The Song of Water: a musical and dance performance at the 2019 Avignon OFF Festival

The Song of Water: a music and dance performance at the 2019 Avignon OFF Festival July 12–17 (no performance on the 15th) at the Collège de la Salle (Théâtre Gymnase) at 1:00 PM Directed by Zhang Peng Running time: 60 minutes | For all audiences Direction: Peng Zhang Assistant director: Ye Fei Performers: Wei Qin, Guan Honghang, Guan Xilu, Wang Rui, Pang Zhike Piano: Zhang Yi Cello: Chen Tian Violin: Tang Yun Lighting design: Xu Yifei Sound design: Zhang Jun Music: Yang Yang Production: Liu Xia Communications: Hong Jing Reservations through the Festival OFF online box office ↓↓↓ https://www.avignonleoff.com/programme/2019/le-chant-de-l-eau-s26930/ Show overview “Water music” (Shuiqiang) is a type of song belonging to the Miao songs of Hunan and Xiangxi. The Song of Water, a music and dance performance, introduces in theatrical form the traditional rituals of the ethnic minorities of southwestern China into the contemporary era. The creation draws at once on ancient songs, a piano trio, dance, and other art forms, thereby presenting a piece of theater capable of touching and moving a contemporary audience. The story of The Song of Water is as follows: in ancient Xiangxi, the mountains are high and the distances vast. Two lovers, far apart, cannot be together. Having agreed on it, they sing their thoughts and words of love to the river at the same hour each night, believing that the flowing river will carry their feelings in a single movement to the beloved on the other side. This type of song, which expresses love through water, is both romantic and spellbinding, but it is also, like a winding river, inextricable, helpless, and sad… The nature of water and the philosophical reflections contained in traditional Chinese culture greatly inspired the work of the director, Zhang Peng. He explains: “I chose to use the common image of the ‘blank page’ to present the image of water, to convey the visual effect of the river that forms during the reading. It disrupts and reorganizes the paper; it creates a process of awareness and montage of time and space, forming a three-dimensional, dreamlike river floating in the wind. Thus, the relationship between the actors, the lines, the water, and the river formed by these papers slowly reveals the singular life, emotion, and spirituality of contemporary city dwellers.” He adds: “The melody of the Shuiqiang (water music) is generally fixed, while the content and the lyrics sung by the singer are improvised according to the situation and the present disposition of the Miao singer. This made me wonder what we should sing. The lyrics and the text of The Song of Water establish both the theme and the meaning of the show. So I created new lyrics in six stages (preface, four chapters, ending) corresponding to the text of The Song of Water: this order is in fact a gradual journey backward, starting from the present. The four chapters evoke birth, growth, departure, and return.”