Gob smacked…Mesmerized….Enthralled.
Wow!!!..what a way to come back to my posts!!
This had to be one heck of a day…Tired…exhausted and almost drained out, I sit by the window side of 95th Floor building at Taipei 101 to type about one of the most enthralling performances I had witnessed just an hour back. Among plentiful of opportunities that NUS has kept providing me over the two year period, this has to go down as one of the best…probably at the apogee of my excitement level.
The Global Business Conference at Taipei was something I had been waiting for weeks now. But what I didn’t anticipate was the kind of reception and pleasant surprises it had in store. Sitting amidst the cognitive elite of best of the best business school brains around the world, I for once am awestruck with the kind of ideas and opportunities bouncing off during the brainstorming session. But hang on…this post is not about any skills on Leadership or Management opportunities that I came across in a day long event – This is about the Traditional Chinese Opera- An hour long performance towards the end of the day which simply blew away the intense atmosphere of the day; leaving us gobsmacked, mesmerized, enthralled and spell bound.
I have a pretty doubtful mind when the word Opera rings in my ear drum. Somehow I visualize Shakespeare doling out his woeful ballads at snail’s pace amidst stiffed-upper-lipped-sophisticated ambience. Probably an ideal place to take your girl friend –if you have one – where she sheds tear and you shed dollars for those tears. With the similar kind of impression when I entered the performance centre, I was surprised to see a bright, sanguine atmosphere on the stage rather than doleful, gloomy background that I anticipated. On the one corner of the stage, the artists dressed in most colorful and glossy costumes greeting us with those innocuos smiles. Till that I point I didnt have slightest of idea of what was about to come.
Just to give a brief snapshot of the theme of the performance. This one was conducted by National Fu-shin troupe , a renowned Chinese Opera troupe of National Traditional performing Arts. Well, the story goes something like a fairy tale between a sea creature – probably a gelly fish, who impersonates herself as a beautiful damsel, and a young man from nearby hamlet. The impersonated sea creature sets up an enthralling romantic encounter with the young man on a Rainbow bridge. And when the young man wants to marry this sea creature, heaven breaks loose – literally and actually- as this is against the rules of the nature. The king of heaven – the Jade Emperor - sends across scores and fleet of soldiers to capture this sea creature. The sea creature gives her life saving pearl as a token of love. When defeated, this pearl converts into an elixir and defeats the forces from the heaven.
A simplistic story garnished with incredible martial art performance, breathtaking out fit, jaw dropping traditional somersault dance and topped up with mid air-kicking, weapon juggling and tossing with artistic finesse and incredible synchronization. In a stage size of 20 X 20 ft, holding a battalion of troupe without seemingly getting crowded, where every single movement of the performance was in resonance to the drum beats and traditional Chinese folk song. To fill in the interludes , repeated audience’s exclamatory response during the performance personified the grip, the troupe had, on every single soul witnessing the performance. The magnanimity of the performance infused such an infectious warm response among the delegates that we all stood up and gave a standing ovation and never-ending applause after the performance.
As I am typing the final few words...those reverberating beats and melodious symphony still ringing in my ear - Of course romanticizing is the last word that I know in English Dictionary - so you bet where I am coming from.
Time to sleep as I wait for another day in anticipation….and yes talking of bouncing off the ideas…a small piece of thought for you to ponder upon- Confucius style of leadership wasn’t much different from preachings across the border from our very own Kautiliya. That interesting dawning perspective I leave for tomorrow’s musing.
Cheers!
This had to be one heck of a day…Tired…exhausted and almost drained out, I sit by the window side of 95th Floor building at Taipei 101 to type about one of the most enthralling performances I had witnessed just an hour back. Among plentiful of opportunities that NUS has kept providing me over the two year period, this has to go down as one of the best…probably at the apogee of my excitement level.
The Global Business Conference at Taipei was something I had been waiting for weeks now. But what I didn’t anticipate was the kind of reception and pleasant surprises it had in store. Sitting amidst the cognitive elite of best of the best business school brains around the world, I for once am awestruck with the kind of ideas and opportunities bouncing off during the brainstorming session. But hang on…this post is not about any skills on Leadership or Management opportunities that I came across in a day long event – This is about the Traditional Chinese Opera- An hour long performance towards the end of the day which simply blew away the intense atmosphere of the day; leaving us gobsmacked, mesmerized, enthralled and spell bound.
I have a pretty doubtful mind when the word Opera rings in my ear drum. Somehow I visualize Shakespeare doling out his woeful ballads at snail’s pace amidst stiffed-upper-lipped-sophisticated ambience. Probably an ideal place to take your girl friend –if you have one – where she sheds tear and you shed dollars for those tears. With the similar kind of impression when I entered the performance centre, I was surprised to see a bright, sanguine atmosphere on the stage rather than doleful, gloomy background that I anticipated. On the one corner of the stage, the artists dressed in most colorful and glossy costumes greeting us with those innocuos smiles. Till that I point I didnt have slightest of idea of what was about to come.
Just to give a brief snapshot of the theme of the performance. This one was conducted by National Fu-shin troupe , a renowned Chinese Opera troupe of National Traditional performing Arts. Well, the story goes something like a fairy tale between a sea creature – probably a gelly fish, who impersonates herself as a beautiful damsel, and a young man from nearby hamlet. The impersonated sea creature sets up an enthralling romantic encounter with the young man on a Rainbow bridge. And when the young man wants to marry this sea creature, heaven breaks loose – literally and actually- as this is against the rules of the nature. The king of heaven – the Jade Emperor - sends across scores and fleet of soldiers to capture this sea creature. The sea creature gives her life saving pearl as a token of love. When defeated, this pearl converts into an elixir and defeats the forces from the heaven.
A simplistic story garnished with incredible martial art performance, breathtaking out fit, jaw dropping traditional somersault dance and topped up with mid air-kicking, weapon juggling and tossing with artistic finesse and incredible synchronization. In a stage size of 20 X 20 ft, holding a battalion of troupe without seemingly getting crowded, where every single movement of the performance was in resonance to the drum beats and traditional Chinese folk song. To fill in the interludes , repeated audience’s exclamatory response during the performance personified the grip, the troupe had, on every single soul witnessing the performance. The magnanimity of the performance infused such an infectious warm response among the delegates that we all stood up and gave a standing ovation and never-ending applause after the performance.
As I am typing the final few words...those reverberating beats and melodious symphony still ringing in my ear - Of course romanticizing is the last word that I know in English Dictionary - so you bet where I am coming from.
Time to sleep as I wait for another day in anticipation….and yes talking of bouncing off the ideas…a small piece of thought for you to ponder upon- Confucius style of leadership wasn’t much different from preachings across the border from our very own Kautiliya. That interesting dawning perspective I leave for tomorrow’s musing.
Cheers!
posted by Addy at
8:33 AM
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4 comments
