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China on Stage

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The sights and sounds of China's performing arts are instantly recognisable.

The sights and sounds of China's performing arts are instantly recognisable. This series takes us into a world of Chinese performance that is rarely seen outside of China.

The sights and sounds of China's performing arts are instantly recognisable. From the first plucked notes of a guzheng, to the drama of the Whip Dance, they conjure up a unique and unmistakable artistic world. In this series, we see how China's many and varied performers are finding exciting ways of synthesising China's artistic heritage with fresh global influences. We discover a China that's absorbing new ideas and art-forms hitherto unknown there, and hear how these have been infused with Chinese characteristics. Over six episodes we explore the traditional and the cutting edge in Chinese music, dance and theatre - from ballet to street dance, from Beijing opera to the latest pop - the series takes us into a world of Chinese performance that is rarely seen outside of China.  

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China on Stage: The Stories of China

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China On Stage: The Stories of China

The Stories of China

BBC World News - China on Stage, The Stories of China

Explores how the many forms of Chinese theatre are central to Chinese cultural life.

In this fifth episode, presenters Li Tong and Jeff Crosby find out why the many forms of Chinese theatre are central to Chinese cultural life and how they are adapting.

The sights and sounds of China's performing arts are instantly recognisable; they conjure up a unique and unmistakable artistic world. In this six-part series, we see how China's performers are finding new ways of synthesising China's artistic heritage with fresh global influences. In this fifth episode, presenters Li Tong and Jeff Crosby find out why the many forms of Chinese theatre are central to Chinese cultural life and how they are adapting. Jeff sees how the charms of traditional family-run puppet theatre are still holding sway in rural China. Meanwhile Li Tong meets Norah Yang, a new star of China's burgeoning stand-up comedy scene, and Jeff meets the acclaimed playwright, Nick Rungjing whose work at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre has made it the go-to place for young sophisticated urbanites. And we meet the Mongolian star, Ayanga, behind a new hit musical about bicycle couriers adapted for the stage from a popular television series.

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