Venue: Liyuan Theatre
ADD: Qianmen Hotel, 175 Yong’an Lu, Xuanwu District
Duration: 1.5 hours (daily 19:30)
Summary: Peking opera is a traditional style of Chinese theatre performance and is regarded as the quintessence of Chinese culture, enjoying a history of more than 200 years.

Definition: Peking opera is a traditional style of Chinese theatre performance and is regarded as the quintessence of Chinese culture, enjoying a history of more than 200 years.

With its unique combination of music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics, Peking Opera is an ideal medium for interpretation and performance of traditional and historic myth and legend.

Features
These acts are narrated and performed in the heavy Beijing dialect. There are also Cross Talk performances spoken in different local dialects, particularly in northern China.

Good cross talk performers develop an expressive speaking technique with animated body language and fine singing skills. The performance forms include joking, exaggeration of facts and demonstration of kindness and beauty through satirical medium.

Four basic skills
A successful cross talk artist will be a skilled raconteur, a mimic of personalities, dialects and characters, an excellent comedian and a fine singer.

Types of cross talk
The general principle distinguishing different types of cross talk is the number of performers involved.

Monologue comic talk only involves one performer on the stage. Jokes and speeches are the main styles.
Comic cross talk engages two performers to communicate with each other. One is the comic who delivers the lines that make the audiences laugh while the other one plays a supportive role to carry on the dialogue. Recognize the genre? It is similar to vaudeville or slap-stick comedy in the Western theatrical tradition; bringing to mind performers like Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello.
Group cross talk refers to a performance with more than two people involved. This is usually a dialogue among the actors, presented more or less as a depiction of the Beijing people’s leisure activities.

Definition: Cross Talk is a comic dialogue, characterized by two actors, humorously talking back and forth; the contents of this performance always include jokes and funny dialogues to amuse the audience.

History: This form originated in Beijing. The original cross talk was not like today’s performances; it was more like a vocal mimicry. This show became popular and has evolved gradually the Qing Dynasty. Now monologue comic talk has replaced vocal mimicry and also developed into the modern form of cross talk.

Without basic training in Kongfu, it is impossible to hold and balance a hundred kilogram tool easily. The other benefit of this training is the control of the subconscious mind and ability to concentrate on the performance of what would be dangerous, stressful, exhausting tasks for a normal gymnast.

To ensure that the purity and precision of the art is maintained and protected from corruption, there are strict succession guidelines and the skill can only be handed down from one generation of a family to another, as from master to apprentice, preserving the essence of acrobatic from ancient times.

Unlike western magicians, whose props are part of a stage set, and employ smoke, mirrors, electronics and lighting effects, a Chinese acrobatic conjurer has to carry these items upon their person throughout their act, concealed beneath a loose gown till the climactic moment when they produce them to a stunned audience. Usually, that moment comes during a series of gymnastic feats including somersaults and spins that are awe-inspiring in their own right.

Such dramatic feats are possible only after many years of hard training, including study of the philosophy and a total devotion to perfecting the skills of KongFu. 

Chinese acrobatics training stresses the importance of developing strength and control of the head, neck, waist and legs.
That strength, confidence and fearlessness are critical requisites of a skilled acrobat becomes clear when we realise that the somersaults, leaps and lifts, the incredible feats of balance, coordination and strength are real; the items produced by the conjurers, the tables and bowls of water, often containing live fish, the large porcelain jars balanced and tumbled with apparent ease; all these things are identical to the everyday items we could buy in shops.

History
Acrobatics is a pearl in the treasure house of the traditional Chinese performing arts.

In China, acrobatics have been a part of the culture since the Western Han Dynasty, over 2500 years ago. Acrobatics originated as part of village harvest festivals called “Hundred Plays” then were adopted as general entertainment. During the Tang Dynasty, acrobatics saw much the same sort of development as European acrobatics saw during the Middle Ages, with imperial court displays from the 7th through the 10th centuries dominating the practice. Acrobatics became known worldwide through performances presented along the Silk Road. Acrobatics continues to be an important part of modern Chinese variety art.

Venue: Chaoyang Theater
Duration: 1 hour (daily 1515 and 1915)
Summary: Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, and in many sports.

Briefing
Acrobatics is the performance of extraordinary feats of balance, agility and motor coordination. It can be found in many of the performing arts, and in many sports. Acrobatics is most often associated with activities that make extensive use of gymnastic skills, such as circus, and gymnastics, but many other athletic activities, such as Wushu, ballet and diving may also employ elements of acrobatics. Items in Chinese acrobatics include the universally recognised Lion Dance, oral stunts, pagoda of bowls, juggling, wire walking etc.

Roles in Shadow Play
Roles in shadow plays are the same with the Peking opera. Sheng, Dan, Jing, Mo, Chou all can be found in shadow play. The height of the puppet ranges from 10cm to 55cm. And besides the figure puppet, things like animals, furniture and plants are also carved and projected on the screen for serving the performance.

The Situation of Shadow Play
Due to modern audio-visual media, this form of performance can not be popular as the situation two decades ago. But the unique feature and historic color in this performance make this art as a high valuable cultural heritage in Chinese art field. And China is applying to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) for a certification as an intangible cultural heritage.