Art beat in August

[Photo/China Daily]

Life of a flower, in dance

Beijing 9 Modern Dance Troupe will perform The Name of the Rose during the 12 Days Dance Festival presented by the National Center for the Performing Arts. The five-part contemporary dance explores the process of life through the growth of a flower. Choreographer Chao Ke studied dance at Beijing Dance Academy and won "favorite Asian male dancer by European and American audiences" at the Canberra Arts Festival and the jury special award at Venice Biennale. He formed the Beijing 9 Modern Dance Troupe in 2010.

7:30 pm, Aug 27 and 28. National Center for the Performing Arts, 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6655-0000.

Revel's world of shakespeare

[Photo/China Daily]

Joseph Graves, who revived several Shakespearean plays in China, recounts his and the title character's love affair with the bard of Avon. In the 90-minute one-man show, Graves doubles as a timid six year old daunted by the master and an erratic sentimental schoolmaster. Without giving away too much, there will be elements of terror, comedy and admonition.

Related story: Shakespeare's dedicated student

7:30 to 9 pm every day from Aug 27 to Sept 2, Donggong Theater, No 47 Longfusi Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing (010) 64031596

Science meets art

An exhibition, titled 2013 Shanghai International Science and Art, will take place from Aug 28 to Sept 2. The city's scientist and artist organizations have joined hands to present this annual celebration. The exhibition covering more than 6,000 square meters adopts the latest technology. Interactive creation from 14 countries and regions are presented. A series of lectures on science and art will be given, and awards for outstanding work will be granted. Visit kyz.shkp.org.cn/ to receive free e-tickets.

9 am-5pm, Aug 28-Sept 2. Shanghai Exhibition Center, 1000 Yan'an Road M, Shanghai 021-5383-5606.

Swan lake

[Photo/China Daily]

Time to revisit Swan Lake, Natalya Makarova style. Presented late this summer by the National Ballet of China, Prince Seifield and Odette's ill-fated and gripping romance promises emotional moves while moving the audience. The National Center for Performing Arts is calling it its best and final version gleaned from numerous candidates. Feng Ying is the director and artistic director.

7:30 to 9:45 pm, Aug 29 to 30, National Center for Performing Arts, No 2 West Chang' an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing, (010) 66550000

Materialistic struggle

The Chinese adaptation of American playwright Edward Ablee's classic Everything in the Garden will depict a couple's struggle for luxuries at Zhuhai Great Hall in Guangdong province on Aug 29. In the black comedy, a working class couple buy a big house with bank loan but still want more materialistic things. The husband decides to return to an affordable life while the wife sells her conscience for money to maintain her lifestyle. The Chinese version of the play has come about because its themes reflect some social trends in the country that have risen along with the rapid growth of the economy.

8 pm, Aug 29. Zhuhai Great Hall, 1014 Fenghuang South Road, Xiangzhou district, Zhuhai, Guangdong. 0756-2213-220.

Violinist from Hong Kong

Hong Kong violinist Yao Jue will play at a concert paying tribute to Austrian violinist and composer Fritz Kreisler, who was known for his warm tone and expressive phrasing. Yao will cooperate with pianist Chi Mingzhen on Kreisler's works, such as Schon Rosmarin, Salut d'Amour and Tambourin Chinois. For Yao, who has become a mother, playing the works of Kreisler enables her to feel the warmth and love expressed through the composer's music. Born in Shanghai, Yao graduated from the Juilliard School of New York. Later she founded the Yao Jue Music Academy and the Hong Kong Children's Chamber Orchestra.

7:30 pm, Aug 29. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6559-8285.

Tanikawa recites poems

Japanese poet Shuntaro Tanikawa will meet readers in Shanghai and recite his poems. Born in 1931, Tanikawa is one of the most widely read and highly regarded Japanese poets, writing more than 60 books of poetry. He is also a literary translator who is responsible for translating Charles Schulz's Peanuts and the Mother Goose rhymes into Japanese. His work has been translated into 10 languages. His book, Floating the River in Melancholy, translated by William Elliot and Kazuo Kawamura won the American Book Award in 1989. The event is free of charge, and you can e-mail lecture@minshengart.com to reserve your seat.

7:30 pm, Aug 30. Minsheng Museum of Modern Art, Building F, 570 Huaihai Road W Shanghai. 021-6282-8729.

Individual interaction

OCAT Shanghai is presenting Yang Zhenzhong's solo show Trespassing, the third exhibition since its opening in September 2012. Yang was born in 1968 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, but has been living in Shanghai for 15 years. His career is closely intertwined with the development of new media art in China. The exhibition comprises video installations, single and two-channel videos and installations.

10 am-6 pm, Aug 17-Sept 17. OCT Contemporary Art Terminal Shanghai, 1016 Suzhou Road N. Shanghai. 021-6608-5119.

Copperplate etchings

The battlefield in German artist Otto Dix's copperplate etchings is cruel and real. The images are inspired by the artist's real experiences fighting in World War I. Fifty copperplate etchings depicting the war are on display in Guangdong Museum of Art. The series is based on more than 600 sketches Dix made on the front line in Belgium, France and Russia from 1915-18.

9 am-5 pm, closed on Mondays, until Aug 30. Hall 10-11 of Guangdong Museum of Art, 38 Yanyu Road, Ersha Island, Yuexiu district, Guangzhou. 020-8735-1468.

