Descendants of the Dragon

Wushu Meets Dance in Seattle
by Pierce Watters

The year of the dragon was at hand as the world paused on the edge of a new lunar year. In Seattle, "China in Dance 2000: Descendants of the Dragon" premiered at the University of Washington with a cast of Chinese-born dancers, American-born dancers, martial artists, and performers from around the world. A nation-wide tour would follow.

"China in Dance 2000: Descendants of the Dragon" represents, in symbol and in metaphor, the many sadnesses and joys experienced over the long history of one county. It also celebrates the spirit that has allowed a people to endure and thrive for 5 millennia.

The show marries two elements that some consider disparate: wushu and dance, the martial and the gentle. Director and creator of the show, the world-renown dancer, Li Hengda, weaves the performance of Master Hong Yijiao and her Wushu Team into the second act so deftly there would be a hole in the fabric of the play were the wushu to be removed.

Joshua Sera, an Assistant Instructor at Master Hong's Chinese Wushu and Tai Chi Academy, was one of the wushu performers. "We started out practicing the wushu routine without knowing what the whole thing looked like. We were operating in a void. When we saw Li Hengda direct, it changed our perspective. Seeing the Chinese dancers was exciting. Their acrobatics were incredible.

"The performances have had a permanent affect on my view of wushu. I came out with a better appreciation of what it takes to make a performance like that work. I am also a bit wiser in the ways of group dynamics. The show excited everyone. The intensity could not be any greater." Yiming Liu, another young wushu performer said, "Practice didn't seem to flow, for me. We practiced for months and months. When we first started practicing we had doubts, but the performances went really well.

"The show did not just change me as a martial artist, it changed me as a person. In the martial arts we train hardest at new routines. Being pushed by Sifu Hong, and Coach Mark, I learned to work through it all, the long training sessions and the criticism. I grew. Before, in class, sometimes I got frustrated when my postures were corrected. Now I understand and persevere."

Young Performers
The three youngest wushu team members: Russ Layng, age 8, Angela Pham, age 12, and Zach Layng, age 13 recall their experiences. Russ said, "I learned to listen to other people. Their advice was really good."

"It was cool!" said Angela. "The real performance was different from practice. At practice there wasn't any audience. Sometimes the coaches had to shout to get our attention, but at least nobody else was watching. The first show I was really nervous. The audience was big! Then we eased in after that."

Li Hengda's directorial skills were on constant display. "Teacher Li was incredible," said Zach. "He worked so quickly. In pre-pre-dress rehearsals he would say, 'You here...here...here...who can do the splits?' He put everything together. I learned that the more you practice the better you will be. We were pretty rough at the beginning. In the end we became really crisp."

Joe Layng, father of Russ and Zach, said, "What an opportunity for the kids to meet people from China. The boys and everyone else trained really hard." Master Hong concurred, remarking, "Angela, Russ, and Zach worked very hard. Russ, he's 8 years old, he trains like an adult."

The Show, The Sword Dance
As opening night approached, the show took shape. Master Hong looked back at the final days of rehearsal. "I am really proud of our Senior Coach, Mark Jackson, and all of the students. Mark would spend entire days working on the cudgel and jumping.

"I was mean," she continues. "I said, 'Don't make me mean!' The students come from many countries but the training bound them together enforcing the strength of the group. 'Straight kick, fall down, kip up, kick the legs.' Twenty times they would repeat. They worked so hard. After the show, the students brought me roses. I was very touched. Even if they are never this close again, there will always be an invisible thread tying them together."

After many days of rehearsal, came opening night. Act 2, Scene 3 was the Sword Dance. During part of Scene 3 and Scene 4, famed Pipa player, Xiao Yu played "Full-Scale Ambush," a well-known number from Chinese opera.

In Scene 3, Master Hong Yijiao displayed her world-renowned Wushu sword skills. The January 24 edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said, "The Sword Dance, in stark contrast to the lyrical Gold Mountain, featured the dynamic Seattle Wushu and Tai Chi master Yijiao Hong. The speed and force of Hong's turns and jumps were made even more riveting by the use of a sword, whose flashing blade was almost impossible to keep track of."

"The sword is a powerful image," says Li Hengda. "The sword dancer does not want to kneel down, does not want to beg. The Chinese will stand up. It is not always necessary to fight. The sword and the wushu represent inner strength of the Chinese people."

Master Hong remembers, "Teacher Li asked me to perform with a weapon in the show. I said I would perform with the straight sword. The sword is made by the dragon. Steel is made of water and fire. These two elements represent the power of the dragon.

"The straight sword is my favorite weapon. It is exciting. I feel I can use my understanding and my skill to present this special, magnificent, graceful power. Through performing, I hope to inspire the audience with grace and power. This is different from a competition. Move like a dragon! You must move like a dragon...get the spirit. Pass to the audience this kind of spirit: grace, power, and perseverance."

The Dragon Dance and Wushu followed the Sword Dance. Again, from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "In Wushu, she [Master Hong] was joined by a group of her students. With equal intensity, they hurled themselves around the stage, landing with such force that the theater almost shook."

"It was extremely, extremely stressful," says Senior Wushu student Laurent Coulon. "This was my first performance in front of a crowd of this size. We are a wushu demo team. We are not full-time performers. For the first time we performed next to true professionals. We were as professional as they were, and they actually liked what we did!

