Art festival's vision delights overseas audiences

These eight productions comprise the China Focus program. This is the fourth time the program has landed in Edinburgh since 2017, according to Yang Jialu, deputy president of the CSIAF center. They have been selected by a professional jury consisting of Chinese theater professionals and organizers of the Edinburgh Festival.

In September, the 13th production, the acrobatic drama Swan by the Guangzhou Acrobatic Arts Troupe from Guangdong province that the CSIAF promoted to the international market this year, will tour Moscow and St Petersburg in Russia.

An important part of the festival every year, the CSIAF hosts an international trade fair for performing arts attended by more than 100 art festivals, promoters and other industry insiders. "It is an important platform for recommending Chinese productions to the world," according to Yang. "Every year we invite leading players in the industry to gather in Shanghai and introduce the latest original productions in China."

A series of outstanding productions, such as the dance theater show The Rite of Spring choreographed by famous dancer Yang Liping, received an invitation to international tours thanks to the CSIAF. It promoted The Rite of Spring during its creation when highlighted episodes were performed at the trade fair in 2017. The production combined folklore, mysteries and other ethnic cultures of southwestern China with Stravinsky's music, gaining the attention of foreign institutions and touring the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Russia.

"We found that industry leaders and representatives showed more interest in new original creations by young artists," Yang Jialu says. "Those with rich experience in the industry have been familiar with classical Chinese theater and tend to pay more attention to new expressions of contemporary artists."

The Rising Artists' Work, another program by the CSIAF, is a platform that helps young artists to accomplish their creations. Since 2012 the program has provided funding, consultancy and professional appraisals for young artists to realize their works in theater, dance, music and more.

Zheng Jie, the choreographer of the dance theater show Three Rules of Admonition, was a successful example, with the production being shown at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania this year.