Zhou Zixi Solo Exhibition - Late Spring and Early Summer

Duration: Dec. 17th， 2011 - Jan. 20th ， 2012

Venue: ShanghART Gallery Beijing Space， CaoChangDi 261

Time: 11AM – 6PM (Monday Closed)

ShanghART Beijing is to present the solo exhibition “Late Spring and Early Summer” on December 16， 2011. It will show more than 30 new oil paintings created by Zhou Zixi in last two years.

The opening date of “Late Spring and Early Summer” was original planned in June， but now it is postponed to December for some reasons. Thus， the seasonal exhibition title became a chilly memory in distant， which implies some inappropriate complex and obscure sadness.

As an artist who always pays attention to reality and history of China， The new works of Zhou Zixi assume a totally new aspect. “Late Spring and Early Summer” forms like a set of traces， memories， introspections， observations and complex emotional collage of fragments. It interweaves personal history， contemporary history and reality itself. The seemingly fragmentized frames supplement， correspond， multiply， and impact with each other frames. They appear to be broken pages of the story， which implies subtle clues and shows inherent richness and imagination.

It seems meaningful for such amount of landscape paintings. Those deserted views looks like forgotten corners in city outskirts strewn with abandoned buildings. But paintings with figures and scenery reveal a surreal and incredible narration. Time passes through the old broken doors， corridors， gas meters and others， but it still remains a breath of reality. Via the realism paintings， those personal stamped paintings surpass the simple nostalgia and narrow personal lament. The portrait of current has taken a zooming angle of lens to highlight a strong sense of powerlessness. The image of the artist often appears in paintings， which seems a role as a witness and observer; it suggests the time passing and the transformation of affairs and feelings filling time gaps.

A s a r e -sult， individual experience， past history and ongoing history meet and pile one above the other. Some elements repeat in pictures again and again， take concerted action to form intertextuality. The whole exhibition presents a deliberately static， which cause the air filled with a kind of feeling in subtle landscape and still life. Meanwhile， it implies the origin of feeling in those unexpected and bizarre scenes.

Zhou Zixi was born in Jiangxi province in 1970. He currently lives and works in Shanghai. One by one， ShanghART Group Show， ShanghART Gallery (Shanghai， 2010); China 1946-1949 - Zhou Zixi Solo Exhibition， ShanghART H-Space (Shanghai， 2008); Interiors – Zhou Zixi， Büro Friedrich (Berlin， 2006); Under the Blue Sky， Grace Li Gallery (Zürich， 2006) and Under the Skin， Universal Studios(Beijing， 2006).

More， less — a group show of five artists

Duration: 19th Nov， 2011 — 9th Jan， 2012

Artists: Liu Ren， Pan Xiaorong， Yang Xinjia， Ouyang Sulong， Zhang Lei

“DUO – SHAO”， “Duo”and “Shao”are Chinese words for measure and quantity. At the same time， they can convey ideas of degree of hard and soft， light and heavy， big and small， empty and solid， far and near. These words have flair of rhythm that is embedded in the works of these five artists. Mr. Liu Ren has always stuck to his peculiar ways; in his obsessive painting of half egg-shells he expresses his attitude towards life and his creative experience. Mr. Fan Xiaorong since his beginning wields his knife and rule to convey “hardness”on the paper. With this severe a rigorous style he carves the traces of the passing of time. The colors of Mr. Yang Xinjia appears at first sight very easy， a few simple brush-strokes， but his simplicity is the key to understand his paintings， a kind of trade off between multiple choices of c ol o r s ， w h e r e h i s technique unfolds without restraint. The sculptures of Mr. Ouyang Sulong embody a poetic language， materialized shadows and thoughts， places of the mind that can be touched. Zhang Lei enjoys tampering with drawings on different types of cloth， as if he were in search of a ever changing， multi-images expression， with the hope that the viewers will experience the endless possibilities of his creative journey. These five different forms of expressions， materials and working styles are meant to provoke on us viewers， in the process of guessing and interpreting their meaning， an upsurge of emotions.

