Shaolin in the Wind

[xiao]

Anyone who know's witch show this is ?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...shaolin+kungfu

[GeneChing]

I saw an earlier version of Shaolin in the Wind in 2004 (see Shaolin Trips: Episode 4 - A Hero Watching the Formation: Chapter Three: Xingqitian (Sunday): A Shaolin Welcome, Body-Building, Wushu Champions, and a Modern Chinese Ballet Nitecap - it's towards the end - the nitecap ). The Abbot shut it down right after some controversy about how monks were depicted (see Kung Fu Ballet: The Tentative Debut of China’s New Show, Shaolin in the Wind By August West
in our 2005 Shaolin special), but I heard it was totally revamped for a huge Henan Zhengzhou business conference that just occured last month.

I'm guessing that this footage is from the new Shaolin in the Wind, even thought what I saw looked nothing like what's in that clip. However, the pagoda set looks the same, and the blowing leaves. Also, and this is the most telling, was the rock face set at the very end is exactly like the rock face in the Shaolin in the Wind 2004. That spinning table scene was not in the original Shaolin in the Wind, but I could easily imagine where that scene could have been added into the storyline. My understanding is this new production was done without the blessings of the Abbot, but that's just hearsay.

There's some footage of Shaolin in the Wind 2004 (the same footage that I lent to August to do the article above) in my just-released DVD Shaolin Trips: The First World Traditional Wushu Festival.

[GeneChing]

I changed the title of this thread to reflect this now *official* Shaolin in the Wind thread, which I'm cannibalizing from xiao's original inquiry, although truth be told, I'm still not sure if the footage above is from Shaolin in the Wind.

High hopes riding on overseas debut of kungfu drama
www.chinaview.cn 2007-11-17 15:17:24

WUHAN, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- China is hoping that a much-acclaimed kungfu dance drama that did roaring trade domestically will find as much success in overseas markets and spread the country's cultural influence.

"Shaolin in the Wind", a fusion of traditional martial arts and modern dance techniques, will be performed in Australia next year, marking its first foray overseas after experiencing resounding success at home, the troupe organizer said.

The drama tells a poignant love story about two star-crossed lovers who are separated during wartime. The leading actor, who is rescued by the abbot of Shaolin Temple, takes up martial arts and later leads the Shaolin monks in expelling the enemy. He thereafter dedicates himself to Buddhism and kungfu.

Established in 2004 by central China's Zhengzhou Song and Dance Troupe with an investment of 10 million yuan (1.3 million U.S. dollars), the dance drama is the first stage performance to combine kungfu and terpsichorean arts. It put on its 101st and 102nd shows at the ongoing 8th China Arts Festival in the central Hubei Province. As has been its history, the box-office was a huge success.

Artistic achievement and market popularity won the drama the Lotus Prize in 2005, China's highest accolade for dance. Of the 102 shows the troupe has staged, 14 were performed in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The performances have taken in a total box office of about 12 million yuan (1.4 million U.S. dollars).

"We are talking with entertainment companies in Japan, South Korea, the United States and many countries. Most likely, our first 28 shows outside China will be in Australia next year," said Zhang Xiangrong, head of Zhengzhou Song and Dance Troupe.

The U.S. Landmark Entertainment Group has also expressed interest in purchasing the exclusive rights to stage "Shaolin in the Wind" stateside.

"But we were advised to make adaptations and shorten the time of the dance to give a predominant role to the martial arts as overseas audiences are most interested in Chinese kungfu," Zhang said.

Qiao Hongliang, the troupe's martial arts coach, said many people learn to appreciate the beauty of Chinese kungfu after watching the dance drama.

"The kungfu combat in the drama is very different from what is in the movies. It is less violent and more beautiful. I think the drama will help to promote kungfu internationally."

Of the 110 troupe members, 27 are kungfu practitioners and the others are professional dancers. The dancers, however, have all been sent to martial arts schools to practice kungfu, according to Qiao.

As "42nd Street" has just finished its run of eight performances in Hubei and is continuing its China tour in Beijing, "Shaolin" organizers say they would like to follow in the global success of the Broadway musical comedy.

"More than 5,000 performances of "42nd Street' have been held around the world. We hope 'Shaolin in the Wind' can be as popular as those Broadway classics and we have a shining selling point -- Chinese kungfu," said Sun Zhaohui, the art troupe's deputy head.

