A tale of loyalty, tradition and love, the China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) presents the national award-winning ballet, The Red Dress for an exclusive season at the Palais Theatre in March 2015.
Premiering in New York in March 2014, CAEG is excited to return to the Palais Theatre having previously presented critically acclaimed productions of The Embroidery Girl and The Peony Pavilion.
The Red Dress tells a bittersweet and beautiful love story in Southern China. In an old town, a boy named Ayong (Zeng Ming) and a girl named Yue’er (Cheng Lin) are childhood playmates, and, in the first bloom of love pledge to marry.
Ayong promises Yue’er he will ‘return home in silken robes and take her as his bride’ and leaves town to make a living. Time passes and Ayong himself disappears without a trace. Yue’er, alone in her imagination, longs for the festivity and joy of the ‘ten-mile red dowry’ of her wedding day, and waits in her beautiful dreams.
Director Wang Xiaoying, deputy director of the National Theatre of China, has a unique understanding and method of presenting Chinese traditional culture on stage and along with more than 45 dancers bring this astonishing tale to life though grand spectacle and movement.
Through the unique language of Chinese folk dance this production conveys the grandness and exquisiteness of China’s folk culture, as well as the Chinese dream and pursuit of peace and happiness.
With a combination of southern China’s folk customs the ballet consists of four acts including Dream Love, Dream Farewell, Dream Return and Dream Wedding, the production paints a vivid picture of a most cherished ceremony of a Southern Chinese girl’s life.
The Red Dress
Palais Theatre, Lower Esplanade, St Kilda
Performances: Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 March 2015 – 7.30pm
Bookings: 13 61 00 or online at: www.ticketmaster.com.au
For more information, visit: www.palaistheatre.net.au for details.
Image: A scene from The Red Dress – photo courtesy of CAEG