Art beat in September

Sept 23-30

Beauty in artist's eye

The Meilidao International Art Institution is presenting a group exhibition of 10 young Chinese oil painters. The 10 artists are Peng Si, Mo Han, Zeng Chuanxing, Zhou Song, Liu Xiangdong, Xue Guangchen, Zhao Xinyu, Zhong Qinghua, Li Liang and Xiao Fangkai. Although their styles and painting techniques are very different, their art goals all draw on the pursuit of pure beauty. Curator Peng Feng says beauty has gradually been returning to contemporary art since the beginning of the 21st century.

10 am to 6 pm, until Sept 24. Meilidao International Art Institution, 22 Baiziwan Road, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5826-3255.

British style on high street

The British Council has invited Simon Kneen, the creative director of fashion brand Banana Republic, to tour four Chinese cities from Sept 22 to look at high street fashion and talk about the brand's exciting cooperation with designer Issa London, a favorite of Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton. Kneen has worked in the fashion industry for more than 30 years. Young fashion lovers in Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai and Guangzhou now have the opportunity to consult the veteran on how to combine luxury elegance with popular styles at affordable prices.

7:30 pm-9 pm, Sept 27. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Road, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

La Traviata at Guangzhou

Verdi's opera classic La Traviata will intoxicate the audience with its glamorous costumes, magnificent stage settings and passionate toasting song, one of the world's most famous opera melodies. Joined by conductor Daniel Oren, the version to be staged at Guangzhou Opera House is co-presented with the UK Royal Opera House, whose production of La Traviata has been acclaimed since it debuted in 1994. The three-act opera tells a sad story about how misunderstanding and class consciousness sour the brave romance between a socialite and an aristocrat.

8 pm, Sept 27-28. 7 pm, Sept 29. Opera Hall of Guangzhou Opera House, Exit B1 of Zhujiang New Town subway station, the interchange of Line 3 and 5, Guangzhou. 020-3839-2888.

Dream in New York

Based on Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream, the musical Dream retells the popular tale in present-day New York City. The magician Puck tries his hand at blooming romance between two young couples but ends up with mistaken identities and creates havoc in the mortal world. An unsuspecting Nick Bottom (in this version a homeless Shakespearean actor) is transformed into a donkey and finds himself to be the lover of a fairy Queen. The show is produced by New York Stage Originals, a theater company founded by Philip Stern and Lisa Hopkins.

7:30 pm, Sept 28. Shanghai Art Theater, 466 Jiangning Road, Shanghai. 021-6217-2426.

Creativity with feminine characteristics

Female contemporary artist Yin Xiuzhen's current solo exhibition at Pace Beijing, Nowhere to Land, continues to showcase her imaginative integration of personal stuff with collective memories and public space. She reveals the drastic changes, rough realties and unpredictable sides of modern Chinese society in her latest works on show. Yin's artworks give evidence of her persona as a modest, nostalgic and vulnerable woman.

10 am-6 pm, Tuesday to Saturday, until Sept 28. Pace Beijing, 798 Art District, 2 Jiuxianqiao Road, Chaoyang district. 010-5968-9781.

Art reflects life

An exhibition titled Reflections, featuring established artists such as Ye Yongqing, Qiu Zhijie, Sun Liang and Guan Huaibin is on show. The curator Liao Liao believes artists' creations are their response to life and society, as well as a reflection of themselves. "They not only deal with the real world, but more importantly, the world of reason, in their works," he says.

10 am-6 pm, until Sept 29. 99 Creative Center of the Academy of Fine Arts of Shanghai University, 1F, Building 6 M50, 50 Moganshan Road, Putuo district, Shanghai. 021-2420-9822.