Chinese kungfu movies, including Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers" all had box-office success overseas. Many industry observers are viewing the dance drama as the next kungfu hit.

"There is just one Shaolin Temple in China," Qiao said. "We can't just rely on it to make kungfu better known. Movies, TV dramas, martial art training schools and commercial shows are all necessary to promote this gem of Chinese culture."

Amid criticism of inadequate support to popularize the martial arts, the central government and civil societies have started to make efforts to promote the ancient arts and raise its international profile in recent years.

Prominent visitors, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Olympic chief Jacques Rogge, were invited to Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chinese kungfu. The temple has also dispatched martial art monks to more than 20 countries to conduct training and exchange programs with the aim "to spread the word of Buddhismand the Shaolin culture".

At present, there are more than one million students of Shaolinkungfu around the world since the first center of Shaolin culture was built in Berlin in 2001. Since then, more than 10 centers and branches have also been established.

Martial arts will also be showcased during next year's Beijing Olympics, although it will not be an official sport.

At the 17th Party Congress concluded last month, President Hu Jintao urged the nation to stimulate cultural creativity, enhance culture as part of the soft power of the country, and to promote the vigorous development and prosperity of culture.

The country has been exerting itself to present its culture to the world by staging heritage exhibitions and art performances abroad. In an effort to promote Chinese language and culture abroad, China plans to set up 100 "Confucius Institutes" around the world.

Critics believe such "cultural exports" will provide effective leverage to boost China's traditions and win the country friendship and appeal around the world.

[sanjuro_ronin]

"FIGHTER IN THE WIND", now that is a movie.

[GeneChing]

I enjoyed Shaolin in the Wind very much, but I can't get past the title - way too Spinal Tap for me - it was originally being translated as "Shaolin Wind" and that has always lingered with me. It's like the ultimate pull-my-finger as puns go. I almost wish it sucked so I could bombard it with double entendre raspberries. But I like I said, I liked the show.

[GeneChing]

...Canberra will rock.
This is an adjunct to our Do the Shaolin Monks still tour? thread.

Martial Awe
Charles Purcell
February 20, 2009

IT'S not often one gets to speak to the mysterious monks of China's famed Shaolin temple. In this case, I am in Sydney and they are in Canberra preparing for the Australian leg of their hit show, Wind Of Shaolin, which automatically rules out daring them to snatch a pebble out of my hand like in that 1970s TV show, Kung Fu. (Or calling any of them "grasshopper" like that blind old dude did with Kung Fu's David Carradine.)

Speaking through an interpreter to some of the Buddhist monks via phone, there are often long pauses after a question is put to them. They discuss the answers before the interpreter replies, during which I fantasise about what the monks might be saying.

When asked, for example, why these Shaolin shows are so popular around the world, I imagine them saying: "Because we can kick arse, that's why!" "Yeah, we're bad!" "Tell this Charles I could snap him like a chicken wing. A chicken wing!"

Instead, the answer is: "Because Shaolin kung fu is very Chinese and very traditional and very different from something in the Western world. Practising Shaolin kung fu is a good way of developing physically, spiritually and mentally."

Paragons of physical perfection, the monks are able to fight with incredible speed and skill and endure great feats of pain. Previous Shaolin shows that have come to Australia have featured monks breaking boards across their bodies and resting their stomachs on the points of sharp iron spears, seemingly without harm. (But can they catch a fly with chopsticks like Mr Miyagi did in The Karate Kid? I'd pay good money to see that.)

Located in the Henan province in the centre of China, the temple's history stretches back 1500 event-filled years and is regarded as the home of many forms of kung fu.

Wind Of Shaolin is described as a "love story that combines Shaolin kung fu and traditional Chinese dance".

Produced by the Zhengzhou Song And Dance Company, the award-winning show follows the story of Tian Yuan and his lover, Su Shui, who are caught in the middle of an invasion by evil warriors. Wounded in battle, Tian Yuan is taken in by Master Hui Shan, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple.

When Su Shui surrenders to the invaders to save Tian Yuan's life, a shattered Tian Yuan devotes himself to kung fu, becoming a master. The evil forces return, only for Su Shui to escape and try to warn her lover.

