New Chinese Opera Class by See Too Siang Starts from 2nd April 2015

Opera enthusiasts, See Too Hoi Siang, award winner of the most outstanding person in the world 2001 will be conducting opera training class from 2nd April 2015 at 7B Smith Street. This will be a 10 lessons course on every Thursday night from 7.45pm - 9.45pm
 
Fees is $160.00. Course does not includes any materials required. Students may prepare or purchase from Miss See Too. Students will get to learn basic movements, singing and also a short opera excerpt too. Interested please contact Miss See Too mobile - 96384874.


戏曲爱好者, 司徒海嫦 2001世界十大杰出得奬者之一，將会在2nd April 2015 在史敏街，7 B主办一个十节的戏曲課程，每逢星期四晚上7.45pm - 9.45pm, 收费为$160.00.

課程收费不包括使用才料，学生可自备或跟老师買，学生將有机会学基本功，唱和演一小折子戏.有兴趣者請联络司徒老师，联络号码 - 96384874.

Chinese Opera Basic Movements Class starting 22-7-2014

Chinese Opera Basic Movements Course

Venue: Kreta Ayer Community Club

Duration: 10 sessions, each one and half hours

Frequency: Every Tuesday, 7.30 pm – 9.00 pm

Commencement: 22 July 2014

Course Fee: $160.00 for Passion Card Members; $170.00 for Non members. Fee excludes

Chinese Opera is a beautiful traditional art with a long history. Its expression, facial as well as physical gestures and movements are symbolic and mesmerizing. This course, opens to the public at large, focuses on gestures and movements commonly seen and used in Chinese Opera. Starting with basic footwork and hand movements, the trainer will slowly lead the participants to learn the more intricate ones, like postures and poses, horse riding, and especially the use of the “water sleeves” which are regarded as the quintessential  feature of Chinese Opera. Towards the end of the course, the trainer will teach the participants the skills in handling various stage weapons like the sabre, sword, and the lance. At the conclusion of the course, the participants will understand the fundamental principle underlying all forms of Chinese Opera, and that is, “every movement is a dance”. Each session will begin with about ten minutes of stretching and warming  exercise led by the trainer. Participants are expected to purchase their own training paraphernalia such as “water sleeves” and tassle whips. They may if they wish purchase them through the trainer.

Interested Please Contact :
Ms See Too Hoi Siang – hp 96384874
Kreta Ayer CC : 62223597

粵劇身段美觀培訓班;

七月二十二日(星期二), 7.30pm-9.00pm牛車水民众俱樂部開班授課.

為期十課程,学費為一百六十元(人協百胜卡会員)和一百七十元(非人協百胜卡会員).

敦煌劇坊在人民協会安排之下與牛車水民众俱樂部粵劇團結為姊妹团体,多年來合力推廣粵劇及合辦粵劇曲艺演出和活动,成績有目共睹.為了加强牛車水的活力以及使粵劇更普及群众,敦煌特委派敦煌副主席(运作)兼正印花旦司徒海嫦在牛車水民众俱樂部開班授課.

內容包括基本功,例如基本腰腿功和把子功,水袖,關目的使用及如何美觀化舞台上的一舉手, 一投足.

司徒海嫦是敦煌艺術總監胡桂馨太平紳士得意门徒;從十五歲開始便跟随胡桂馨学習粵劇藝術,過去三十八年如一日,盡得其真傳,允文允武,是今天我国一位難得的土生專業全能花旦.去年十一月底,她在廣州演出專場時,展示她的文唱武打技能獲得好評如潮.司徒海嫦在她數十年演戲歷程,到過二十六个國家演出,在國內海外,演過最少二千場次.她曾於2000年在文化貢献方面荣獲<新加坡杰出青年獎>,更於2001年奪得<世界杰出青年獎>,使她成為荣獲此世界殊荣的首位粵劇伶人.

