballet show by China Central Ballet Troupe became the opening performance of the project. As a classic Western art-form performed with a Chinese story by Chinese dancers, it successfully drew more than 5, 000 audience members and warm applause.

In return, Finnish artists performed the Last Warrior, a Peking opera directed by professor Lv Suosen of National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts. In the performance, all the libretto and spoken parts were in Finnish. Many Finnish audiences received this innovation warmly, because they could easily understand the whole story and enjoyed the glamour of Peking opera at the same time.

Renowned Chinese contemporary composer Tan Dun brought his new project, named Secret Songs of Women, to Helsinki's Music Centre as well. The project centered around the secretive language of nvshu, an ancient language which Chinese women, young and old alike, have used to express their suppressed emotions.