CAIRO- Distinctive thinking, scientific vision, inspiration from heritage, sticking to one's original identity, creativity and integrity are what make the “Dream of the Red Chamber” dance, recently performed in the Main Hall, Cairo Opera House, successful. This dance drama was wonderfully performed by the Beijing Friendship Dance Company, visiting Egypt for the first time in the framework of an Egyptian-Chinese cultural exchange. The show is based on a Chinese literary work by Tsao Hsueh-Chin, a Romeo and Juliet love story involving Baoyu, of noble decent, and Daiyu, his beloved, humble cousin. Their love story goes awry when Baoyu's family choose Baochai, another cousin of Baoyu's and also from a rich family, to be his future wife. Daiyu weeps herself to death, while Baoyu decides to leave his family, become a monk and live the rest of his life with his beloved in his dreams. After three years' preparation, this dance was performed for the first time in March 2004. It was also performed at the opening ceremony of the Sixth Shanghai International Arts Festival in 2006, in China. The 90-minute show, performed by 90 dancers, consists of four parts. In every part, the audience gets to see an artful mix of designed motion, traditional Chinese ballet and modern dance. But the music, in my view, is also responsible for making this dance so successful. The talented composer, Su Cong, the composer who won a best music Oscar for the movie “Last Emperor”, skilfully blends tradition and music in this dance. He uses orchestral and traditional Chinese musical instruments, chorus and solo performances and sound effects. Although the music was recorded, the audience enjoyed the show and the ability of the composer to harmonise traditional Chinese melodies with modern ones. As for the performance, choreographer and director Zhao Ming amused the audience by using a narrator to relate what's happened in an abstract way. “Crafty” individual and collective performances also added effect. Ming made good use of physical movement, costumes, décor and theatrical tricks, adding to the beauty of the dance. In “Dream of the Red Chamber”, Ming depends on symbolism, particularly in Daiyu's death scene, which reminds us of the famous ballet “The Rite of Spring”. The dance is full of beautiful scenes, such as the “dancing with legs” scene, delivering flowers scene, and dancing with red scarves and sticks scene, as well as the last scene when the hero decide to give up all worldly pleasures and live the life of a monk. All in all, it was a wonderful performance and I found myself wondering when Egypt will come up with a similar performance, reflecting our rich history, heritage and identity. What we need is a talented, skilful composer to make this dream come true
