CPR Workshops archive

Chinese Theatre: Beijing Opera Workshop Saturday 24th March 2007 10am – 5pm [March 2007]
This is a workshop for individuals of all levels of performance experience who would like an introduction to the colourful and captivating techniques of Beijing Opera and an insight into one of the world’s great theatre forms.

Beijing Opera is an extraordinary dramatic art form with an ancient tradition. Students of this disciplined and dynamic craft train full time from a young age to develop a broad range of skills including movement, dance, singing, martial arts, stage-fighting and acrobatic tumbling. To close their UKl tour Ghaffar Pourazer, Director of Beijing’s Monkey King Troupe and performer Ms Chie Morimura will be joining us at CPR to bring you a rare opportunity to discover the techniques and principles behind this total theatre form.

This one- day workshop consists of demonstrations and hands-on practical sessions that will introduce you to the building blocks of Beijing Opera. The morning session will focus on a visual introduction to the male and female roles followed by physical preparation and training. The afternoon session will explore voice and rhythm in conjunction with movement and choreography and will examine the impact on the audience of gestures, positions and expressions. The workshop will finish with demonstrations of stage fighting and the elaborate methods of face painting.

Other workshops in the archive

• DIRECTORS’ FORUM: THE SIX SENSES OF THE DIRECTOR (April 2010)