The Legend of Mulan told at Lincoln Center

The Legend of Mulan, one of the most recognizable folktales in Chinese culture, came to Lincoln Center with the Hong Kong Dance Company's first performance of the classic outside of Asia.

The story is about Hua Mulan, a peasant girl who disguises herself as a man to join the army in her father's stead. She fought in the army for a decade before giving up her position and retiring. The story has been retold in various formats, with Disney's animated version being the most notable US adaptation.

"The classic Chinese story of Hua Mulan is familiar to most of us. Artists, in particular, have a penchant for this tale, because the universal values embedded in it enable people from different cultural backgrounds to find their own perspective of appreciation," said Yang Yuntao, artistic director of the Hong Kong Dance Company, in a press conference prior to the show's debut on Thursday evening.

"In capturing its poetic spirit, the Hong Kong Dance Company transforms the narrative voice into dance movement and pays meticulous attention on the aesthetical effect of the dance," he said.

The Hong Kong Dance Company will put on four performances through March 8. Founded in 1981, the dance troupe is supported by the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and was created to promote Chinese dance.

"When choreographing the dance, I am most impressed by the spiritual congruity between the bodily semantics of Chinese dance and the Mulan tale," Yang said. "Chinese dance is distinct from ballet or modern dance and is, in fact, an embodiment of the traits of various forms of art."

Chinese dance is a combination of traditional dance with Chinese opera, as well as martial arts and ballet, he added.

Yang said that the troupe was excited to perform in New York at such a prestigious venue and that its members made every effort to put on their best show at Lincoln Center.

"In the following days, we hope the audiences who come to watch the show can have a pleasant and peaceful night," he said.

Western audiences can enjoy Mulan because the heart of the story is the idea of self-identification, Yang said.

"The most important message the story conveys is filial piety and the affection between family members," Yang said. "Regardless of differences, Eastern or Western audiences' understandings of filial piety are similar. And more importantly, the story contains the message of self-identification, which I think would be more recognizable to Western values. This theme could let Western values and Eastern values merge here rather than conflict."

Pan Lingjuan is the principal dancer playing the title role of Mulan. Pan graduated from the Beijing Dance Academy and has toured the world. She joined the Hong Kong Dance Company in 2011 and played the lead dancer in several of the company's productions.

The Legend of Mulan is being presented by the China Arts and Entertainment Group, with support from the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office of New York.

"As a cultural ambassador of Hong Kong, we bring our city's unique artistic style to the world by visiting different locations with our original products, engaging audiences to encourage cultural exchange," said Wilson Fung, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Dance Company.

The company previously performed at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington. It has staged more than 100 productions, including The Butterfly Lovers, Qingming Riverside and Storm Clouds.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com