 

有兴趣者,請前往牛車水,水車街,牛車水民众俱樂部(电話:62223597)或牛車水史密斯街(即戲院街) 门牌五号敦煌戲曲茶館 (电話:63234862)報名

中國歷史人物傳奇粵劇晚會 Cantonese Opera Extravaganza

中國歷史人物傳奇粵劇晚會 Cantonese Opera Extravaganza 10th June 2012 7.30PM Drama Centre Theatre National Library Building Level 3

Performance in Taipei Zhongshan Hall on 15th Novermber 2011

Chinese Theatre Circle participated in 'The 18th Global Cantonese Opera Festival in Taipei Taiwan

A group of 11 members travelled to Taipei with 6 performers, 2 musicians, a group leader and 2 helpers for photography and video taking.

Performance on 15th November 2011



Rehearsal at Zhongshan Hall, Taipei Taiwan



Performance on 15th November 2011

A review of the Chinese Theatre Circle performance in Phuket on 7th October 2011 by a Foreign Journalist

A night at the opera – water sleeves and pheasants’ tails
by Dave McMahon Published: 30 October 2011

It must take real dedication to be a Cantonese opera performer at times.
Can you imagine spending two-and-a-half hours making up your face to a strictly-laid-down pattern and getting dressed in an elaborately embroidered and decorated costume – for a performance lasting a quarter of an hour?

That’s exactly what two members of the Singapore-based Chinese Theatre Circle did for their audience during a recent show at The Pavilions pool villa spa resort in Phuket recently, as a showcase for The Pavilions’ Passion for Music programme. We know, because we were lucky enough to be in the audience that evening.

It was the first time either Kay or I had seen a Cantonese opera performance, and we weren’t sure what to expect, although the notes we were given beforehand told us that the duet we were to hear, The Parting Song of Love, was a gem of Cantonese opera.

The story’s a very sad one. A Chinese princess is rescued from drowning by a warrior from a barbarian state. The couple fall in love, and marry. But the Emperor of China soon hears about the marriage and threatens that he will send his armies to invade the barbarian state if the princess does not immediately return to China – without her husband.

Neither of us speak Cantonese, so we weren’t able to appreciate the full beauty of the performance. (Indeed, we wouldn’t have known what was going on without the programme notes.)

Not only that, but there’s a good deal of symbolism and significance behind costumes, make-up, gestures and movements. Take for instance the pheasant tail-feathers in the barbarian warrior’s head-dress in our photos: they show he’s a military leader. Meanwhile long cloth sleeves – known as water sleeves – are used for expressive effect to show the elegance and tenderness of the female characters, as you can see from the princess’s costume. Make-up also helps identify characters; at a very basic level, men’s eyebrows are usually drawn thicker than women’s, though there are of course many more layers of sophistication than that.

But even without knowing about the traditional symbolism – or even the title of the duet – it was clear enough that the couple were lovers expressing their anguish at being forced to part. And the singing, the music, and the acting all made for a beautiful and touching spectacle.

The Chinese Theatre Circle was founded in 1981 by husband-and-wife couple Leslie and Joanna Wong, who for the previous 14 years had been in charge of a Cantonese clan association’s cultural activities and had taken the clan’s opera shows to unprecedented heights of success for a local troupe. That same year Mrs Wong became the first Chinese opera artiste to be awarded Singapore’s prestigious Cultural Medallion.

Since then the Chinese Theatre Circle has performed to audiences all over the world, including particularly notable performances of The Poet Emperor Li Yu and A Costly Impulse in Beijing – the latter of which was broadcast across China to a viewership of 700 million.

If you did your sums a couple of paragraphs ago you’ll have realised that the Chinese Theatre Circle is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Sadly, though, we’ve read in the Straits Times that the company is facing funding difficulties – young Singaporeans, presented with a plethora of entertainment choices, aren’t so devoted to Cantonese opera as the older generations, and government grants to boost the traditional arts have largely passed the Circle by. There’s also the question of who will take on the running of the Circle when the Wongs, who are both now in their seventies, finally retire.

Let’s hope their problems find a happy resolution soon – it would be a real loss to Singaporean and Cantonese culture if this wonderful opera company had to close.

You can read more about The Pavilions’ Passions programme here:The Pavilions, Phuket: Passions