#chinese theater

Under Siege (十面埋伏). dir. Yang Liping (杨丽萍). 2019.

Famous for her flashy peacock-inspired performances, mainland Chinese dancer Yang Liping took to the stage again in 2019, this time as the director of Under Siege, a contemporary dance performance that blends ancient Chinese narratives with Western styles of theatre and performance. Yang describes the performance as drawing out both the beauty and the darkness of human nature, focusing on grand, visceral imagery to bring the story to life for the audience — her set included over ten thousand scissors, as well as waves of red feathers that represented seas of blood.

Under Siege was performed from June to July in 2019, as part of Art Macao’s international exhibition. An interview with the director that contains clips of the performance is available here with English subtitles.

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