Performers from Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region showcased their dance skills on the stage.
Two performances with distinct Chinese cultural elements have recently amazed local audiences at the 39th Shanghai Spring International Music Festival.
A blend of light music and cultural and artistic expression, the performances are the latest offering by the Shanghai Light Music Troupe. China’s intangible cultural heritage, ancient poetry, and street culture were integrated and innovated in the shows.
The performance “Silk Road · East” combined urban light music with Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam, a unique art form known as the “Mother of Uygur Music.”
Uyghur Muqam includes songs, dances, and folk and classical music. In 2005, it was proclaimed by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
The songs and dances offered the audience an insight into the history and contemporary life of the Uyghur society, and impressed them with the vitality and passion of the Uyghur people.
Newly created original songs were also featured in the performance.
A six-year-old Uyghur girl dances onstage.
Some music pieces and original songs created by artists from the Shanghai Light Music Troupe were also inspired by the poetic natural landscapes and their cultural exchange experiences in Xinjiang.
The other performance is a creative music interpretation of the stories about Jiangnan (the region south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River).
The original concert integrates ancient Chinese poetry, verse, and Jiangnan cultural elements into urban light music scores. The songs interweave diverse music styles such as traditional Chinese opera singing and rap, bridging thousands of years for the audience in a musical journey.
The performance attracted a large number of young people for its creative style. Some students did not expect that the ancient poems that they had been reciting at school could also be presented in this interesting musical way.
As the planner and host of the concert, Dong Deping, director of the Shanghai Light Music Troupe, said they have always insisted on creating “urban light music” works that are loved by youngsters.
“This concert uses light music to depict a different Jiangnan, and inherits and promotes excellent traditional Chinese culture in the form that young people like,” Dong said. “We will continue to create more original music works to tell good Chinese stories.”
Popular singer Luo Xiaoluo presented his interpretations of classic songs at the concert.
The concert integrates ancient Chinese poetry, verse, and Jiangnan cultural elements into beautiful urban light music scores.