A ballet performance of Carmina Burana (COURTESY OF CAEG)

China Arts and Entertainment Group Ltd. (CAEG) presented two ballets featuring a combination of Western and Asian styles at the David H. Koch Theater of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts over the weekend of August 17-18.

The two productions, Carmina Burana and Goddess of the Luo River, were performed by the Guangzhou Ballet, one of the most outstanding artistic performance groups in China.

A ballet performance of Goddess of the Luo River (COURTESY OF CAEG)

The Guangzhou Ballet's contemporary version of Carmina Burana, the most complete and artistic medieval poem, was directed by Chinese-American choreographer Jiang Qi, while Goddess of the Luo River was recomposed by Canadian choreographer Peter Quanz based on the namesake violin concerto by Chinese composer Du Mingxin.

Jiang, a professor of ballet at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, moved to the U.S. in 1985. He told the media that he enjoyed working with the Guangzhou Ballet in creating Carmina Burana. He added that the body language of Chinese ballet dancers, which is slender, soft and contained compared to their Western peers, added a fresh flavor to the Western classic.

Dancers, choreographers and the general directors of Carmina Burana and Goddess of the Luo River take a curtain call at the end of their performance at the David H. Koch Theater in New York on August 17 (YU SHUJUN)

Quanz has worked with the Guangzhou Ballet on three pieces. When he started working on this piece, he read a translated version of a Chinese poem about two lovers on either side of a river who were destined to never meet. Quanz said that the poem was really evocative and provided him with images he went on to use.

Founded in 1993, the Guangzhou Ballet has toured in more than 20 countries and regions, such as Russia, the UK, Canada, France, Australia and Germany, among others. "Performing at Lincoln Center is an extraordinary achievement for the Guangzhou Ballet," said Zou Gang, chief and art director of the Guangzhou Ballet. "It's the pride of Guangzhou and the glory of Chinese ballet."

The performance is an important program of the Silk Road International League of Theaters, initiated by the CAEG, the largest company of its kind in China in the field of entertainment and art exhibition. Launched in 2016 and headquartered in Beijing, the league serves as a large multinational platform for performing arts, which aims to promote culture exchanges and improve artistic levels.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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