2012 NCPA International Ballet Gala

Time: 2012/1/19-2012/1/20

Venue: NCPA-Opera House

Price: RMB 160/240/320/480/580/680/780/1000 Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

Here comes again the annual starstudded ballet gala of NCPA. Every time of the year， the NCPA is under the dazzling spotlight — a legion of worldly celebrated ballet dancers are gathering here to present their most welcomed repertoire. Either classic or modern ballet reveals its bewitching glamour through their flexible movements， deft leaps and breathtaking swirls. For numerous ballet fans anticipating this annual occasion， such high-quality ballet performance must be beyond your expectation. This grand visual feast is ready， please take your seat!

Festival Song and Dance show: Spirit of Christmas

Time: 2012/1/12-2012/1/15

Venue: Poly Theatre

Price: RMB 100/200/300/500/800/1000 Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

Spirit Of Christmas is quite simply one of the most delightful and enchanting Christmas shows ever.

This New York style Christmas show features glittering costumes， a dazzling cast， and the highest kicking Chorus Girls this side of the North Pole!

Start Christmas in Style as Santa and his merry helpers take you on an unforgettable nostalgic Christmas journey. Songs include; Santa Baby， Winter Wonderland， Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas， Santa Clause is Coming， Jingle Bells， Let it Snow， When a Child is Born， Rockin Around the Christmas Tree， O Holy Night and many more…

Spirit Of Christmas is pure Christmas magic. It’s perfect for all the family and radiates so much fun and festive cheer; it could turn on all the Christmas lights in Town!

All chil-dren are admitted with tickets!

LET’S ROCK BEIJING II with SIMPLE PLAN live in Beijing 2012

Time: 2012/1/6

Venue: Yugong Yishan Livehouse， 3-2 Zhang Zizhong Road， Dongcheng district， Beijing， China

Price: RMB 280/380

Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

Canada’s hottest rock band is back， and set to debut in Beijing as part of their upcoming Asia tour. This venue will give fans what they wanted the first time， an up-close and personal concert with their favorite band， Simple Plan. Simple Plan is one of Canada’s most successful punkpop acts， featuring a lineup comprised of former high school pals Pierre Bouvier， Jeff Stinco， David Desrosiers， Sebastien Lefebvre and Chuck Comeau.

On January 6th， Simple Plan will have a one-night performance in YuGongYiShan， which will be a night to remember and the perfect way to start the year off. They will not only be showcasing their newest works but also displaying their bests. Presale Tickets start at 280 rmb for pre-sale， 380 rmb for door.

Africa’s Version of Riverdance: African Footprint

Time: 2012/1/13-2012/1/14

Venue: Beijing Exhibition Theater

Price: RMB 180/280/380/480/680/880/VIP Package ticket: RMB 1000 (RMB 680*2) Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

Ballet de l’Opera National de Bordeaux: The Nutcracker

Time: 2012/1/11-2012/1/12

Venue: NCPA-Opera House

Price: RMB 180/280/380/600/700/780/880 Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

African Footprint International (AFI) is a professional cultural group from Ghana - and an NGO.

Since its inaugural performance in front of Nelson Mandela and world leaders on Robben Island on Millennium eve“African Footprint” has gone on to become South Africa’s longest running musical， thrilling and entertaining people all over the world. With its raw energy， talent， spirit and passion， “African Footprint” has played to standing ovations in the USA， China， Australia， Monte Carlo， Europe， Israel， India，Mexico， Lebanon， France， not forgetting its home base in South Africa and is now set to embark on a whole new international tour!

An exhilirating journey through Africa’s history， culture and spirit， “African Footprint” has set new standards in the world of dance and music. Its dancers， singers and drummers– drawn from South Africa’s cities， townships and rural areas alike - have gone on to amazing success stories in their own right， proving the power and talent of ‘Africa’s children’…with the show now as much their success as that of anyone else.

Ten years after its World Premiere on the 11th May， 2000 “African Footprint” continues to bring something uniquely African to global audiences and is truly a show that cannot be rivalled， and one that should not be missed.

JUMP - Korean Comic Kung Fu Martial Arts Performance

Time: 2012/1/17-2012/1/18

Venue: Poly Theatre

Price: RMB 50/100/180/280/480/580/680

Package ticket: RMB 300 (RMB 180*2)， RMB 500 (RMB 280*3)

Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

Remarks: all Children are admitted with tickets!

