Yang Liping’s work, 2022 version dance drama ‘Peacock’. ‘Peacock is a dance drama that makes people feel wonderful. It tells a story about nature, life, growth, human nature and love.’ – Yang Liping. ‘Peacock’ is a classic stage image created by famous dance artist Yang Liping. The series of works represented by ‘Spirit of the Peacock’ has reached a state where the audience thinks ‘She is the peacock, and the peacock is her’.
On the road of pursuing art, Yang Liping is endless. After having the ‘form’ of the peacock and even the ‘spirit’ of the peacock, she is still not satisfied. She wants to tell a more rich and profound story about ‘peacock’. Thus, in 2012, there was the dance drama ‘Peacock’. Once launched, it received rave reviews and attracted numerous viewers. Ten years later, in 2022, the dance drama ‘Peacock’ was relaunched with a new stage form. After meticulous revision and adjustment, the first round of national tour in 2022 covered 12 places and 50 shows, all of which were sold out and unstoppable. A ‘peacock craze’ swept across the country. From 2023 to 2024, the ‘peacock’ spread its wings again and reached more than 40 cities including Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai successively, presenting more than 200 performances and bringing an unmissable visual and spiritual feast to audiences everywhere! Special Appearance – Yang Liping personally participates in the chapter of ‘Winter’. As a special appearance, Yang Liping personally participates in the chapter of ‘Winter’. In the cycle of four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter, when everything withers and there is a moment of silence, the peacock dances in the snow and is reborn from nirvana, presenting the beauty of life’s questioning. Superior Cast – Gathering the essence of Yang Liping’s dance art. The dance drama ‘Peacock’ allows us to clearly see the whole process of how this Yunnan traditional cultural symbol ‘peacock’ evolves and develops. From folk shelf peacocks to ‘Peacock Princess’, to ‘Spirit of the Peacock’, to ‘Winter of the Peacock’, and then to today’s revised dance drama ‘Peacock’, we can see how national culture is inherited and developed step by step and deepened and sublimated step by step in the thinking of artist Yang Liping.Traditional culture thrives through continuous inheritance and creation, enduring and profound. The ballet ‘Peacock’ is filled with numerous highlights, such as the Peacock Love Duet ‘The Love of the Sparrow’, which graced the Spring Festival Gala stage, and the ceaseless rotation of ‘Time’… These moments are like the radiant, starry-eyed plumes of a peacock’s fan, awaiting your arrival to embark on a fantastic journey about ‘Peacock’ with us.
The 2022 version of the ballet ‘Peacock’ is directed by the renowned dancer and choreographer Yang Liping, and features an impressive lineup, including Oscar-winning ‘Best Art Direction’ artist, Tim Yip, among others. The performance encapsulates the essence of Yang Liping’s dance art, representing a dance deity’s ultimate inquiry into life. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter — ‘Peacock’ Interprets the Beauty of Life. The story of the ballet ‘Peacock’ revolves around the eternal themes of life and love, depicting universal human emotions through stage performance, conveying the artist’s personal reflections on art and life during her growth. The ‘peacock’ in the play is a bird, a person, and all sentient beings in the world of emotions. Divided into four chapters—Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter—the narrative tells a story about growth, humanity, life, and love, as well as the interconnection between life and nature. Through stage art, it presents a benevolent exploration of the world and an inquiry into life and humanity, reflecting the humanistic sentiment where life and art blend. In the 2022 version of the ballet ‘Peacock’, more Eastern aesthetics are integrated into stage art creation. Yang Liping positions herself as a ‘convener’, allowing more young dancers to take the lead roles, discovering their own energy on stage, and ensuring each dancer has their unique characteristics. ‘I’ve seen great spirit and physical condition from the cast of this version, whether they’re playing peacocks or crows, they fit their roles perfectly,’ says Yang Liping. Post-show review by Feng Shuangbai, Chairman of the China Dancers Association: ‘Yang Liping’s new version of ‘Peacock’ is extremely poetic. Its clear artistic structure, the atmospheric stage art realm filled with the breath of the forest, and the ingenious dance art methods present an audience with a natural tragedy and comedy of love, envy, jealousy, hatred, killing, death, and rebirth through nirvana. The success of the new ‘Peacock’ provides an excellent sample for the development history of contemporary Chinese dance thought. The 2022 new version of the ballet ‘Peacock’ once again refreshed people’s understanding of the ballet form, allowing them to appreciate the immense charm of Yang Liping’s art.For Chinese dance to stand independently in the forest of world national arts, it has established an internationally artistic image that is easy to spread and has the significance of exchanges and mutual learning among human civilizations. Spring, summer, autumn and winter, the four seasons change. Nirvana and rebirth. Only love is eternal. Let us all focus on the beauty of nirvana of this ‘peacock’ reborn from the fire! Creator information: Artistic director: Yang Liping; Art director: Tim Yip.
Special appearance: Yang Liping. Leading actors: Xiao Ronghao, Wang Silong, Qiao Yueyu, Ma Yuanhan (Xiao Ma), Fan Jingyue, Yang Bixi, Pu Yifan, Yuan Zhiping (Xiao Hei), etc. (subject to actual appearance on the performance day). Costume and styling: Tim Yip. Deputy chief choreographer: Gao Chengming. Composers: San Bao, Sa Dingding, Huang Hui, Yang Yong (Xiao Pang). Lighting design: Li Xing. Sound design: Zhu Rui. General planner: Wang Yanwu. Producer: Wang Yanwu, Guo Wenpeng, An Ting. Supervising producer: Yao Rui, Zhang Chaohui, Lyu Xia, Ma Ke, Li Dan. Art consultant: Ye Yongqing, Zhang Ke. Visual director: Wang Han. Literature coordinator: Wang Han, Liang Geluo. Video design and production: Huang Zhiwei (Hong Kong), Zhu Zhifeng (Hong Kong), Digital Tiger Images. Makeup and styling design: Chen Minglang (Hong Kong). Supervisors: Zhang Hongqing, Chen Mingming, Li Kunning, Li Qimei. Tour coordination: Zhang Yupeng, Li Dan, Lyu Xia, Wang Li, Zhao Yiwei. Executive choreographers: Nian Yunhua, Chen Xiewei, Yuan Zhiping (Xiao Hei), Qi Xin, Xiao Ronghao, Yang Han, Feng Xiaofan, Jin Hua, Yang Bixi. Marketing and publicity: Lyu Ping. Makeup: VC (Liu Chao). Costumes: Wu Lingui, Duan Zongqing. Co-producers: Yunnan Yang Liping Culture Communication Co. , Ltd., Beijing Poly Theatre Management Co., Ltd., Beijing Xikempia International Culture Development Co., Ltd., Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble, Yunnan Song and Dance Theater, CPC Shuangbai County Party Committee, Shuangbai County People’s Government. Co-produced by: Forty-Nine Square/Nanzhao Weiye. Performing units: Yunnan Song and Dance Theater, Yunnan Yang Liping Culture Communication Co. , Ltd., Central Nationalities Song and Dance Ensemble. National performance operation: Beijing Poly Theatre Management Co., Ltd., Beijing Xikempia International Culture Development Co., Ltd., Yunnan Yang Liping Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Open time: November 22 – November 24, subject to the site.
