October 8
Expo Center
Ten Parties, a show that presents the quintessentials of Chinese culture - water-ink painting, tea ceremony and dance drama inspired by ancient Buddhist sculptures in the grottoes of Dunhuang in Gansu province, will premiere at the Expo Center.
Created by Xu Fei, the choreographer for Mount Qomolangma, a musical-dance production featuring Tibetan culture, Ten Parties presents Chinese civilization as extensive and profound.
October 9
Expo Square
As part of the fifth JZ Festival, jazz artists from China and abroad will perform at the Expo Square every night from Oct 4 to 17, with two shows scheduled at 8 and
8:50. It's a special evening of Quebec musicians at the Expo Garden with composer, and tenor and soprano saxophonist Yannick Rieu performing live with his quartet band. Rieu is one of the finest musicians to have emerged from Quebec, Canada, and has also enjoyed an international career for many years. Monica Freire and her quartet band will perform later that night. With African, Syrian/Lebanese, Portuguese and indigenous roots, Monica Freire is a proud example of Brazil's cultural fusion. Monica came to Montreal in 1993, where she met bassist, composer and essential collaborator Dan Gigon.
October 10
USA Pavilion
First Nations Dance Company has been performing at the USA Pavilion since Sept 27. The company has been a true source of entertainment at the USA Pavilion and vibrantly represents the diverse and rich cultural heritage of Native American people to Chinese visitors. First Nations Dance Company is from Fort Defiance, Arizona, on the Navajo Indian Reservation. During their first visit to China, the company has performed traditional Native American pow-wow music and dances, which also include the works of Native American flute musicians. One source of pride in the company is that they do not come from a major American city.
October 11
Bridge 8
One can visit the Hong Kong: Creative Ecologies exhibition at Bridge 8 before Hong Kong week opens at the Expo 2010 Shanghai. The exhibition includes a series of displays and fringe programs that highlight the innovation, competitive edge, multi-cultural and entrepreneurial spirit of Hong Kong designers, presenting Hong Kong as a creative work in progress. It displays the energy, style, innovation and branding power of Hong Kong's design industry and the creative community around it.
550 Jumen Road
October 12
Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre
From Oct 8-10 and 12-17, Re-Orientations, a joint production of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre and four overseas companies, including Border Crossings from the United Kingdom, will be performed at the center. The show is presented in many languages with Chinese and English subtitles. From a Chinese baby being abandoned and left on the street, to two Swedish actors playing out sexual dramas, both onstage and off, to a mother battling with a tsunami in India, all the characters' lives collide across continents. Performed on a global canvas of locations, characters and experiences, Re-Orientations is an astonishing visual feast, exploring sexuality and performance in mythic and contemporary Asia. Stunning imagery collides with a powerful physical style and vivid storytelling in this multi-cultural and multi-media explosion of East meets West.
7:30 pm, 288 Anfu Road
October 13
Shanghai Center Theater
Starting on Oct 13 and running for five consecutive nights, jazz masters from all over the world will perform at the Shanghai Center for the greatest highlight of this year's JZ Festival. Tonight the featured artist is Nils Landgren from Sweden. With his smoking, hard-hitting "Funk Unit", Landgren with the Red Horn has released many successful CDs. His concerts in places as varied as Stockholm and Beijing have been met with ecstatic acclamation. As the artistic director of the 2001 Berlin Jazz Festival, he designed a state of the art presentation of Scandinavian trends and moods. In May 2002 the Swedish Society Of Popular Composers honored Landgren with the Tore Ehrling-prize for "his outstanding contribution to spreading Swedish jazz music around the globe".
7:30 pm, 1376 Nanjing Road W
October 14
Shanghai Center Theater
For two decades, the contemporary jazz quartet known as Fourplay has enjoyed consistent artistic and commercial success by grafting elements of R&B, pop and a variety of other sounds to their unwavering jazz foundations. In the course of a dozen recordings - six of which have climbed to the top of Billboard's Contemporary Jazz Album charts - the group has continued to explore the limitless dimensions and permutations of jazz, while at the same time appealing to a broad mainstream audience. Fourplay is made up of Bob James on piano, Chuck Loeb playing guitar, Nathan East on bass and Harvey Mason on drums.
7:30 pm, 1376 Nanjing Road W
(China Daily 10/08/2010)
