About the Show
The Shanghai You Don’t Know is part of the Spring Revolution festival, National Sawdust’s annual two week festival celebrating the musical revolution created by Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Held from March 1st through March 11th, this year Spring Revolution celebrates the voice of multicultural women, with every night featuring female curators, artists and composers because the female perspective is the human perspective and the human perspective should be inclusive.
This event offers a powerful glimpse into Shanghai, and the art created in one of the most vibrant cities in the world. First, a screening of Lotus Ferry, a documentary by renowned Shanghai director Zhou Hongbo. Named after the eponymous isolated district of Shanghai as well as the ferry used to access the rest of the city, the documentary is a rich snapshot of a culture not so different from others around the world. We meet a fruit seller, a woman who runs a hair salon with her deaf brother and an old man who has a surprisingly firm grasp of English.
The screening will be followed by a performance, highlighting three distinct traditions from Shanghai. The first is a piece with Pingtan style, a humorous performance that is both theatre and musical performance, telling a story with singing, instruments, and props. The second, a harpist and dancer intertwine. The final piece highlights the Sheng, the awe-inspiring mouth organ dating back to 5000 BCE.
Chinese born, Austria based Jin Wang conducts Visual artists Xin Shanhaijing and Qiu AnXiong contribute to the evening.
This concert is made possible with generous support from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
Program:
I DONGYONG 紀 東 泳 For Sheng and Live Electrronics
LINE 9 COMPOSED BY CHEN QIANGBIN 陳 強 斌
For Dancer, Harp, Interactive Electronic Music, and Video
PHANTOM SANLIU
For Strong Quartet and Live Electronics
DIALOG 2.0 COMPOSED BY LI LEI 李 磊
For Chinese Pingtan Singer, Dancer, Double Bass, Installation, and Live Electronics
About the Artists
Director Zhou Hongbo
Since graduating from Beijing Film Academy in 1999, Zhou Hongbo (born Jiangsu, China in 1971) has worked for Shanghai TV. He has been recognized with international awards for his remarkable, poignant documentaries that focus on the transitions of Chinese urbanization. He has also directed two feature films, including WINTER CICADAS (2014).
His works explore not only the physical but also the spiritual change of contemporary China and Chinese people. Rather than the chaos caused by modernization, Hongbo zeroes in on the visibly lost innocence in the culture.
