'Inspiring' Chinese dance and martial arts show ends London run

A production fusing modern dance and ancient Chinese martial arts has been praised as a landmark that will inspire people for years to come as it ended a run of performances in London on Sept 7.

Wing Chun, presented by the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater at the Sadler's Wells dance venue, tells the story of martial arts master Yip Man.

The Seeing Dance website called it "a stunning evening … everything about Wing Chun exceeds expectations", while Everything Theatre described it as "a breathtaking show that will leave you with a feeling of awe and a newfound respect for martial arts and dance".

In an end-of-run academic seminar, guests from the worlds of dance and theater production shared thoughts about the show and its impact.

Christopher Bannerman, a visiting professor at the London Contemporary Dance School and founding director of the Cross-Art project at Beijing Dance Academy, said blending dance with what he called "the body culture of martial arts, handed down through thousands of years of Chinese history … has unlocked something — by cleverly channeling that energy, a new movement language has emerged".

"I believe for the next 10 years, young choreographers in China will be inspired by this (show) and we will see a great flowering of Chinese creativity," he said.

Glynis Hall, founder of Glynis Henderson Productions who has put on award-winning shows in the West End and on Broadway and who is deeply involved with Chinese productions, said she was delighted to see a show with such global appeal.

"In the past, I've seen so many Chinese artists who wanted us to take their work abroad but it was hard, because what they did was difficult to export, but what we have seen here is a million miles away from that," she said. "This is obviously the beginning of a very different future for Chinese work internationally. I congratulate you on crossing that bridge."

Wang Yun, counselor of China's Embassy in the United Kingdom, praised the work of the show's creative team and said that one audience member, Josephine Chanter, deputy director of London's Design Museum, had commented how the performers "flew around the stage like birds" and said the performance had "opened a window to allow the audience to get into the spirit of wing chun and recognize Chinese culture".

Wing Chun was first performed in China less than two years ago and made its overseas debut in Singapore 12 months ago. The show celebrated its 200th performance during the London run and will have a short run in Paris in October, with the producers keen to take it elsewhere.

Hall said the fusion of dance and martial arts gave the show an obvious global audience appeal, and she hoped it could be the start of something bigger.

"Artists working together from different art forms is the chemistry that fires something brilliant, when they make each other better, and I think collaborations between China and the outside world are a larger form of that," she said. "The more we can find artists who want to connect and make work together, the more rich the world will be."