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Art beat in Beijing

( China Daily ) Updated: 2013-02-22 17:37:43

Old and new cross-talk

The Cultural Palace of Nationalities, which was built in 1959 along Chang'an Avenue, will celebrate its reopening after a year's renovation with two cross-talk shows. Famous baldheaded cross-talk performer Fang Qingping, performing with his trademark Beijing dialect, will talk about the lives of ordinary people in the city. Comedian Gao Xiaopan, one of the most promising cross-talk performers, will lead his 5-year-old Hip-Hop Cross-Talk Club to bring laughter to the audience.

7:30 pm, March 8 and 9. Cultural Palace of Nationalities, No 49 Fuxingmennei Dajie, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6602-4433.

Lady White Snake sings Kunqu

Northern Kunqu Opera Theater will present the evergreen Kunqu performance, Lady White Snake, on Lantern Festival Day (Feb 24), which marks the end of the Spring Festival. Over the centuries, the ancient story of Lady White Snake has been performed in variousartforms, includingfilm, Peking Opera and TV series. According to Yang Fengyi, director of Northern Kunqu Opera Theater, the Kunqu version of Lady White Snake focuses on the actors' skills and the inner world of Lady White Snake. Kunqu actresses, Shao Tianshuai and Ha Dongxue, will play the leading role of Bai Suzhen, a white snake spirit turned mortal woman. Young Kunqu actor Shao Zheng will play the scholar Xu Xian, the love of Bai Suzhen.

7:30 pm, Feb 24. Forbidden City Concert Hall, inside Zhongshan Park, West Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng district, Beijing. 010-6551-3348/3349.

- Chen Nan

China Daily