首届国际鼓乐节开幕 各国鼓乐高手云集上海大展身手 - 2017年05月27日

THE First China International Drum Festival, which opened yesterday and runs until next Tuesday, offers free access to different drum cultures at VivoCity Shanghai.

Drum teams from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia and Ethiopia will perform by turns throughout the festival at the fifth-floor garden. Each team will present typical traditional percussion music of their culture at three performances each day.

On May 30, the Shanghai-based China Drum Opera House will stage a special show that displays drum pieces featuring varied Chinese historical stories. That includes “Guan Yu Performs Swordplay” depicting the hero in the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280), “The Story of Battle Drum” telling the story of a wise emperor in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), “Mu Guiying Takes Command” featuring a heroine in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and “The Red Detachment of Women” showing the heroism of women fighting for their country.

The performers will all be in costume, trying to help the audience connect with the drum beats.

“I hope that the everybody-knows stories will help attract ordinary visitors and thus arouse interest in the traditional art form,” says Quan Junmin, chairman of the Shanghai Empires Culture Group, who initiated the China Drum Opera House as well as the China International Drum Festival.

There will be interactive workshops on the spot, where visitors can get a close look at the drums of the four teams and even try making their own rhythms.

Apart from the professional performances, an exhibition of drum cultures will also be provided free on the second floor of VivoCity. More than 80 drums will be displayed, including a series of ancient Chinese drums showing the history of drum development.

While most exhibits are imitations, some are genuine antiques, Quan says. That includes a copper drum from the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420) and a drum from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) featuring a pattern of hundreds of children.

“All the performances and exhibitions will be open to public free of charge, as a first step to test whether such form can be well-received,” says Quan, who is concerned about young people losing interest in traditional Chinese drum art.

“I hope that the festival will serve as a platform to show the young generation how much fun the traditional drum art can be,” says Quan.

The Second China International Drum Festival will move to Hong Kong in July.

Founded in 2005, the China Drum Opera House has been working on combining the traditional drum art of Jiangzhou in Shanxi Province with contemporary stage presentation. It has collected and developed dozens of repertoires through the years and toured more than 40 countries by participating in various international arts festivals.

China International Drum Festival

Date: May 25-30

Venue: VivoCity Shanghai, 1507 Qixin Rd

Admission: Free