Festivals and Arts of China, Japan, Indonesia and

Thailand

Festivals/ Theater Art Forms

Kodo Taiko Drum Festival - Japan

Ati-Atihan-Philippines

Bali Dance Festival - Indonesia

Lantern Festival- Thailand

Kabuki- Japan Wayang Kulit- Indonesia

Nang Shadow Puppetry- Thailand Sarswela

Peking Opera - China

Lunar New Year Celebrations Begin in China

Kodo 30th Anniversary - One Earth Tour

Tari Panyembrama - Balinese Dance

Loy Krathong Festival in Chiang Mai 2009

PEKING OPERA

PEKING OPERAChina is known for their traditional theater art form, the Peking Opera or Beijing Opera which combines music, vocal performance, pantomime, dance, and acrobatics. It started in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. During the Qing Dynasty court it became extremely popular and came to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China.

PEKING OPERAPeking Opera Training: Pupils were often handpicked at a young age by a teacher and trained for seven years on contract from the child's parents. After 1911, training took place in more formally organized schools. Students at these schools rose as early as five o'clock in the morning for exercises. Daytime was spent learning the skills of acting and combat, and senior students performed in outside theaters in the evening.

Roles and Characters

1. Sheng- is the main male role in Peking opera a. Xiaosheng actors are often involved with

beautiful women by virtue of the handsome and young image they project.

Sheng b. Wusheng is a

martial character for roles involving combat. They are highly trained in acrobatics, and have a natural voice when singing.

Sheng c. Laosheng is a

dignified older role, these characters have a gentle and cultivated disposition, and wear sensible costumes.

2. Dan - refers to any female role in Peking opera

a. Laodan- old woman

Dan b. Wudan- martial woman

Dan c. Daomadan are young female warriors

Dan

d. Qingyi are virtuous and elite women

Dan e. Huadan are vivacious and unmarried women

3. Jing is a painted face male role

who plays either primary or secondary roles. This type of role entails a forceful character, which means that a Jing actor must have a strong voice and be able to exaggerate gestures. The red color denotes loyalty and goodness, white denotes evil, and black denotes integrity.

4. Chou

a male clown role. The Chou usually plays secondary roles whose name also means "ugly". It reflects the traditional belief that the clown's combination of ugliness and laughter could drive away evil spirits.

Visual Performance Elements of Peking

Opera

Peking-opera performers utilize four main skills. 1. Song

2. Speech 3. Dance-acting - This includes pure dance, pantomime, and all other types of dance. 4. Combat - includes both acrobatics and fighting with all manner of weaponry.

The Meaning of Colors in Peking Opera Masks/Make-ups

Red - devotion, courage, bravery, uprightness and loyalty. Black - roughness and fierceness Yellow - fierceness, ambition and cool-headedness Purple - uprightness, sophistication and cool-headedness Reddish purple - just and noble character Blue - loyalty, fierceness and sharpness White - dangerousness, suspiciousness and craftiness.

Commonly seen on the stage is the white face for the powerful villain

Green - impulsive and violent and stubbornness

Xiaohualian (the petty painted face) is a small patch of chalk on and around the nose. Clowns of traditional drama who wears this special make-up show a mean and secretive character.

Aesthetic Aims and Principles of Movement: The highest aim of performers in Peking Opera is to put beauty

into every motion. The art form, gestures, settings, music, and character types are

determined by long held conventions Conventions of movement Walking in a large circle always symbolizes traveling a long

distance Character straightening his or her costume and headdress

symbolizes that an important character is about to speak Pantomimic opening and closing of doors and mounting and

descending of stairs

Staging and Costumes:Stages: square platforms, the action

on stage is usually visible from at least three sides

stages were built above the line of sight of the viewers, but some modern stages have been constructed with higher audience seating

divided into two parts by an embroidered curtain called a shoujiu.

Costume: Xingtou popularly known as Xifu in Chinese origins of Peking Opera costumes can be traced back to the

mid-14th century enable the audience to distinguish a character's sex and status

at first glance if noble or humble, civilian or military, officials or private citizens

give expression to sharp distinctions between good and evil or loyal and wicked characters

oblong wings (chizi) attached to a gauze hat indicate a loyal official.

In contrast, a corrupt official is made to wear a gauze hat with rhomboidal wing

Props: utilizes very few props will almost always have a table and at least one chair,

which can be turned through convention into such diverse objects as a city wall, a mountain, or a bed

a whip is used to indicate a horse and an oar symbolizes a boat

Musicians: are visible to the audience on the front part of the

stage

Viewers: always seated south of the stage, therefore, north is

the most important direction

Performers: immediately move to center north upon entering the

stage. All characters enter from the east and exit from the west

SHORT QUIZ

MATCHING TYPE1. It refers to any female role in Peking opera .2. It is the main male role in Peking opera.3. Actors are often involved with beautiful women by virtue

of the handsome and young image they project. 4. A martial character for roles involving combat. They are

highly trained in acrobatics, and have a natural voice when singing.

5. A dignified older role, these characters have a gentle and cultivated disposition, and wear sensible costumes.

6. An old woman in Peking Opera.7. A martial woman in Peking Opera.