Shenzhen-produced dance drama "Wing Chun"

Wai Jia: The Kung Fu Forum Wing Chun
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Shenzhen Dance Drama “Wing Chun” Makes Its Overseas Debut in Singapore, Telling Chinese Stories to the World with Shenzhen Spirit APAC - English
NEWS PROVIDED BY Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government
28 Sep, 2023, 20:39 CST
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SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ – On the evening of September 27th, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore held the National Day Reception at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay in Singapore to celebrate the 74th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Diplomats and envoys from over 40 countries, including the United States, Canada, Venezuela, and the Netherlands, attended the reception and watched the overseas premiere of the Shenzhen-produced dance drama “Wing Chun”.

This is the first stop of Wing Chun’s overseas tour. When walking into the theater that night, the plaque of “Wing Chun Store” with a strong Cantonese style soon came into view. Xiang Yun Sha silk, the fabric to make the exquisite performance costumes, and the potato juice used for making Xiang Yun Sha silk have attracted many audiences to take photos.

Three months ago, on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, 29 envoys to China and some representatives of international organizations watched the performance of Wing Chun in Beijing. After that, they invited the crew of Wing Chun to go overseas to enable people from more countries to have a better understanding of Shenzhen and experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture, according to Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government.

Today, three months after the Beijing performance, Wing Chun officially headed abroad, choosing Singapore as its first stop.

Wing Chun, due to its prominent Chinese martial arts style, has become one of the Chinese symbols recognized by many foreign friends. After enjoying the performance on September 27th, Ms. Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large with Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highly praised Wing Chun: “It was wonderful! It’s balletic, it’s acrobatic, and it’s Kung Fu as well. It’s a great fusion of styles.”

As a phenomenal performance that has drawn a large audience and received highly favorable reviews in China, Wing Chun’s heading abroad this time also took Singapore by storm. “We know how popular this dance drama is in China. It perfectly combines China’s dual intangible cultural heritages of Wing Chun and Xiang Yun Sha silk, while also blending martial arts and dance seamlessly,” said Ms. Qin Wen, Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore.

The dance drama Wing Chun, based on traditional Chinese culture, embodies the wisdom of the Chinese nation through the use of “bridging” in boxing techniques. Audiences from Singapore can not only appreciate the diversity of Chinese dance art in the new era, but also feel the charm of Chinese martial arts, which shows China’s national spirit of promoting communication and exchange.

After the two-hour performance, many audiences spontaneously stood up, applauded, and took photos. Several foreign envoys expressed that Wing Chun contains typical Chinese elements and is an excellent medium for understanding Chinese culture. They also showed their expectations for Wing Chun to perform in more countries.

Now, Wing Chun is setting sail and going abroad. This Shenzhen artistic masterpiece, rich in spiritual connotation, aesthetic charm, and humanistic value, is telling Chinese stories in the new era to the world.

SOURCE Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government

https://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?49689-Martial-Arts-in-Live-Theater
Shenzhen-produced dance drama “Wing Chun”

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# Through Wing Chun, Shenzhen projects cultural confidence abroad

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2026-01-16 17:13

Stills from dance drama Wing Chun. [Photo provided to CHINA DAILY]

With its unique artistic charm and profound cultural connotations, Wing Chun, an original dance drama from Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has captured the attention of audiences at home and abroad, achieving resounding success both critically and commercially.

Produced by Shenzhen’s publicity department and the bureau of culture, radio, television, tourism and sports, Wing Chunpremiered in December 2022. Over the past three years, the dance drama has toured 54 cities and 66 theaters worldwide, with stops in Singapore, London, Paris, Moscow, Saint Petersburg and beyond.

On Jan 4 local time, the production staged its 300th performance in Toronto, a milestone that not only marks a significant achievement for the production itself, but also stands as a stellar example of Chinese dance dramas making their way onto the world stage.

Hailed as a cultural sensation across China, Wing Chun draws inspiration from the legendary tales of martial arts icon Ip Man and his disciple Bruce Lee, tracing the evolution of wing chun as a traditional form of martial arts from its roots in southern China over 300 years ago to its global popularity today.

The production incorporates various martial arts styles, including wing chun, tai chi, baguazhang, and bajiquan. Through the dancers’ powerful physical expressions and cinematic stage visuals, the dance drama embodies the classical Chinese philosophical idea that stopping conflict is the true essence of martial arts, conveying the raw power and grace of Chinese kung fu in its most vivid form.

Detailed costume is a standout feature of the production. CHINA DAILY

Chang Hongji, a principal dancer of the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre and the actor who portrayed Ip Man — the leading role in Wing Chun— shared that while learning martial arts was not difficult, mastering the strength and breath control required significant practice. “The breath in classical dance flows all over the body like water, but the breath in martial arts is more about sinking qi to the dantian (abdomen), and the force is vigorous," he explained.

Costume design is also a highlight of the production, with performers dressed in xiangyunsha, a national-level intangible cultural heritage fabric from China’s Lingnan region, whose unique texture under stage lighting serves as a dynamic cultural symbol.

As the first large-scale Chinese-foreign cultural exchange event in Shenzhen since the launch of the APEC “China Year”, Wing Chun has vividly demonstrated the city’s growing cultural soft power, emerging as a force to be reckoned with in the global cultural landscape. For instance, its bold use of a dual-line narrative structure breaks new ground in stage storytelling, showcasing Shenzhen’s innovative spirit.

Luo Weidong, the consul general of China in Toronto, remarked that Shenzhen’s transformation from a border town to an international metropolis has fostered an open and inclusive urban character, giving rise to outstanding works of art like Wing Chunthat embody both traditional heritage and modern vitality.

Beyond this drama, Shenzhen continues to produce a steady stream of outstanding literary and artistic works spanning literature, music, dance, drama and other genres. On Oct 1 last year, for instance, The Deal, one of China’s first immersive physical theatre productions and a Shenzhen original, made its global debut at Shekou Sea World, earning stellar reviews.

Shenzhen, an open and inclusive city. [Photo/IC]

Additionally, from Oct 4 to 6, Shenzhen’s first original crossover Cantonese opera premiered with great enthusiasm at the Poly Theatre. This production not only blazes a new trail for making traditional opera more appealing to younger audiences but stands as another landmark achievement of Shenzhen in the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture.

The emergence of these cultural masterpieces is inseparable from Shenzhen’s emphasis on the development of its cultural industry. In terms of talent cultivation, the city places equal importance on attracting overseas talent and nurturing local professionals.

“After evolving from an economically developed special economic zone to a city prioritizing cultural industry development, Shenzhen’s first step was to attract and recruit talent,” said Zhang Yashu, a lead actress in Wing Chun and a core performer with the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theater.

“I firmly believe that with such a talent-friendly environment for cultural development, Shenzhen’s cultural industry will only thrive further, and it was precisely this factor that drew me to settle here,” she noted. Zhang moved to Shenzhen in 2019 through a talent recruitment program.

According to official statistics, the added value of Shenzhen’s cultural and related industries reached 296 billion yuan ($42.2 billion) in 2024, accounting for approximately 8 percent of its GDP.