Dreams come true

[Photo/China Daily]

Shrek, Fiona, Po the panda, Alex the lion and other Madagascar creatures will descend uponMacaothis summer as DreamWorks Animations and Sands Chinateam up to give the entire family interactivemovieexperiences. The DreamWorks Experience at Cotai Strip Resorts includes a meet-and-greet with favorite characters from DreamWorks movies at Sands Cotai Central's Paradise Gardens, daily all-star parades, and poolside movie nights at Sheraton Macao Hotel and Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Central on weekends. Those who stay at either hotel can have "Shrekfast" with the DreamWorks gang.

Until Sept 30. Cotai Central, Cotai Strip, Taipa. 853-2882-9188.

The Killers coming for debut

Multi-platinum-selling rock band The Killers will perform for the first time in China as part of the 2012-2013 world tour. The Grammy-nominated band from Las Vegas launched in 2002 and shone in the indie scene in 2003 with their smash hit Mr. Brightside. Consisting of vocalist and keyboardist Brandon Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, The Killers have sold more than 15 million copies of their three albums. The concert is named after the fourth album, Battle Born, which was released in 2012.

8 pm, Oct 1. MasterCard Center (the former Wukesong Arena), 69 Fuxing Road, Haidian district, Beijing. 8 pm. Oct 3. Mercedes-Benz Arena, 1200 Expo Avenue, Shanghai. 400-610-3721.

Jurassic summer

[Photo/China Daily]

Travel back in time when gigantic beasts ruled the planet. Dinosaurs Live tromps into Macao after successfully invading Europe and other partsof Asia. Thirty animatronic dinosaurs will move and roar in a replicated jungle setting to show how the creatures used to live. Kids can ride on the backs of a few; there will be a 3-D dinosaurfilmand a DinoStore for fans.

11 am-8 pm, daily until Oct 1. CotaiExpo Hall F, The Venetian Macao, Estrada da Baia de Nossa Senhora da Esperanza, Cotai. 853-2882-8818

Britpop stalwarts return for nationwide tour

[Photo/China Daily]

Britpop group Suede's show in Beijing, months before the band split in 2003, proved they had a huge following in the Middle Kingdom. The band later reformed and returned to China in 2011, receiving high praise from critics and audiences. Now, the pop legends led by Brett Anderson are touring Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in October as part of their Asian tour.

8 pm.Oct 1. At Sun Yet-San Memorial Hall in Guangzhou.Oct 3. At Shanghai Stadium.Oct 5. At Beijing Workers' Gymnasium. 400-610-372.

Rui's treasures

SuzhouMuseum is holding a special exhibition of treasures from the kingdom of Rui in Zhou Dynasty from 7th century BC, unearthed from Hancheng of Shaanxi province. The excavation of the noble tombs of Rui kingdom took five years and resulted in one of the most important discoveries for the year 2005. The exhibition in Suzhou features 49 sets of gold, jade, bronze and more. Audiences will catch a glimpse of the civilization and fine crafts of ancient China.

9 am-5 pm, Tuesday-Sunday,July 9-Oct 7. Suzhou Museum, 204 Dongbei Street, Pingjiang district, Suzhou, Jiangsu province. 0512-6757-6011.

Beauty of twin cities

Miguel de Cervantes Library, the Cultural Section of the Consulate General of Spain in Shanghai, is presenting an exhibition of Antoni Miralda. The show outlines the creative processes of Twin Flavors / Twin Tongues, the installation that the Spanish artist presented at the Barcelona Pavilion in the last Shanghai Biennale. This is a set of photographs, sketches and videos that trace a dialogue between the different culinary traditions of Barcelona and Shanghai, twin cities since 2001.

10 am-7 pm,July 7-Oct 7. Miguel de Cervantes Library, 198-208 Anfu Road. 021-5467-0098

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.

Movies for the ears

Listeners will enjoy music from two great composers, Joe Hisaishi and John Williams, at a symphonic concert in Beijing. Hisaishi's best-known works, including his work on Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, and Williams' popular works, such as the themes from the Star Wars series, Superman, and Schindler's List will be performed.

