Legend of moon goddess premieres as dance drama
Dance drama “Chang’e: Legend of the Moon” will premiere at SAIC Shanghai Culture Square for two performances early next month.
Chang’e is Goddess of the Moon in Chinese mythologies. She is married to Houyi, a benevolent archer who is sometimes portrayed as a God of Archery descended from heaven to aid mankind.
In Chinese mythology, there were 10 suns which would take turns to cross the sky. But one day all 10 suns came out together, scorching the Earth. After failing to reason with them, Houyi began to shoot them down until only one sun was left. Houyi was then gifted the pill of immortality by the God of Heaven, which was taken by Chang’e, who flew to the moon alone.
There are a few different versions explaining why Chang’e swallowed the pill. One tale says Chang’e intended to protect the pill from being stolen by Houyi’s apprentice Pang Meng. Another version believes Chang’e wanted to be immortal but got punished.
Dancers from the Shanghai Opera House Dance Troupe rehearse the dance drama "Chang'e: Legend of the Moon."
“We have studied quite a few versions of the mythology,” said Ma Tao, choreographer and director of the dance drama. “Eventually we decided on a plot that the couple were separated by the ambitious, negative character Pang Meng, who was jealous of Houyi.”
“For Chinese, the Moon bears the meaning of romance and longing. In our story, Chang’e and Houyi always maintained their love for each other despite the separation, that’s a moral value we want to spread throughout this production.”
Ma revealed the project was in the planning stage for two years before rehearsals got underway at the beginning of the year.
Unfortunately, the drama was interrupted by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. But since pandemic was eased the show is back on schedule.
“The dance drama has an integrated style,” said Ma. “Ballet and ethnic elements, even Shanghai’s local elements, have been featured to present an oriental mythology. Meanwhile, modern esthetic elements have been used in stage and costume design.”
Stage designs of the dance drama
Yong dancer Tan Yimei will take up the role of Chang’e.
“From a human being to an immortal goddess, this is a story of a woman’s whole life,” said the 26-year-old Tan. “Apart from the difficulties in choreography, to understand Chang’e’s experience and the resulting mentality is a big challenge to me.”
For dancer Song Yu, who plays the role of Houyi, the challenge lies in how to find a new way to illustrate a character that everybody is familiar with.
“In the latter part of the performance, Houyi grows old, in contrast to Chang’e’s immortal beauty, which might be a distinguishing development of my character,” he said.
Performance info
Date: September 11-12, 7:30pm
Tickets: 80-580 yuan
Venue: SAIC Shanghai Culture Square
Address: 597 Fuxing Rd M.
