ChinaThe dance performance “Flower Girl” imitates paintings of women from the Tang Dynasty.
Notebook Female artist’s brooch (The flower girl) won the station Henan TV introduced in April, performed by actors from the Shenyang art troupe. The work is inspired by the painting of the same name by famous artist Chu Phuong (born around 730, died around 800). He portrayed the leisurely lives of noble girls, who caught butterflies, played with dogs, admired flowers, and adjusted their clothes.
Dance performance ‘Women’s Flower Artist’ 2024
Dance song “Female Artist’s Brooch”. Video: Henan TV
In the dance, the artist’s costumes, hairstyles, and eyebrows are all modeled after the girls in the paintings. The highlight of the makeup lies in the raised eyebrows, symbolizing the flapping of a swan’s wings. The hair is decorated with peonies.
Chu Phuong did not draw the space behind the characters but in the choreography, the actors danced in front of ancient architecture, the main color being red.
Artists transformed Tang Dynasty beauties. Image: Weibo
Truong Hanh, the choreographer, said her idea was to recreate Tang Dynasty society, making the characters in the painting “come to life”, thereby showing the beauty of traditional culture. She researched documents and designed dances like those in paintings from more than 1,000 years ago.
Dancer Ly My Ky said she liked the detail of a butterfly landing on a girl’s hand in the painting. When chosen to perform the performance, Ly My Ky imagined the character’s face and feelings. Before filming, her first thing is to adjust her mentality, put herself in the picture, and implement the choreographer’s ideas.
1,000 year old painting of a lady chasing butterflies and picking flowers
Painting “Female flower artist brooch”. Video: Bilibili
Silk painting Female artist’s brooch is one of China’s national treasures, currently kept in the Liaoning Provincial Museum. The last time the work was exhibited was in 2015. Ma Baojie, director of the Liaoning Provincial Museum, said that in order to protect the treasure, people at the management level like him hardly have the opportunity to look at the painting. Because once temperature, humidity and light change, the work is easily damaged. Ma Baojiet said: “There is an ancient saying ‘Paper lasts a thousand years, silk lasts eight hundred years’, Female artist’s brooch Surviving after more than 1,100 years is not easy.”
Nghinh Xuan
