Beijing Folk Art Show is at Lao She Teahouse

Beijing Folk Art Show is at Lao She Teahouse daily at 7:45pm. Learn more and purchase tickets at http://theatrebeijing.com/shows/folk_art/.

Mostly folk art performances or old variety show has come from the famous Tianqiao areas of Beijing, Tianqiao, also known as Sky Bridge, It is a prosperous and boisterous market resounding home and abroad. It enjoys a long history. Way back in the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, Tianqiao took on its original form and made great headway during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China when all the folk arts and acrobatics made their appearance in it.

The most popular local folk arts in Beijing including: Shadow Puppet Play, Dragon Dance, Zhongfan, Jangar, Puppet Shows, Shulaibao, Yangko Dance, One-string fiddle, ventriloquism, tranditional magics, two-man comic show, Face Changing and Chinese wrestling.

Zhongfan (literally, Flag Balancing) is originated from the imperial performance item and evolved into a program in the folk temple fair. Playing and wielding Zhongfan is a traditional acrobatic item in Chinese folk life, 'Fan' is a kind of flag, and its size varies, The fan will be on the forehead or on the stretched arm of the performer. A series of breath-taking movements will be performed with the fan never departing from their body and the pole never falling onto the ground.

Shadow puppet play, also called 'shadow play', is a dramas form in which the player holds the human figures that are engraved by the animal hides with colored paintings, and reflected on the curtain through the light, singing and dancing controlled by the player with the silk string, gongs and drums music, playing a series of stories.

Dragon Dance, which originated from China, are traditional Chinese folk activities and folk dance forms. with the 'Dragon' made of grasses, bamboos and cloth as the main prop. Dragon dance is very popular around China during the Spring Festival and the Festival of Lanterns. Dragon in Chinese culture is a symbol of fortune, nobility, bravery and, especially, power.

Shulaibao, known as 'Doggerel', a folk art featuring rhythmic storytelling to clapper accompaniment, It is popular across China. Originally, it was performed by street entertainers in front of shops for money. In their performances, the entertainers would praise the goods in the shops as treasures for their diversity and exquisiteness, hence the name 'Shulaibao', which literally means 'counting treasures'.

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