Productions sing and dance around the globe as China welcomes more foreign shows, Zhang Kun reports.

As the China Shanghai International Arts Festival reaps the rewards of promoting the performing arts to global audiences, eight theater productions from China will be presented in Edinburgh, Scotland, this month.

"For more than 20 years, we are dedicated to introducing high-quality shows from abroad to China and promoting outstanding local productions to the world," Li Ming, president of the center for the CSIAF said at a news conference held last Thursday, announcing the list of 13 productions it has successfully introduced to the overseas market this year.

"Last year we saw the return of overseas productions to the Shanghai festival following the pandemic impacts. This year, we are glad to see the overseas art markets are opening up for our shows," he says.

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Now through to Tuesday, eight productions from China are being presented at the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

These are: Riding Alone, a puppet show about a young performer's journey of self-discovery by the Shenzhen Puppet Art Theatre from Guangdong province; Look at Them!, a dance and physical theater show by Wen Xiaochao; Forging the Swords, a play adapted from a short story of the same title by Lu Xun, produced by the Central Academy of Drama; Hi, Sid! an original musical by the Ju You Yi Si Theatre Troupe; The Love Bridge, a Huju opera program by the Shanghai Huju Opera Theatre; Ancient Ship, an original musical production of the CSIAF Youth Art Troupe; Beautiful Earth, a gala concert by the Little Companion Art Troupe, a company established in 1955 at the China Welfare Institute Children's Palace; and the concert by pipa virtuoso Wu Man.

The original musical Ancient Ship tells about the excavation of a shipwreck from more than 150 years ago at the Yangtze River Estuary, revealing the rich cultural heritage and historical development of Shanghai. All the songs but one will be performed in English. The performing group CSIAF Youth Art Troupe was founded last year, consisting of primary and junior middle school students from Shanghai.

These eight productions comprise the China Focus program. This is the fourth time the program has landed in Edinburgh since 2017, according to Yang Jialu, deputy president of the CSIAF center. They have been selected by a professional jury consisting of Chinese theater professionals and organizers of the Edinburgh Festival.

In September, the 13th production, the acrobatic drama Swan by the Guangzhou Acrobatic Arts Troupe from Guangdong province that the CSIAF promoted to the international market this year, will tour Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia.

An important part of the festival every year, the CSIAF hosts an international trade fair for performing arts attended by more than 100 art festivals, promoters and other industry insiders. "It is an important platform for recommending Chinese productions to the world," according to Yang. "Every year we invite leading players in the industry to gather in Shanghai and introduce the latest original productions in China."

A series of outstanding productions, such as the dance theater show The Rite of Spring choreographed by famous dancer Yang Liping, received an invitation to international tours thanks to the CSIAF. It promoted The Rite of Spring during its creation when highlighted episodes were performed at the trade fair in 2017. The production combined folklore, mysteries and other ethnic cultures of southwestern China with Stravinsky's music, gaining the attention of foreign institutions and touring the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Russia.

"We found that industry leaders and representatives showed more interest in new original creations by young artists," Yang Jialu says. "Those with rich experience in the industry have been familiar with classical Chinese theater and tend to pay more attention to new expressions of contemporary artists."

The Rising Artists' Work, another program by the CSIAF, is a platform that helps young artists to accomplish their creations. Since 2012 the program has provided funding, consultancy and professional appraisals for young artists to realize their works in theater, dance, music and more.

Zheng Jie, the choreographer of the dance theater show Three Rules of Admonition, was a successful example, with the production being shown at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania this year.

In 2017, Zheng participated in the work program and created the dance theater production Beyond the Stillness, which was later presented at the National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing.

"We believe he is talented and promising and we are impressed with his strong creative capabilities and rich expressions, so we commissioned a new project by him," Yang Jialu says.

The CSIAF then recommended the commissioned piece Three Rules of Admonition at the 2023 performing arts trade fair, which led to the show being invited to the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in June.

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Three Rules of Admonition is based on a legendary tale from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) about a monk transformed into a tiger and torn between hunger and human emotions.

Zheng's adaptation captures the turbulent flow of the mood in storytelling.

"All my works were born out of my understanding for 'powerful emotional entanglement' and the 'intricate relationship between people' …While I have created my works, they have created me by opening a new door in my life," Zheng said earlier this year, as one of the recommended artists in the 10th anniversary celebration of the program.

He founded the Zheng Jie Dance Theater Company in 2022. "I used to tell my friends that I was like a big boy raised by the CSIAF," he says.

"The festival has witnessed my growth and recorded different phases of my development. It is a colorful platform where birds of the same feather gather. Good artists constantly spark new flames and pump fresh blood to the contemporary art scene of China."

Contact the writer at zhangkun@chinadaily.com.cn