"What else did I come away with? Bruises! I am the oldest. Di Tang training is not as fun when you are 30 as when you are 18. I'm glad I can say I did it once on stage, but it is not something I want to do as a life practice. One of the best things, I did a lot of competition before this. I had a lot of trouble. I am a shy person and I get tense, even in front of a small audience. Now, no matter how large the audience, no problem.

Master Hong said, "Laurent, his Chinese name is Ancient Dragon, I believe he understands the spirit, so I said, 'Okay, Ancient Dragon, you lead.'"

"I thought, 'Oh, this is huge!' My knees were literally shaking," said Zach Layng. Zach and Russ' mother, Joanne Robbins, remembers, "...two years ago, Senior Coach Mark Jackson was saying, 'no Russ, the other left foot.' Now, seeing Zach and Russ perform at the University of Washington...As good as they looked in practice, when they were on stage the audience was silent, enrapt."

Broadsword Like a Tiger
Commenting on the wushu performance, Master Hong said, "Wushu is perseverance and strength. I decided to use a group to follow the straight sword. A broadsword group, and a cudgel group, and a barehands group. A group has energy! There is more power.

"The broadsword is like a tiger. Tiger power! The group delivered power and strength with short and long weapons. Like in training students, a group builds energy. We added tumbling and jumping to stun the audience."

"Americans do Chinese Kung Fu very well. Excellent feeling," said Li Hengda. Then came the grand finale with all of the performers including sword and wushu. "It was great seeing martial arts and dance incorporated into the same show," said Senior Coach Mark Jackson. "They are the perfect Yin and Yang, the same elements. One is grace and one is ferocity. Both are beautiful."

After the breath-taking premiere, Teacher Li has been overwhelmed with requests to perform in other parts of the United States. Master Hong talked about the meaning of the show. "I grew up in China. In school they taught us about these 5,000 years. The history is so long, and culture that is built on that history so rich. I traveled around China and I am really proud to be a descendant of the Dragon. The dragon is not real; it is an image, a symbol. Not only do we have a great rich culture and history, most important is encouragement for the future. The quality of your life journey is enhanced by encouragement. It should include dragon qualities: elegance, power."

...And More About the Production
Li Hengda dreamed of the dragon. Through perseverance and hard work, the dragon became real. Teacher Li did not accomplish his goal alone. Many people worked together to make this dragon, but Li Hengda had the dream. Once the dream coalesced, Li Hengda began to search. He needed dancers and music. He completed the choreography in two months. The Chinese Young Dancers Troupe of Beijing agreed to perform. The Asian Performing Arts Theater, or APAT, was recruited. This was the first professional Chinese dance organization in Seattle. And, of course, Teacher Li had his own students from the Hengda Dance Academy. Finally, came the wushu, with performers from Master Hong's Chinese Wushu & Tai Chi Academy and Lion Dancers from Master Mak Hin Fai's Mak Fai Washington Kung Fu, Inc.

Teacher Li worked with the performers from China for 10 days on the mainland. They came to Seattle two weeks before the first performance. Then, opening night came and Li Hengda's dream was real. "The performance was divided into three acts," said Teacher Li. Act I represents the Cultural History of China, Act II represents the 20th Century, and Act III represents the future."

Water Dance
Act I began with the Water Dance. "The Water Dragon is supreme. This scene symbolizes China's beginnings. "Scene II was Qin Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors, a beautiful juxtaposition of modern dance and dancers dressed as warriors from the long-ago Qin Dynasty. "Over 2,000 years ago, in the time of Qin, China was very powerful, very strong. Xian, the capital where the Terra Cotta Warriors were buried, was very big, a great city!" said Teacher Li.

The final scene from Act I was the Qing Dynasty Imperial Palace Dance. This was a lovely traditional dance with beautiful period costumes designed by Li Hengda. "I first developed the palace dance picture in my head," he noted.

Act II, scene 1 was The Yellow River. "Water is the life blood of China. Everything takes place around or on the river. The river is so important. It gives life...and it takes life. The water dragon is so powerful."

Scene 2 was The Spirit of China. "In the 20th Century, all around the world people live and die and suffer and celebrate." The spirit of China is not a person. Some people run away. Times were hard. Some people left because they were afraid, but they were still Chinese. Some people stayed, they suffered. 'If I stay here, I stay here. We cannot lose our country.'"

Scene 3 was the Sword Dance. During part of Scene 3 and Scene 4, famed Pipa player Xiao Yu played "Full-Scale Ambush," a well-known number from Chinese opera. "The sword is a powerful image," says Li Hengda. "The sword dancer does not want to kneel down, does not want to beg. The Chinese will stand up. It is not always necessary to fight. The sword and the wushu represent inner strength of the Chinese people." The Dragon Dance and Wushu followed the Sword Dance.

Dream of the Gold Mountain
The final scene of Act II was The Dream of Gold Mountain. "The Chinese are not only in their own country," said Teacher Li. "There are many stories. No matter where they were there was family, there was work, there were meals together. Many parts. Sometimes the families were separated. They miss each other. Wherever they were, there was the same inner strength."

Act III began with scenes of luck for the future: Snow Flakes, New Years snow is lucky. Butterflies in the spring mean coming good luck. There was a tribute to successful Chinese around the world, followed by the Lion Dance. Then came the grand finale with all of the performers including sword and wushu.

he show ended with everyone singing the traditional song, "Descendants of the Dragon."

About Pierce Watters:
Pierce Watters is a writer and martial artist based in Seattle, Washington. Also in Seattle, Sifu Yijiao Hong may be reached at: 206-749-9513; ijiao@yijiaowushu.com