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Presenter: Art Troupe of Air Force Political Department of the PLA
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts-Opera House
Dates: August 06 – 09, 2009    19:30

Programme Introduction

On the red crag
Is a red plum,
With stretching ice and froze,
Under its foot,
The deadly cold though,
It does not fear,
To the sun,
It fully blooms.

The dance drama Ode to Red Chinese Plum is backdropped against the end of 1940s, telling a true story in the Prison Zhazidong under the Gele Mountain in Chongqing. It’s a companion piece of the opera Sister Jiang with the same theme song.

Shackled in the dark prison, Sister Jiang and her comrades in the prison fight bravely against enemies. Just as a famous poet in Song Dynasty once wrote “alive, be the man of men; dead, be soul of souls”, staunch heroes stick to their beliefs and never yield to harsh torture and temptation. The young Song Zhenzhong, nicknamed as “Little Radish Head” (Stunted Song Zhenzhong has a big head but a disproportionately small body, resembling a radish, due to lack of nutrition in the prison.), snuggle up to his mother, dreaming to be a butterfly freely flying under the sun.

In the thunderous gunfire of the liberation army, the heroes seem to hear the salutes on the founding ceremony of the new China. Sister Jiang and her companions in the prison embroider a red flag with all their loyalty.

Numerous heroes follow in the steps of the glorious dead. With ideals and faiths deeply rooted in their mind, they die in flames but live forever in people’s heart.

Awards

2002 the Tenth Splendor Award by the Ministry of Culture
2002 the Best Works Award
2003 the PLA Arts Award
2004 Selected by the Ministry of Culture as one of the top ten classic dramas in the First Project of China National Classic Stage Arts.

Art Troupe of Air Force Political Department of the PLA

Established in 1950, the Art Troupe of Air Force Political Department of the PLA is a professional troupe with glorious history and high reputation.

In recent years, abiding by the principle of giving full scope to the central theme and singing for spiritual civilization, the art troupe has created and performed a large number of excellent works which reflect the time and people’s life and praise CPC, our army and the socialist China. It also held many large evening parties consecutively, adding color to the literary and art circles in the capital and the army and being warmly received by audience in and out of the army.

It has visited and performed in more than 20 countries and regions in Europe, Asia as well as Americas and so on, making great contributions to international cultural exchange and the friendship between ordinary people and the army in the world.

(Source: ebeijing.gov.cn)