Love, murder and remorse at NCPA

Un Ballo in Maschera, Verdi's masterpiece adaptation of King Gustav III's assassination will be unveiled at the National Center for the Performing Arts on Sept 5. For the dance that combines love, murder, remorse with memorizing music, NCPA has tenor Dai Yuqiang in the king's role and baritone Liao Changyong as Renato. He Hui and Sun Xiuwei will star alternatively as the love-torn heroin Amelia. Lyu Jia will lead the orchestra.

7:30 pm, Sept 5-8. National Center for the Performing Arts, No 2 West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6655- 0000.

Show for ghost festival

To celebrate Ullambana festival, or ghost festival on Aug 21 (the 15th day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar), the Summer Palace is exhibiting calligraphy renditions of its namesake scripture. The Buddha Speaks, the Ullambana Sutra, is widely considered the principal text to dictate filial piety. Wang Chengyou, famous for his steady touch is the calligrapher, who presents on 22 screens in kaishu style, or regular script.

8 am-5 pm, until Sept 8. Hanyuan Hall in the Summer Palace, Qinglongqiao Jiedao, Haidian district, Beijing. 136-0107-8853.

Dual exhibition

Shanghai Meilidao Art Center's opening event is a dual exhibition of Chinese artists Guo Runwen and Chen Zijun. Guo is a leading figure of Chinese realistic painting. Instead of seeking realistic representation that lies somewhere between impressionism and realism, Guo pursues the sculpture-like realistic feeling of classicism (pictured above). His strokes are hidden behind images and his colors integrate into a tone of brown. He says he seeks a deeper inner structure and mathematical logic. Chen, on the other hand, fills her canvases with feminine imagination and fantasy. The powerful strokes and color blocks reveal the wildness hidden beneath her calm appearance.

10 am -6 pm, until Oct 8. Meilidao Art Center, 2nd Floor, Building 1, 1929 Office Space, 687 Dongdaming Road, Hongkou district, Shanghai. 021-5589-7355.

Memory of love

[Photo provided to China Daily]

City romance has been the most popular genre on mainland screens recently, often beating local and Hollywood blockbusters. The Stolen Years is another one, to be released on Aug 29.

The film starts with a newlywed couple, who were injured in a motorcycle accident. The heroine woke up in hospital five years later, with memory lost. In search of her lost memories, she learned about herself and the relationship with her lover. The film summons some rising stars, who may not be household names but are attractive enough for young audience to pay for the ticket.

Bai Baihe, who rose to fame with two other city romance Love Is Not Blind and A Wedding Invitation, is now a popular actress among producers and filmgoers, while lead actor Joseph Zhang has built his fan base by some small budget Taiwan romance like GF*BF. Director Barbara Wong is known for her sharp explorations of sex and relationships.

Mamma Mia! encore

A new tour of the musical Mamma Mia! in Chinese will start at Shanghai Culture Square. The musical based on 22 of ABBA's songs features an all-Chinese cast. The story tells about a young woman who, before her own wedding, designed a scheme to invite three of her mother's former boyfriends, in order to learn about the truth of her birth. It's one of the most popular musical productions on Broadway.

2 pm, 7:15 pm, Aug 2-29. Shanghai Culture Square, 597 Maoming Road M, Shanghai. 021-6217-2426.

Trio presents art

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The 1+1 Art Center is presenting the trio exhibition of Wen Huaisha, Xu Yanting and Zhi Min. Wen is a renowned cultural scholar. He brings his calligraphy works that echo his study of ancient Chinese poet Qu Yuan. Xu uses colorful oil paintings to express her respect toward nature. With overseas study experience, Xu's works combine the Oriental spirit with Western technique, as well as the sensitivity and tenderness of women and the toughness of men. Zhi explores germination through his sculptures. His works are no longer the representation of life scenes or the mimicking of natural forms, but the direct quest for the value of material and spirit.

10 am-5 pm, until Aug 31. 1+1 Art Center, 11 Chaoyangmen North Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-8491-1668.

Photo journalists become fashionable

A photograph exhibition from Italy has taken up the ground floor lobby and second floor public space in the Shanghai World Financial Center. Ten acclaimed photojournalists have been invited by the Altagamma Foundation to take pictures for its 64 members covering diverse fields of fashion, design, health and hospitality. They include brands such as Gucci, Versace, San Pellegrino and Ducati. Each picture is presented in frames tailor made for the image. The exhibition is held at the former Italy Pavilion of World Expo 2010 before opening at the office building in Lujiazui financial area.

10 am-10 pm, daily, until Aug 31. 1-2F, Shanghai World Financial Center, 100 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area. 021-3867-2008.

Profound oil paintings

James Cohan Gallery Shanghai is showcasing oil paintings by three Chinese artists: Huang Yuanqing, Ouyang Chun and Shi Zhiying. Skilled as a calligrapher, Huang's paintings are guided by line with profuse layers of colors and textures. Ouyang Chun is famous for his diary-stylenarration, and depicts urban and social life with a critical eye. In contrast to the other two artists, Shi Zhiying is known for her black-and-white oil paintings of the sea, rocks, sand gardens and grass. Shi's paintings summon intense reflection on individuality and the passage of time.

Until Aug 31. James Cohan Gallery, Shanghai, 170 Yueyang Road, Shanghai. 021 5466-0825.

Contractual art

A group of contemporary artists are presenting a site-specific art event-exhibition at a construction site near Hangzhou's West Lake. They invited real workers to activate their creativity, and bring independent ideas and visual vim to the works. Participants locally obtained materials. Everything that happens during the process will become part of the event. Shanghai's Shanghart Gallery helped organize the show.

July 24-Aug 31. Mirica Village, 134 Qianlong Road, Yangmeiling Village, Xihu Lake Scenic Zone, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. 021-6359-3923.