The renowned Japanese artistic troupe, Takarazuka, will stage the traditional Chinese love story, The Romance of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, in the form of a pantomime from September 20 to 22 in Beijing.
The performance is listed as one of the celebrations for the 30th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations.
According to the China Performing Arts Agency, one of the chief sponsors, Takarazuka, founded in 1914, is world renowned for being made up wholly of women. The troupe now has 400 artists, in five troupes named Flower, Moon, Snow, Star and Universe.
The Star troupe coming to China is widely acclaimed for its modern dance and singing styles. Their performance this time combines the Chinese story and two traditional Japanese dances.
Takarazuka, which has performed in 124 cities in 16 countries, has staged more than any other troupe in the world since its founding.
Takarazuka is set to perform in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou. Its Moon troupe performed in China in 1999.
(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2002)
