For the first time in more than five years, Shanghai Ballet is performing in the United States, and on October 20 the company will dance The Butterfly Lovers at the Clark Center for the Performing Arts in its only engagement on the Central Coast.
Shanghai Ballet’s fall tour arrives with a full ensemble, costumes, and scenic design that will fill the stage of the Clark Center’s Forbes Hall edge to edge. The production is built on classical technique and carries Chinese costume, scenic design, and stagecraft into every scene.
Often called China’s Romeo and Juliet, The Butterfly Lovers is drawn from a folk tale that China has told for more than a thousand years. Two young students fall in love, their families keep them apart, and in the end they leave the world together as a pair of butterflies.
Artistic director Xin Lili, who choreographed the work, set it in four acts that follow the seasons, from the spring when the lovers meet to the winter snow of the final act. Xu Jianqiang composed the score.
The performance runs about two hours with a 20-minute intermission and is recommended for ages 10 and up. It includes fog, haze, and strobe lighting effects.