Art beat in January

[Photo/China Daily]

Shanghai

Steppin' lively, Irish style

Riverdance, the most popular tap dance show from Ireland, is on tour in China for the seventh time. The theatrical production features a variety of music and dance from Ireland. This edition is specially made for the 20th anniversary of the show, featuring new digital stage design and adding a segment on female group dance. The ongoing China tour will stop in 24 cities, concluding in Hong Kong on Feb 1.

7:30 pm, Tuesday through Jan 18. Shanghai Culture Square, 597 Fuxing Middle Road. 021-6472-6000.

Liszt master in concert

The Shanghai-born pianist Yingdi Sun will play Liszt's Piano Concerto No 1 with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Ronald Zollman. Sun will play the very work that he played 10 years ago when he won the first prize at the prestigious 7th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition.

8 pm, Saturday. Shanghai Symphony Hall-Concert Hall, 1380 Fuxing Middle Road, Huangpu district. 400-821-0522.

Passage of time

Shanghai-based painter Li Xiaocheng's sketches of the Longmen Grottoes' Buddhist art outline the spiritual significance of those caves in art and in history. He didn't attempt to recreate the past glories of Longmen. Rather, the statues he painted is more about people's feelings about the passage of time, religious belief and social transformation. Li's solo exhibition, Longmen, is being held at the Today Art Museum.

10am-6pm, daily through Jan 25. Building 4, Pingod Community, 32 BaiziwanLu (Road), Chaoyang district.010-5876-0600 Ext100.

Beauty queen's story

A Song of Everlasting Sorrow, the representative piece by Shanghai-based novelist Wang Anyi, has been adapted for a theater production. It follows the life story of Wang Qiyao, a beauty queen in Shanghai in the 1940s, reflecting the social changes of more than 60 years.

7:30 pm, Tuesday-Saturday; 2 pm, Sunday; Jan 15-25. Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center－Drama Theater, 1F, 288 Anfu Road, Xuhui district. 021-6473-0123.

Beijing

Of two cities

A Tale of Two Cities is an exhibition named after Charles Dickens' famous novel. The curator LiaoLiao has brought together artists from Shanghai and Guangzhou, to present "the best of times" and "the worst of times" from their cities.

9am-5pm, daily through Jan 26. Duolun Museum of Modern Art, 27 DuolunLu (Road), Hongkou district.021-5609-5728.

Gaming music event

Game Sound Maniax, a collaborative concert featuring Japanese electronic bands and DJs, will come to Beijing playing a variety of video game-music works, which are composed by the genre's heavy-weights from Japan, including Yasunori Mitsuda. Game Sound Maniax was first staged at Okinawa in March last year, winning acclaim from video game players.

7:30 pm, Saturday. Theater of Beijing Exhibition Hall, 135 Xizhimenwai Dajie (Street), Xicheng district. 400-610-3721.