Tao Cheng,
Doctor of Music
Once
acted as Director of Department of Music of South China Normal University, Vice
Chairman of Guangdong Musician Association, Head of Guangzhou Culture Administration,
Deputy Head of Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee (municipal
bureau level), Head of Division of Arts of Ministry of Culture and current
President of China National Opera
and Dance Drama Theatre (CNODDT).
Editor's
note: In such a critical period for the transitional development of art
academies and troupes and the performance market, on October 15, General
Secretary Xi Jinping chaired the forum on literature and art to define the
future development orientation of the literature and art circle.
Accordingly,
Art Department of China Culture Daily held interviews about the artistic
creation and institutional management with presidents of the nine major art
academies and troupes directly under Ministry of Culture, in order to learn
their ideas for overturning old things and creating new things during the new literature
and art development period.
2014
national art troupe performance season opened with dance drama Confucius created and performed by CNODDT Dance Drama
Troupe. So far,
the national art troupe performance season has been held for five years, and two
of its opening ceremonies started with CNODDT’s performance,
indicating CNODDT’s high strength
and status.
Tao Cheng,
President of CNODDT, recently talked about CNODDT’s development strategy, drama creation and personnel
training plans in an
interview.
Reporter:
General Secretary Xi Jinping recently delivered an important speed about
literature and art. What did you learn from the speech?
Tao Cheng:
General Secretary Xi Jinping’s
speech at the forum on literature and art inherited and carried forward the spirit
of Comrade Mao Zedong’s Talks at the
Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, and will have a profound and significant
influence on the cultural construction under the new situation, particularly on
artistic creations in the new era and new stage.
General
Secretary Xi Jinping stressed in his speech, artistic creations shall be
oriented to people and cannot get lost in the market economy and become profit-seeking.
As literary and artistic workers, we shall unswervingly implement the spirit of
his speech, thoroughly strengthen the senses of mission and responsibility, go
deep among the masses and into the life, carry forward the Chinese spirit and condense
the Chinese power with true, good and beautiful artistic works, eulogize the beautiful
and great age, encourage Chinese people of all ethnic groups to march toward
the future, and push our artistic strength and standard to new heights.
Reporter: Any
art troupes, especially large ones like China National Opera and Dance Drama
Theatre, must have a clear plan and feasible strategy for guiding its survival,
development and growth. Could you talk about your measures and experience in
this aspect?
Tao
Cheng: Over the years, we have always focused on two things. First, we have
created works with high standard and wide market adaptability; Second, we have
endeavored to expand social and market resources. This governance strategy has
brought good artistic, social and economic benefits to CNODDT
Reporter:
We all know that works are the key to any art troupe. Could you talk about
CNODDT’s specific policy on creating high-quality works?
Tao
Cheng: Yes, we have given top priority to releasing good works. In recent
years, the number of large works created in one year is equal to the sum in the
past several years. In fact, not all works can be survived during the artistic
creation process. Before the artistic creation, we shall make a preliminary screening
from many scripts. After
defining the conception and basic outline, we shall select and finalize one
through negotiations with scriptwriters, composers, directors and stage designers.
And after moving the work on the stage, we shall modify and polish it and then
arrange funds and other works. Regarding the quality, we recently established
the art committee to evaluate works and put forward opinions in the early stage
of creation, follow the works up during the creation and control their quality
during the performance, so as to constantly promote the works’ artistic
standard.
Reporter: Are
these experts of the art
committee sourced from CNODDT?
Tao
Cheng: We have included both our own experts and external ones in our expert bank,
because we need experts of various professional backgrounds in different stages
of artistic creation. For example, when creating dance drama A Dream of Youth that depicts state leaders,
we invited experts from Party School of the CPC Central Committee, Party
History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee and National Defense
University PLA China to discuss the script together. As a national art troupe,
we shall take artistic works seriously.
Reporter:
Indeed, CNODDT takes a rigorous attitude towards art. So, what do you think about
the quality of works created by national art troupes?
