Chinese Theater Arts
The Chinese theater art dates back to as early as the Shang Dynasty in 1500 BC. Now there are so many subcategories in the Chinese theater such as Beijing Opera, Acrobats, Clowning, Shadow puppetry, etc. Music and acrobatics evolved in the Shang Dynasty with many plays having these elements. Theater arts further flourished during Yuan Dynasty. The structure began evolving and gaining recognition throughout whole of China. The Yuan style is reflected in Beijing Opera which is alive till this date.
Chinese theater arts involve primarily four skills. They are voice, dance, song and acrobats. Dancing is done along with acting and combat is a part of the acrobats. In all these the basic emphasis is on the beauty of the movement and the actors are supposed to master all four of them as they are the part and parcel of the Chinese theater arts. Certain actions are a code and can be interpreted about some happening. Like when an actor walks in a circular motion, that means he is travelling over a long distance, on other instances if the actors on stage straighten their cloths and head gear means that the leading character is going to say something important.
The Tang Dynasty witnessed the rise in shadow puppetry. It reached such great heights that an acting school named The Pear Garden was started by Ming Huang which produced musical drama and the actors of this school were known as The Children of the Pear Garden. There two subcategories of shadow puppetry, Cantonese and Pekingese. The difference was in the making of the puppet. The Cantonese puppets were larger with the characters having symbolic colors according to the roles they are depicting. They were made out of thick leather and the rods were attached perpendicular to the head of the puppet. The Pekingese puppets were more delicate and small and brightly colored. They were made out of thin and translucent leather and the rods were attached to the neck of the puppet which were bent at ninety degree and ran parallel to the body of the puppet. The storyline was usually same for both Cantonese and Pekingese. The Chinese puppeteers believed in an age-old superstition that the puppets come alive at night if the head of the puppet was left intact with the body. So the head and the body were detached and stored in two different boxes.
The shows are usually being presented on rectangular platforms with the audience surrounding it from three sides. Shoujiu is an embellished curtain which divides the curtain into two. The stage is sparsely decorated with more emphasis on the actors who wear bright clothes and makeup and thus less number of props are used during the performance. The attire differs according to the role being played. King and his family wear yellow costumes where as a highly ranked warrior wears a purple outfit. Mang or python robe is the name given to this class of costumes. A character of high rank wears red garment with rich embellishments often in the shape of a dragon and other characters of lower rank wear blue robe. A young character wears white clothes, an older personality wears white, olive or brown and the rest of the supporting actors wear black robes.
The music is played on instruments such as jinghu, a small two strings, high pitched spike fiddle and Ruan, a plucked lute with circular body. The performance begins with the stern beating of drums known as Xiaoluo and Daluo. There are three classifications of the melodies being played. Aria is the first class with two subcategories, Erhuang and Xipi. Xipi is used to express more loud expressions. Qupai is the second class which basically consists of instrumental tunes depicting the happening of a big event like a festival or feast or the entree of an important character. Percussion pattern is the third class which includes fixed tune music.
The theme of most of the plays are illusionistic and nor realistic mostly involving Chinese folk tales. Later on plays were also written on history and the dramas today encompass the Chinese version of international plays such as A Midsummer Nights’ Dream and King Lear.
The Chinese theater art dates back to as early as the Shang Dynasty in 1500 BC. Now there are so many subcategories in the Chinese theater such as Beijing Opera, Acrobats, Clowning, Shadow puppetry, etc. Music and acrobatics evolved in the Shang Dynasty with many plays having these elements. Theater arts further flourished during Yuan Dynasty. The structure began evolving and gaining recognition throughout whole of China. The Yuan style is reflected in Beijing Opera which is alive till this date.
Chinese theater arts involve primarily four skills. They are voice, dance, song and acrobats. Dancing is done along with acting and combat is a part of the acrobats. In all these the basic emphasis is on the beauty of the movement and the actors are supposed to master all four of them as they are the part and parcel of the Chinese theater arts. Certain actions are a code and can be interpreted about some happening. Like when an actor walks in a circular motion, that means he is travelling over a long distance, on other instances if the actors on stage straighten their cloths and head gear means that the leading character is going to say something important.
The Tang Dynasty witnessed the rise in shadow puppetry. It reached such great heights that an acting school named The Pear Garden was started by Ming Huang which produced musical drama and the actors of this school were known as The Children of the Pear Garden. There two subcategories of shadow puppetry, Cantonese and Pekingese. The difference was in the making of the puppet. The Cantonese puppets were larger with the characters having symbolic colors according to the roles they are depicting. They were made out of thick leather and the rods were attached perpendicular to the head of the puppet. The Pekingese puppets were more delicate and small and brightly colored. They were made out of thin and translucent leather and the rods were attached to the neck of the puppet which were bent at ninety degree and ran parallel to the body of the puppet. The storyline was usually same for both Cantonese and Pekingese. The Chinese puppeteers believed in an age-old superstition that the puppets come alive at night if the head of the puppet was left intact with the body. So the head and the body were detached and stored in two different boxes.
