Puppetry warms up Chinese New Year celebrations in Venezuela

CARACAS -- Puppet performances from China have brought festive atmposphere to Venezuela's capital Caracas this week, in the lead up to the Chinese New Year festivities in February.

China's Jiangsu Performing Arts Group on Tuesday put on a colorful and innovative show of traditional Chinese puppetry on the stage of the capital's principal Teresa Carreno Theater and will also do so on Wednesday.

"China's art of puppetry is very traditional. In this way, we can offer Venezuelan audiences the culture and art of China," Zhao Rongxian, Chinese ambassador to Caracas, told Xinhua.

The group's presentation in Venezuela aims to strengthen ties between the two nations, through cooperation in a wide range of areas, including arts and culture, Zhao added.

"Venezuelan audiences have extensively welcomed these types of cultural events," said Yordana Garcia, Venezuela's deputy culture minister. "We can see how truly eager Venezuelans are to learn about other cultures, and to take part in a cultural exchange that can enrich us spiritually."

"Painter Zheng Banqiao," "The Dance of the Moon Goddess Chang E," and "Table Tennis," are three of the total nine stories told in the shows, which combine age-old Chinese puppetry, a blend of theater, dance and music, with the latest high-tech multimedia stage techniques.

The Puppet Theater of Jiangsu, founded in 2002, forms part of the performing arts group's extensive network of disciplines, from opera to folk dancing and classical music.