In 2007, Kaohsiung City Ballet (KCB, 高雄城市芭蕾舞團) founder Chang Hsiu-ru (張秀如) turned to The Peony Pavilion (牡丹亭), one of the most popular of Ming Dynasty plays, as inspiration for a new ballet.
She wanted to show her dancers and audiences that there could be a Chinese counterpart to the 19th century classics of the Western romantic ballet cannon such as Swan Lake or Giselle.
Chang decided to revive the production this year to mark the 400th anniversary of the death of the playwright Tang Xianzu (湯顯祖).
Photo Courtesy of Kaohsiung City Ballet
The Peony Pavilion has a storyline that rivals Romeo and Juliet, as well as the two ballets mentioned above, but is much more than a love story. It is a tale of love, death, poetry and resurrection. It’s about the power of true emotions to triumph over rigid traditions and social conventions. Tang’s play was also a protest against the rigid neo-Confucianism that was popular in his day.
It tells the story of Du Li-niang (杜麗娘), the young daughter of a high official, who dreams about a meeting with a young scholar named Liu Meng-mei (柳夢梅) in a garden filled with peonies, where they make love.
The power of her dream man is such that no real man can compare and Du pines away. However, before dying, she paints a self-portrait, which is later found by Liu.
Photo Courtesy of Kaohsiung City Ballet
Liu is so taken by the portrait that he falls in love with Du. Meanwhile, the judge of the underworld, moved by Du’s great love for Liu — and her beauty — allows her to return to the world of the living, but as a ghost.
After an encounter with Du’s ghost, Liu digs up her grave so that her soul can be reunited with her body and she can retake mortal form. That proves to be the start of many more tribulations the couple must face before true love conquers all — and the emperor pardons all.
While Tang’s original play has 55 scenes and could last for days, Chang stuck to the highlights for her ballet, although she remained true to the basic storyline.
Photo Courtesy of Kaohsiung City Ballet
She choreographed the ballet with the help of modern dancer/choreographer — and her niece — Lin Hsiang-hsiu (林向秀), who worked on the lovers’ duets and solos.
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