Dance drama: A princess' tale on the Silk Road

Post for the dance drama The Silk Princess. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Dance drama The Silk Princess will be staged at the National Center for the Performing Arts on July 30-31.

The drama is based on a story about a princess bringing silk and silkworm breeding skills to the western regions of China in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

The princess' story was also portrayed in a woodcut from the Tang Dynasty, discovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein during his expedition to Xinjiang (now Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region) in the early 19th century. The wood engraving now is preserved in the British Museum.

The dances in the drama were inspired by many poems and paintings from the Tang, including poet Li Bai's Shao Nian Xing (《少年行》), painter Zhou Fang's Zan Hua Shi Nv Tu (《簪花仕女圖》), painter Zhang Xuan's Dao Lian Tu (《搗練圖》) and a sunset scene in the western regions described in poet Wang Wei's Shi Zhi Sai Shang (《使至塞上》).

As to the music, it is a combination of Xi'an Drum, Shaanxi folk music and Qingqiang Opera. Moreover, it also takes Japanese scholar Kenzo Hayashi's study on traditional Chinese music as a reference.

The drama premiered in Xi'an on March 29.