7:30 pm, Sept 29. Beijing Concert Hall, No 1, Beixinhuajie, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-5166-4511.

Evening of culture

The city's signature crosstalk, magic, acrobatics, percussion and Peking Opera shows will all be part of an extended evening gala at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities Theater on Sept 28 and 29. The gala is the opening act for the theater's relaunch after its one-year refurbishment. The show has recruited a star-studded crew including the city's acclaimed crosstalk comedian pair Li Jing and He Yunwei. The 64-year-old theater is one of the country's most-loved performance venues and has a tradition of staging trademark Chinese shows and those of the nations' various ethnic groups.

7:30 pm, Sept 28 to 29. Cultural Palace of Nationalities Theater, No 49 Fuxingmenneidajie, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-8319-5318.

Paintings across oceans

Chinese young painter Xu Hang and French artist Lynda Bouden are jointly holding a show of about 30 art works to explore and contrast art from the East and the West. Xu's works focus on traditional Chinese ink painting with modern-style subjects. His works display vivid modern men and women created with ink brushes in bold and simple lines. French artist Bouden says she gets her inspirations from traveling, music and other art forms. Her acrylic paintings create a magic world of colors and lines, abstract yet thought-provoking.

10 am-5 pm, until Sept 30. Jingfeng Gallery, 798 Art zone, No 2 Jiuxianqiao, Chaoyang district, Beijing. 010-5762-6121.

Talking comics

Nicolas Finet, a senior comics publisher from France, and Benjamin Zhang Bin, the Chinese comics author whose works under the name Benjamin have been published in many countries overseas, will engage in a public conversation at Fangsuo Commune on Sept 30. The audience can learn about how artists create comics and Benjamin's success in bringing Chinese comics beyond cultural differences to the world.

7:30 pm-9:30 pm, Sept 30. Fangsuo Commune, TaiKoo Hui Shopping Mall, 383 Tianhe Road, Tianhe district, Guangzhou. 020-3868-2327.

Fingers of masters

How has music influenced the modern world during the past century? David Dubal, pianist and teacher from Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music, will join hands with Chinese pianist Sheng Yuan (pictured) in a concert to try to answer that question. Titled Golden Age of Piano, the concert will see Dubal, the author of Reflections from the Keyboard, and Sheng play and give commentary about the great piano works and musicians through the years, including Bach, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Liszt.

7:30 pm, Sept 27. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, west of Tian'anmen Square, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6585-5755.

Prose on toes

Modern dancer-choreographer Wang Yuanyuan interprets prose poem Wild Grass by Chinese literary giant Lu Xun through contemporary dance. Wang's show, with the same title, will be staged in Beijing before its European tour. Taken from the prose poem Dead Fire from the collection Wild Grass, the show contains three parts, Dead Fire, Farewell to a Shadow and Dance of Extremity, expressing Wang's ideas about rebellion and freedom. Performed by Wang's 5-year-old brainchild Beijing Dance Theater, the show's music comes courtesy of Oscar-winner Su Cong, who composed the soundtrack of the 1987 film The Last Emperor.

7:30 pm, Sept 28 and 29. Tianqiao Theater, 21, Tianqiao Beiwei Road, Xicheng district, Beijing. 400-610-3721.

Knowing images

The National Art Museum of China is presenting Between Knowing One and Knowing Two - the solo exhibition of Chinese artist Lu Fusheng. More than 130 works are carefully selected from Lu's latest creations, which are full of explorations of religion, universe and space. Lu says he believes painting is to make unseen things that should be seen into real things that can be seen. Lu thus thinks painting is luxurious, as he tries all kinds of possibilities of contemporary Chinese ink art. He translates complexity into simplicity, using the thoughts of Taoism to unveil the core of Chinese painting.

9 am-5 pm, until Sept 28. Hall 1, 2 and 3, National Art Museum of China, 1 Wusi Street, Dongcheng district, Beijing. 010-6400-1476.