Wind Of Shaolin has toured Europe and the US and has some 60 performers, impressive costumes, historical set designs, acrobatic dancing and leaping and plenty of thrilling kung fu action. Shaolin shows are typically good spectacles for the whole family to watch.

The monks go through one of the toughest training regimes in the martial arts world. Is it a hard life being a Shaolin monk?

"No, it is not a hard life," the interpreter says. "They have had a good time in the Shaolin temple."

Some of the monks are said to have found some of the things in the West, such as its bathrooms, difficult to get used to. The interpreter relays the question.

"Who does this guy think we are, peasants?" I imagine the monks saying. "Get him in here - I'll do the five-finger punch of death on him."

"They have been to foreign countries before so there is not a problem to get used to this," the interpreter says.

Apart from battling with their hands and feet, what do they fight with in the show? Staffs? Sticks?

"Mainly sticks," comes the reply.

The monks must have done some sightseeing in Australia. What is the most interesting thing they have seen?

"The most interesting thing is that you have kung fu schools - the monks can communicate with them," the patient interpreter relays.

The show's promotional material says the monks don't inflict violence on people; they merely "return it" to the sender when attacked. What is the best way to handle a fight?

The monks' interpreter answers: "If there is a conflict, they will try and avoid violence in a peaceful way. Learning kung fu is for self-improvement, not for fighting others."

WIND OF SHAOLIN
Until March 1, State Theatre, city, 136 100, $89.90-$55.

[lkfmdc]

I close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the momen't gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Shaolin in the wind
All they are is Shaolin in the wind
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Shaolin in the wind
All we are is Shaolin in the wind, ohh
Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Shaolin in the wind
All we are is Shaolin in the wind
All we are is Shaolin in the wind
Shaolin in the wind
Everything is Shaolin in the wind
Everything is Shaolin in the wind
The wind

I just wrote that

[TenTigers]

and I guess yo can say
she lived he life
like a shaolin in the wind....



oh, nevermind

[TenTigers]

I actually thought it was going to be about monks on Harleys, and nekkid Shaolin nuns...

http://www.easyriders.com/inthewind/?ac

[sanjuro_ronin]

Shaolin in the Wind sounds like what happens to me after I eat Hakka food.

[Baqualin]

Originally Posted by lkfmdc

I close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the momen't gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Shaolin in the wind
All they are is Shaolin in the wind
Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Shaolin in the wind
All we are is Shaolin in the wind, ohh
Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Shaolin in the wind
All we are is Shaolin in the wind
All we are is Shaolin in the wind
Shaolin in the wind
Everything is Shaolin in the wind
Everything is Shaolin in the wind
The wind

I just wrote that

I wouldn't leave your MA business to be a music writer....you might be accused of stealing lyrics
BQ
BQ

[richard sloan]

Originally Posted by GeneChing

it was originally being translated as "Shaolin Wind" and that has always lingered with me. It's like the ultimate pull-my-finger as puns go. I almost wish it sucked so I could bombard it with double entendre raspberries. But I like I said, I liked the show.

lmao, soon as I read "Shaolin" and "wind" I immediately got the image of Shi Wan Heng blasting gas and doing cai jiao.

[GeneChing]

There's vid on the site link below, but I couldn't get it to play...

Shaolin Kungfu celebrates new China anniversary
2009-08-16 15:19 BJT

A show of Shaolin Kungfu is being staged at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing.

Presented by the Shaolin Temple and the Zhengzhou Song and Dance Troupe, the show is being staged to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"Shaolin in Wind" tells an epic tale of love and loss based on the pursuit of justice in a time of evil. Performed by monks from the Shaolin Temple and members of the Zhengzhou Song and Dance Troupe of the central Henan Province, the show features acrobatics, classical dance and, of course, martial arts.

Shaolin Temple at Songshan Mountain was built around 500 AD. Its distinctive style of Kungfu is famous both at home and abroad. Each year, thousands of martial art lovers from China and around the world visit the temple.

Shaolin Kungfu and the stories and legends of Shaolin temple are a big inspiration for films, TV series and stage productions. "Shaolin in Wind" is one of them. And the multi-award winning play has been staged over 300 times, both at home and abroad. ZS CCTV