Folk dance drama Hongqi passes acceptance test for Ministry of Culture and Tourism program

Hongqi, an original folk dance drama created by the Jilin City Dance and Drama Troupe, passed the acceptance test of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for its program to support 100 original stage art works to celebrate the centenary of the Communist Party of China on July 23.

The drama showed the development history of China's auto industry through the touching stories of two generations of one family who witnessed and dedicated themselves to the development of FAW, the Jilin-based Chinese auto maker who started the iconic sedan brand Hongqi in the 1950s. Audience could feel the perseverance, pioneering spirit and aspiration of the Chinese industrial workers through the stories of Hongqi.

Hongqiwas spoken highly of by experts of the acceptance team.

Zhao Tiechun, deputy head of the National Center for the Performing Art, said that Hongqi is an excellent realistic work with strong local characteristics and wonderful plot and stage designs and skilled performances.　

Zhang Xiaoxin, an experienced choreographer, said that Hongqi has a theme that perfectly matches the theme of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's program to support 100 original stage art works to celebrate the centenary of the CPC and is an accurate presentation of the struggling spirit of the Chinese people embodied by the development of the auto industry in northeast China.

Mao Hui, vice chair of the China Literature and Art Critics Association, said that as a realistic dance drama with an industrial them, Hongqi stands out among stage works created in recent years with its wonderful presention of industrial scenes through dancing which is difficult as well as its wonderul approach to deal with a grand subject matter with the stories of ordinary industrial workers.

Hongqi has been improved for three times in accordance with expert opinions before it was presented for the approval in Beijing to better reflect the spirit of Hongqi and respond to the call of the times, said general director of the drama, adding that more changes will be made to finetune the drama.  

The folk dance drama won a stage drama award during the 12^th Lotus Award selection in 2020, marking the first time for the Jilin City Song and Dance Troupe to won the honor and the second time in 15 years for the stage drama community of Jilin province to won the honor. It was also among the 25 stage art works that entered the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's national list of key stage art works to be supported in the same year, the only one in northeast China.

The drama will be staged in Jilin for ten times in the second half of the year.