Chen Siqi

vankochensq@163.com

AS Shenzhen’s dance drama “Wing Chun” continues to captivate British audiences in London, plans for the next stop on its European tour were announced during a press conference held in Paris, France on Tuesday.

The show will be staged four times at the prestigious Palais des Congrès de Paris between Oct. 4 and 6.

The Palais des Congrès de Paris, opened in 1974, is a multifunctional venue for ballets, concerts, and musicals. It also serves as a convention center and shopping mall.

Over 200 national and international events are held there each year, welcoming more than 1 million people from around the globe.

Produced by the Shenzhen Opera & Dance Theater, “Wing Chun” is an artistic triumph that merges dance, drama, and martial arts. The narrative follows the heroic journey of grandmaster Yip Man, who put the kung fu style of Wing Chun on the map, and pays tribute to ordinary people pursuing their dreams.

The story unfolds through two parallel plots that occasionally merge. The first follows a Chinese film crew that is making a film called “Wing Chun” in the 1990s, and the second transports audiences to the bustling streets of 1950s Hong Kong, where Yip Man had relocated from Foshan, Guangdong Province.

At Tuesday’s news conference, chief dancer Chang Hongji demonstrated basic Wing Chun techniques. He shared that while he has been dancing since the age of 7, he only began learning Wing Chun after taking on this role. Ultimately, he has skillfully merged martial arts with dance to convey the sense of power and artistry that martial arts embody.

Flora Boumia, a media liaison officer at French film company Atouttart, expressed her enthusiasm for the performance, saying, “I can’t wait to watch the entire dance drama. It will be a perfect combination of dance and martial arts.”

Boumia admired the passion and power exhibited by the young performers. She also noted that the dance drama casts traditional Chinese culture in a vibrant light and enables audiences to connect with the rich cultural heritage of China.