Kung fu show packs a punch

Immortal Chi is a show produced by an international team and caters to the global market. [Photo by Zou Hong / China Daily]

The show revolves around the story of master Ma Qi, who practices kung fu for 15 years but loses his balance. To regain his balance, he reviews his past decade of kung fu practice and meets himself at different periods of development in his dreams, which enables him to meditate and achieve a higher level.

Villeneuve contrasts the fast movements of Chinese kung fu and the slow movements of tai chi in the show against striking lighting, stage settings and music.

He also sets the story in modern times rather than in ancient China because he wants the show to connect with audiences.

"I want to build a connection between the audience and the show, so various ways to make the audience emotional and touched will be used," the director says, comparing the fierce percussion accompaniment to a drop of water in a bowl.

Zhu Ziyi, vice-president of the China Arts and Entertainment Group, says Immortal Chi is a show for the international market.

"We want a Chinese story to be told by a foreign production team, which will be better understood by international audiences," Zhu says.

"China has many good cultural stories, such as the show we did before, Shaolin Warrior, which received good feedback. However, many good stories cannot be well accepted by foreign audiences because the stories aren't told in the right way."

He cited the Kung Fu Panda movie franchise. "Kung fu and the panda are both from China but we didn't tell a good story to make the international market accept it."

But Westerners took those elements and presented them in a way that became an international hit.