LA NOTTE MAGAZINE

On April 30 and May 1, 2025, the Mariinsky Theatre audience had the opportunity to see a very interesting example of theatrical performance – the dance drama Wing Chun by the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre. The theater was founded in 2018 and includes a dance troupe, an opera troupe, and a choir.

The dance drama Wing Chun, which premiered on December 22, 2022, is dedicated to the biography of Yip Man, a martial arts master whose students included Bruce Lee himself. The play intertwines the biography of a mid-20th century cult figure in China with a 1990s film set where a flamboyant female director (Zhang Yashu) is making a film based on the life of the great master. One of the key characters in the drama is Dachun (Feng Haoran), a young lighting technician who joins the film crew and finds inspiration in Yip Man’s life.

The atmosphere of the play is very cinematic, reminiscent of a ballet, a film and a musical at the same time. The city scenes convey the atmosphere of Hong Kong at that time, and the figure of Yip Man, performed by Chang Hongji, goes through the entire play as both a person and a symbol, a role model for several generations of Chinese youth. The main idea of ​​the play is that, although we usually see “heroes” illuminated by spotlights, the light is carried within each “ordinary person”, the one who is “behind the scenes” like a young lighting technician, who personifies each of us.

At a press conference before the performance, choreographer Li Chenzhe explained that in characterizing this drama, we must turn to the term “Wulin.” What does it mean? Wulin is the fictional society of Chinese martial arts heroes in Wuxia fiction. Wulin is considered a part of the broader term jianghu, which refers to the underworld of bandits and other non-fantasy elements while traditional Wuxia genre usually contains or is fully based on fantasy traits. Thus, the dancers had to become familiar with martial arts such as Wing Chun, Baguazhang, Praying Mantis Fist, Bajiquan and Tai Chi.

My favorite part was the series of fights between Yip Man and the heads of the four academies representing different fighting styles. Sharp and moving like heroes of Chinese fantasy without any special effects, light and flexible Chang Hongji, Zhang Zhenguo, He Junbo, Zhang Yashu and Wang Jian demonstrated excellent body control and acting.

Here you can see a fragment from the official account of Henan TV’s “Chinese Festival” which shows this series of fights as a film.

In conclusion, I can say that the performance, which simultaneously introduces the viewer to traditional Chinese culture and is very modern in its form, did not leave me indifferent. The show impresses both with the skill of performance and with the stunning scenery and, of course, the lighting, in which the dancers’ movements look even more impressive.

Text: Julia Sumzina

Photos: the official photos from the performance