The Three Inch Lotus

By Kim Yung

Devotees of exotic Chinese dance will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the U.S. Premiere of the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera’s performance of The Three Inch Lotus at NYU’s Skirball Center.

The Peking troupe will be there for one performance only on Sept. 20 at 2:30 p.m.

Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company (Qi Shu Fang, President; Ding Mei Kui, Artistic Director), recipient of National Heritage Fellowship for the Arts, will present the 15th Annual Peking Opera Festival and the U.S. Premiere of  The Three Inch Lotus featuring Wei Liu and the Wu Han Peking Opera Company of China, one of the Top Ten Peking Opera Companies in the world, as well as the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company for one performance only at NYU Skirball Center (566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square South). This performance is part of the World Stage Series presented by NYU Skirball Center.

The Three Inch Lotus is a story about a woman, XianLiang, who was forced to follow the tradition of feet binding in order to marry into an upper class family. In the end, will XianLiang let her own daughter abide by the same tradition in order to marry into another privileged family? A struggle many mothers face even in the modern world, do you raise your daughter the same way you were raised? Or do you let her find a new life of her own?  Combining singing and dialogue with traditional dancing, performers provide an unforgettable glimpse of life and culture in ancient China! The performance will be in Chinese with English subtitles.

Wei Liu (Artistic Director of Wu Han Peking Opera Company of China) is an award-winning Peking Opera performing artist. She is a Level-One Performing Artist of China*, and is known for her performances as virtuous and elite female characters (Qingyi). In her thirty-plus-year performing experience, she has created many original roles that received endless raves. Ms. Liu is also the youngest performer to ever receive two Plum Performance Awards, the highest honor to be received in the Performing Arts in China. Under her leadership, Wu Han Peking Opera Company has been continuously selected as one of Top Ten Peking Opera Companies in China for many years.

Ms. Liu’s specialty is “Qiao Gong”, which is very similar to dancers standing on the balls of their feet. Qiao shoes come with additional small heels to give an illusion of tiny feet. An Qiao Gong artist performs on her or his toes throughout from beginning to the end, which sometime can last three hours. This type of skill is to portray a Chinese female whose feet were traditionally binded during ancient time.

Admission for the 15th Annual Peking Opera Festival is free.  Ticket may be reserved by calling NYU Skirball Center Box Office at (212) 998-4941 (Tuesdays - Fridays from 12:00pm to 6:00pm), or via email at boxoffice@nyu.edu.  To reserve tickets online, please visit the website at nyuskirball.org/calendar/pekingopera2015. For additional information, please visit www.qishufang.com