River, an original dance drama created by Suzhou Song & Dance Theatre (苏州市歌舞剧院), relates a love story that starts from a canal.
Suzhou is a city built on the canal and the Grand Canal reaches out to local households through the backbone river system in the old town.
Based on contemporary aesthetics, the dance drama is designed to present the scenery of Shantang, soft Suzhou dialect and the life deep in the city’s alleys and lanes from the perspective of Suzhou.
Since River was put on the stage in a number of cities, including Wuxi, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, and Zhuhai, etc. in early March, the dance drama has set off a Suzhou-style Jiangnan culture fashion across the country.
Stream-of-consciousness
Narrative Mode
Yang Wei, the playwright-director of River, visited Suzhou many times to collect source materials along the canal and deepen his understanding of Suzhou folk custom and culture in the early period of his artistic creation.
Different from the linear narrative of traditional dance dramas, River features a stream-of consciousness narrative mode, switches between abstractionism and realism and is a perfect blend of music, settings and images.
Onstage Jiangnan Flavor
With such refined elements of Suzhou culture as classical gardens, pingtan, etc.,River has been called the “Pavilion Peony on water” by the audience for its strong Suzhou local characteristics.
During the performance, the audience can see a “classical garden” hanging from the ceiling and experience the visual effects of flowing water; the Jiangnan tunes that can be heard throughout the show further add to the typical Jiangnan charm.
In terms of costume design, River has retained the style of traditional Suzhou costumes – the blue color, which is the dominant hue, brims with the soft and graceful ambience of Jiangnan water town.
The 3rd Wuzhong-Poly Canal Drama Festival
Grand Canal Themed Dance Drama River
Time: 7:30pm, April 30 (Friday)
Venue: Grand Theatre, Suzhou Poly Grand Theatre (苏州保利大剧院-大剧场)
Ticket price: RMB480/280/180/100 yuan
Special offer: RMB672 (originally 480*2)/488 (280*2)/288 (180*2) yuan
* Children under the height of 1.2 meters are not allowed to enter.