Friday, July 02, 2004
Getting a Workout Doing "Red"
The physical rigors involved in rehearsing "Red" are substantial.
When you hear "opera" you might not be thinking of a lot of physical activity, especially if you're most familiar with such opera stars as Pavoratti (who hardly looks like he's ready for a work-out.)
But the "Beijing Opera" is a different story. The genre involves lots of movement and dance.
To achieve authenticity, TheatreWorks has brought Jamie Guan, a former member of the revolutionary opera in China, to work with the cast on the dance sequences. Jamie is ably assisted by his son, Nick.
Each dance sequence takes both flexibility and coordination...and an ability to manage a pole. A five foot long bamboo pole, that is. And a pole that is an integral part of the choreography. And sometimes is used to punctuate the starts and stops of dance sequences. Overall, the poles enhance the graceful nature of the dances, but the learning process can be somewhat less than graceful, and can be frustrating. Poles have been dropped, and cast members sometimes have to dodge getting hit with someone else's pole.
But when it all works, and the cast is concentrating and in synch, the poles add a beautiful fierceness to the dance.
The poles aren't the only difficult aspect of learning this new art form. When asked what was most difficult, Rinabeth, understudy for the role of Ling, said, “picking up the details, a sudden flick of the hand or the subtle position of the fingers is what makes it so interesting…and Jamie is so graceful and good at it.”
Returning the compliment, Jamie and Nick say that the cast "is doing exceptionally well considering all of the stances are new."
But they add, "sometimes they are also afraid of the poles."
I know I would be!
When you hear "opera" you might not be thinking of a lot of physical activity, especially if you're most familiar with such opera stars as Pavoratti (who hardly looks like he's ready for a work-out.)
But the "Beijing Opera" is a different story. The genre involves lots of movement and dance.
To achieve authenticity, TheatreWorks has brought Jamie Guan, a former member of the revolutionary opera in China, to work with the cast on the dance sequences. Jamie is ably assisted by his son, Nick.
Each dance sequence takes both flexibility and coordination...and an ability to manage a pole. A five foot long bamboo pole, that is. And a pole that is an integral part of the choreography. And sometimes is used to punctuate the starts and stops of dance sequences. Overall, the poles enhance the graceful nature of the dances, but the learning process can be somewhat less than graceful, and can be frustrating. Poles have been dropped, and cast members sometimes have to dodge getting hit with someone else's pole.
But when it all works, and the cast is concentrating and in synch, the poles add a beautiful fierceness to the dance.
The poles aren't the only difficult aspect of learning this new art form. When asked what was most difficult, Rinabeth, understudy for the role of Ling, said, “picking up the details, a sudden flick of the hand or the subtle position of the fingers is what makes it so interesting…and Jamie is so graceful and good at it.”
Returning the compliment, Jamie and Nick say that the cast "is doing exceptionally well considering all of the stances are new."
But they add, "sometimes they are also afraid of the poles."
I know I would be!