The shows are usually being presented on rectangular platforms with the audience surrounding it from three sides. Shoujiu is an embellished curtain which divides the curtain into two. The stage is sparsely decorated with more emphasis on the actors who wear bright clothes and makeup and thus less number of props are used during the performance. The attire differs according to the role being played. King and his family wear yellow costumes where as a highly ranked warrior wears a purple outfit. Mang or python robe is the name given to this class of costumes. A character of high rank wears red garment with rich embellishments often in the shape of a dragon and other characters of lower rank wear blue robe. A young character wears white clothes, an older personality wears white, olive or brown and the rest of the supporting actors wear black robes.
The music is played on instruments such as jinghu, a small two strings, high pitched spike fiddle and Ruan, a plucked lute with circular body. The performance begins with the stern beating of drums known as Xiaoluo and Daluo. There are three classifications of the melodies being played. Aria is the first class with two subcategories, Erhuang and Xipi. Xipi is used to express more loud expressions. Qupai is the second class which basically consists of instrumental tunes depicting the happening of a big event like a festival or feast or the entree of an important character. Percussion pattern is the third class which includes fixed tune music.
The theme of most of the plays are illusionistic and nor realistic mostly involving Chinese folk tales. Later on plays were also written on history and the dramas today encompass the Chinese version of international plays such as A Midsummer Nights’ Dream and King Lear.
Theater Arts – Classical Ballet
Classical ballet is a type of ballet. Training in Classical Ballet requires dedication for strenuous workouts and a strong lower body. The styles of classical ballet training can be divided into seven types. The most famous ones are Vaganova or Russian method, Balanchine or American method, Royal or English method, Cecchetti or Italian method, Royal Academy of Dance method.
Dancers usually wear white, black, pink and flesh colored tights and a leotard. The styles and colors of the leotard can vary according to the storyline. The leotard garment has been named after the French acrobat Jules Leotard who made it famous. The shoes worn by dancers are very important as they will have a direct impact on the feet of the dancer and can also cause harm to them. During the course of time different kinds of shoes have been made for ballet dancers. At first the dancers are made to work on soft technique shoes rather known as flat shoes. Once the bones are no longer fragile and have become strong and mature enough the dancers are made to practice on Pointe shoes. The tutu is not a must though it can be used to bring in royalty with crochet sequenced wrap skirt.
Pointe shoes, if not worn properly and on proper time can cause intense damage and sometimes disability to the dancer especially if high impact dancing is done. Before starting to wear them, it’s very essential to get a thorough bone structure diagnosis done by the doctors. Although the ballet trainers might be of some help but they cannot outdo the doctors who are more familiar with the anatomy of the body. The hardness of the bones of not only ankles, but also knees, hips, arms and back should be checked along with the check of muscle density. It’s advised that you should start wearing the Pointe shoes after sixteen. After starting their use the dancers should practice vigorously for long hours to build their strength. If compared to all other kinds of sports football is the only game which requires more strength than ballet.
Nearly eighty percent of ballet dancers get injured at some point of time while performing. Some movements are so out of the natural range that it can lead to unhealthy stress on the body and if not done correctly can result in serious consequences. Many beginners get knee injuries and shin splits if they don’t do the plying, which is deeply bending the knees in a correct way. Warm up exercises should be done before starting the practice or performance. Other surrounding conditions should be taken care of and things like hard floor, cold temperature and uncomfortable clothes should always be avoided.
Another major issue with the ballet dancers is that they are expected to have a slim figure and should be on the lighter side because some dances require the dancers to create an illusion of floating. So as to maintain a beautiful body, the dancers start dieting and sometimes develop eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia or nervosa. Sometimes to keep away from eating and to control their weight many dancers switch to smoking. They find this method less stressful and that’s the reason why forty percent of the ballet dancers both men as well as women are smoker. This is a serious health issue which has serious consequences later on in life. If the dances control their diets to the farthest extent they are also on the danger of risking the strength required.
But when done correctly and according to the rules, it can act as a great strength training program. Many athletes take ballet part time classes to make their bones and muscles more strong and body more flexible. But the ballet dancers have very tough competition and job security is also very low. This adds to their stress.
Other dance forms such as modern ballet, contemporary ballet and hip hop dance are basically inspired works from classical ballets.
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