Yingniang plays pipa behind her head (CAEG)	A scene in Silk Road (CAEG)

Cultural diplomacy

The performance of Silk Road is part of an ongoing relationship between Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater and the China Arts & Entertainment Group (CAEG). The cooperation was launched with a performance of The Peony Pavilion in 2012 and is expected to bring classic Chinese dance performances to New York annually. Wang Xiuqin, Deputy Director of CAEG, said the story of international friendship presented in the Silk Road is the perfect bridge for cultural exchange between the U.S. and China.

"It's a very special show," Wang said. "And for the U.S. market we invited some talented dancers from other parts of China like Beijing and Shanghai, so it really brings a cast from across the country."

The background of Dunhuang culture "may be something new" for U.S. audiences, Wang said, and of interest to the New York market in particular. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has some Dunhuang paintings in its collection already, he noted.

"The New York market is the best in the world because it welcomes all kids of cultures," Wang said. "Our dance drama has a universal theme. It's about love. Not only love between a man and a woman but also the Chinese and Persian friendship. That kind of theme is universal and can be understood by everyone."

The unique culture of the Silk Road may be especially poignant for today's globalized world, Wang continued. Now, more than ever, the Silk Road story of international cooperation is a message of peace and mutual prosperity for the entire world.

After New York, the show will move on to Boston and continue its U.S. tour. In addition to sharing Chinese culture with the United States, the cast is learning about American culture as well.

"Most of the dancers have never been to New York. It's their first time so they are very excited. They are amazed by the city and are doing a lot of shopping," Wang joked. "A type of cultural exchange."

CAEG will be back with another traditional dance drama in March 2014 for the New York market, he said, building on the relationship with Lincoln Center. Since its founding in 2004, CAEG has arranged 400 overseas performances and exhibitions, and presented more than 15,000 performances in nearly 60 countries before audiences of more than 20 million people. The group is the main official channel for cultural exchanges and has a mission of reviving Chinese culture and promoting it to the world.

The author is a freelance writer living in New York City

The Story of Silk Road

At the height of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), a golden age dawned in China. The empire grew rich, arts and culture flourished and a trading route known as the Silk Road became an economic superhighway. A major rest stop along the route was a desert town in Gansu Province called Dunhuang. There, travelers from India, Tibet, Persia and Europe loaded up with water and supplies to continue their trek across the Gobi desert.

Over 1,000 years later, the multicultural history of Dunhuang remains alive in the UNESCO World Heritage Site there called the Mogao Grottoes. Thousands of frescos and religious sculptures awe visitors with depictions of song, dance and motifs of Chinese, Central Asian and Indian origin. One image in particular has become the patron saint of the city – a beautiful goddess playing a pipa lute behind her head as she flies to heaven.

The story of the talented goddess was memorialized in a 1979 dance drama called Silk Road. Just as Chinese traders once spread Gansu culture via camel caravans to the north, the Silk Road story of international friendship has now spread via jumbo jet around the world. A movie version came out in 1982, and the dance was performed in more than 20 countries and regions by the year 2000. In 2009, the drama was modernized and shortened for international audiences but the core story remains – the tale of Yingniang, a beautiful, pipa-playing daughter of a Dunhuang fresco painter who is kidnapped by bandits and rescued by a wealthy Persian trader.

Silk Road has won numerous international awards, including first-class prize for Creation and Performance by China's Ministry of Culture, the esteemed Gold Award for Chinese classic dance dramas of the 20th century, Top Chinese Dance Drama by the Shanghai Great World Guinness, Award of Excellent and Classic Repertoire by the Ministry of Culture, and the Award for Arts Contribution of Excellent Repertoire.

Since its premiere, Silk Road has been performed more than 1,990 times for more than 4 million people. Sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and China Arts & Entertainment Group, as a project of Image China, Silk Road was performed in December 2011 in Washington, D.C. In February the drama made its New York debut, delighting audiences with four shows at the famed Lincoln Center.