Tao
Cheng: Works created by national art troupes shall be representative and
demonstrative and play a guiding role. The representativeness refers to the
national literature and art development level or the highest achievement of
China’s stage art. The demonstrativeness refers to the effect of setting good
examples. The guiding role refers to the function of defining the creation
orientation of national artistic works, which will be a key task for CNODDT in the future.
Reporter: What
do you think is the right orientation?
Tao
Cheng: According to our general judgment for the development trend of China's
stage art, the stage art is not popular because of many reasons. However, at
least one question is worth thinking: how to integrate the demands of the
central government and audiences and the artistic creation rules and make a
breakthrough? I believe China's stage art will develop a new artistic form—Chinese
song and dance drama under the new economic situations.
Reporter: Chinese
song and dance drama is a new concept. Could you explain it in details?
Tao Cheng:
Chinese song and dance drama is derived from Chinese opera culture. In old
days, Chinese operas catered to people’s
entertainment demand, played a role in moralizing nationals and extensively spread
China's traditional cultural values. Nowadays, however, operas cannot catch up with
the fast pace of modern life and shall develop into a more fashionable, modern and
faster-pace artistic form to adapt to audiences’ demands. This artistic form is the song and
dance drama as evidenced by the previously successfully song and dance parties;
But because songs and dances are dazzling and fickle, they shall be made up
into dramas. That is to say, Chinese song and dance drama is an artistic form
integrating modern and traditional Chinese cultural elements and adapting to
today’s social and aesthetic
demands, and represents the future development orientation of China’s stage art.
Reporter:
Talents are the key to the artistic creation. Does CNODDT have any unique
approach in talent building?
Tao Cheng: In a humanized talent management model, we
have substantially increased performers’ remuneration. Only if the survival
problem is solved, can literary and artistic workers make
creations with a calm mind.
Currently,
CNODDT gathers a large number of the
most excellent Chinese performers, e.g. Tang Shiyi who is one of our leading
dancers and has been invited in performances by other art troupes. We have arranged many
performances for them, in order to improve them in practices. During period without
performance, we have invited teachers to train them and changed a new batch of
teachers every quarter to allow our performers to absorb the essence of
different schools. Recently, we invited a world's top singer from abroad to
train our singers as well as singers outside of CNODDT. By inviting a singer from abroad to
training many singers, we can reduce our costs for sending performers abroad. On this occasion, CNODDT can also show our strength to western artists and
expand our popularity and influence nationwide and even worldwide.
Reporter: There
is no doubt about CNODDT’s
strength. Has CNODDT been affected by the “Eight Provisions” and the “luxury restriction order” that have impacted the performance market in
recent one or two years? How has CNODDT coped with it?
Tao
Cheng: In the long run, the relevant regulations are beneficial for the healthy
development of the performance market. Personally, I have given
wholehearted support to the central government’s appeal for frugality and opposition
against the luxurious style and firmly carried them out. It is high time to adjust
and rectify the impetuous and money-oriented mentality during the artistic
creation, which is conducive to settling down to create profound, positive and time-tested
excellent works. To win the market back, we will make market researches and
create more works in line with audiences’ aesthetic standards. CNODDT boasts performers of diverse artistic
forms, including excellent folk style and bel canto singers as well as popular
singers like Li Yugang.
Despite such a depressed market, CNODDT
has still improved its performance quality.
Reporter: Besides
winning the market, has CNODDT arranged any public welfare performance?
Tao Cheng: As a
national art troupe, we have made great efforts in public welfare performances,
involving such programs as “high
art into campus”, “bringing culture/science and
technology/hygienic health to the countryside” and “people-benefiting low-price tickets”. In addition, we have also arranged some
supportive performances, such as dance drama Daughters of the Sun performed in Tibet and opera Nie Er performed in Yunnan. For children
who like playing video games, we plan to hold an animation audio-video concert,
which integrates their familiar cartoon music and excellent traditional Chinese
cultural quality and concepts, so as to educate and guide children with arts and
spread positive energy. I believe we can set good examples and show our sense
of responsibility in the performances.
