Epic dance drama in Shenzhen

"Pingtan Impression," a dance drama choreographed and directed by renowned Chinese dancer Yang Liping, will be staged at Shenzhen Poly Theater in March.

Yang’s only ocean‑themed, "super‑folkloric" work for cross‑strait cultural dialogue mines the myths, rituals and everyday life of Pingtan, in Fujian Province, to create a classical‑myth–meets‑contemporary‑spectacle celebration of shared maritime heritage.

The story unfurls after the age of Pangu. From the birth of the nine continents rises a fabled isle shaped like the auspicious qilin called Pingtan. There Junshanwang, the white dragon prince and ancestor of the island, meets and falls for Pingtanlan, a daughter of the sea. Their romance soon faces a grimmer test when a covetous foreign army seeks to seize the island. Courageous defenders, merciful deities and steadfast islanders join Junshanwang and Pingtanlan in a dramatic, pageant‑like struggle that becomes an epic of protection, justice and cultural resilience.

The production weaves intangible‑heritage forms into a new aesthetic grammar, honoring tradition while making it speak to contemporary sensibilities. It draws freely from local dialect, puppet and marionette forms, dragon‑lion dances and Mazu rituals, fusing these folk materials with inventive choreography, modern stagecraft and pop sensibilities. Onstage, every detail reinforces that ambition: lavish, texture‑rich costumes and ritualized makeup evoke ancient palettes; spectacular scenic design conjures windswept shores, torrential storms and luminous ocean nights; the movement vocabulary ranges from folk ritual to classical dance to modern expressionism. Theatrical sequences alternately astonish and console, delivering both breathtaking spectacle and a deeply human story about love, duty and cultural continuity.