From the producer of BreakOut comes this non-verbal and nonstop action performance telling the story of how a family of Korean martial arts experts defends itself against two robbers. A display of martial arts and hip hop， combined with slapstick comedy and infectious tunes.

JUMP is a non-verbal， hyperactive sitcom promising audience the kind of action they would see in a cross between Jackie Chan and the Matrix， LIVE on stage! An entirely new and creative genre， JUMP expertly blends Asian martial arts including Taekwondo – the ancient Korean martial arts form with dazzling acrobatics and a healthy dose of uproarious slapstick humour into an action-packed， family-friendly production.

JUMP tells the story of a Korean family well-versed in martial arts， with a crotchety grandfather who enjoys nothing more than challenging the rest of the family to martial arts showdowns. The family uses its unique expertise to repel two burglars who break into their house， to hilarious effect — showing off their extensive training in martial arts， acrobatic and gymnastic moves， as well as comic acting all at the same time!

Ballet Nijinski - Hamburg Ballet China Tour 2012

Time: 2012/1/27-2012/1/28

Venue: NCPA-Opera House

Price: RMB 180/240/300/500/600/700/800 Tickets are available at 86-10-64177845

This ballet is based on the life and legend of one of the most exceptional artists of our century: Vaslav Nijinsky. As a dancer， Nijinsky experienced popularity， publicity and fame comparable only to that of Rudolf Nurejev during his times. It was as a choreographer however that Nijinsky established a new direction - a dance vision pointing the way towards modern choreography.

The character and destiny of Nijinsky inspired John Neumeier once before to create a short ballet: “Vaslav” in 1979. In 2000， for the fiftieth anniversary of the PolishRussian dancer’s death， Neumeier celebrates Nijinsky and dedicates the full-length ballet to this extraordinary artist and mysterious human being.

“Nijinsky” is the title of this “choreographic approach”to a dance phenomenon that has been part of Neumeier’s life ever since the beginning of his career.

During his approximately ten years as a dancer， Vaslav Nijinsky set a new standard both technically and expressively， while in his choreographic work he pointed the way towards modern dance. His personal fate and mental illness that forced him to spend the last 30 years of his life in various asylums and in the keeping of his wife gave his short artistic career an even more awe-inspiring and sensational quality.

All three aspects - the dancer， the choreographer and the person Nijinsky - form the starting point for John Neumeier’s latest creation. Neumeier， who as early as 1979 presented a short ballet “Vaslaw”， is regarded as one of the leading Nijinsky experts worldwide. Nevertheless， it was not without reluctance that he took up the task of honouring through dance a dance legend: “In creating a work about a historical person， what aspect should we concentrate on? Who was he truly: The man? The artist? Which witness， what information can we trust， which theories should one follow? What point of view can we take towards the complex puzzle Nijinsky? An instinctive choice must be made...”

Two major works form the musical basis of the ballet: Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic poem “Scheherazade”， and the 11th Symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich， subtitled“The year 1905”. Furthermore， there are two short piano pieces， used for the prologue - Chopin’s C minor prélude and “Carnaval”by Schumann - as well as the adagio movement from Shostakovich’s sonata for viola and piano， his last work.

“Nijinsky” is not a biographical ballet: “A ballet can never be a documentary”， Neumeier says. “It is basically a biography of the soul， a biography of feelings and sensations. Perhaps， a particular situation， historical or imagined， might be suggested. But this is not a narrative ballet. Perhaps it’s not even one single complete ballet， but a series of choreographic approaches to the enormous theme: Nijinsky. In the end， it’s important that it is a ballet， a work of art in itself， understandable， enjoyable， and moving - without having read a single word about Nijinsky.”

The ballet begins in a reconstruction of the “Festsaal”in the Suvretta-Haus， a hotel in St-Moritz， the room of Nijinsky’s last performance as a dancer: it is a moment of transition， a place of memory and premonition.

The set and costumes have been designed by John Neumeier. To show various aspects of the person and performer Nijinsky， he has chosen to have several dancers represent fragments of Nijinsky’s persona.