The Essex-Jiangsu Festival -
Celebrating 20 years of friendshipEssex County Council is coordinating a huge international cultural festival to celebrate a continuing and successful 20-year connection with Jiangsu Province in China.
Hundreds of celebratory events will take place all over Essex for nine months between July 2008 and March 2009 in the biggest international arts festival Essex has ever enjoyed. The festival programme will include photography exhibitions, dragon boat races, Chinese garden trails, and Arts and Crafts exhibitions.
The Festival also welcomes from China two unique troupes of artists - The Nanjing Little Red Flowers and the Yangzhou Puppet Company - who will perform at a number of public events as well as at Essex schools.
The Nanjing Little Red Flowers
The Little Red Flowers, are some of China’s most talented performing artists aged from six to twelve years old. In this spectacular show, the young performers will present a series of Chinese folk dances including
Butterflies, New Boots and Children from the Mountains wearing traditional Chinese costume. They will sing well-known Chinese songs and play traditional Chinese instruments including the erhu and guzheng. A group of seven children will take part in an impressive drumming performance which will take your breath away. This highly visual performance has been specially adapted for non-Chinese audiences and will delight both children and adults alike.
Tour dates:
20 Sept EASTmeetsWEST spectacular outdoor event at Weald Country Park
27 Sept Charter Hall, Colchester
28 Sept Harlow Playhouse
The Yangzhou Puppet Company
Yangzhou in China is known as the ‘hometown of
puppets’ and so it’s no wonder that the Yangzhou Puppet Company is one of China’s finest. China has a long history of puppetry dating from as far back as 947BC and it is an important Chinese tradition. It was used as a form of entertainment for the Chinese Royal Family before becoming popular amongst the public.
A cast of eight highly skilled puppeteers and dozens of beautifully crafted puppets will entertain the audience with dancing, drawing and calligraphy. This special performance will charm visitors of all ages as well as
giving an insight into Chinese culture.
Tour dates:
20 Sept Witham Puppet Festival -
EASTmeetsWEST spectacular outdoor event at Weald Country Park
21 Sept Rayne Village Hall
26 Sept Shire Hall, Chelmsford
27 Sept Plume School Hall, Maldon
28 Sept Priory Park Bandstand, Southend
3 Oct Great Stony, Ongar
4 Oct Mercury Theatre Colchester
5 Oct St John’s ARC, Harlow
For full details of all the events please see www.essex-china.org
xxx