2006-12-13
Shanghai Performing Arts Fair October 20 – 25, 2006
In Beijing it is the Beijing Music Festival, in Shanghai the Arts Festival both these events take place in October-November of every year and boast the participation of some notable foreign music groups.
The subject of this article, however, will be the Shanghai Performing Arts Fair, which preceeds the Festival, and is similar in set-up to the fairs held in Tokyo, Seoul and elsewhere, where artists, agents and producers have the opportunity to showcase their newest and best acts to potential, in this case, mostly Chinese, presentors.
The subject of this article, however, will be the Shanghai Performing Arts Fair, which preceeds the Festival, and is similar in set-up to the fairs held in Tokyo, Seoul and elsewhere, where artists, agents and producers have the opportunity to showcase their newest and best acts to potential, in this case, mostly Chinese, presentors.
The 8th Shanghai Performing Arts Fair took place from October 20-25. This being the fifth time that I participated at this fair, I can safely say that this years event lacked in dynamic kick (and this impression was echoed by several other foreign participants) was that it was not dynamic, there were very few visitors. A foreign representative even went so far as to say that he felt that the organising team must be under tremendous pressure from the city to justify the continuation of the fair in the coming years. The impression was strong, that the foreign contingent, more than in the past, were decoration and icing on the cake for the Chinese activities. Naturally, what one then reads in the local press is quite another story over 200 letters of intent were signed with potential producers and artists for the next festival. This must mean that many deals are concluded outside the context of the fair, since there were certainly not 200 different participants.
In the past, the major agencies from Beijing were present with a stand. This year, not a single one was represented. It seemed to be a purely Shanghai-only event. Maybe a change in participation rules? For the foreign contingent, it gave the impression of a weaker turnout. More than anything else however, these fairs are an opportunity for the participants to network amongst themselves, since there are still very few Chinese presentors willing or able to take the risk to bring foreign acts to China. Most of the tours within China with foreign artists are still undertaken by government controlled agencies, even though privately owned agencies have been allowed to exist since about past ten years. All agencies are still obligated to get permission from the central Ministry of Culture to present any foreign group, right down to, for example, a single pianist on a goodwill tour or a major symphony orchestra.
Having given this brief overview, it was nonetheless interesting to hear the views of a couple of leading personalities from the Shanghai performing arts sector:
The CEO and president of the Shanghai Grand Theater Arts Center, Mr. Fang Shizhong, spoke about the maturing and growing audience for musicals in Shanghai: His group was responsible for the staging of the Lion King, which ran for a record-breaking 101 performances with 98% attendance. In comparison: The first musical that was shown in 2002 was Les miserables with 21 performances; Cats in 2003 with 53 performances; Sound of Music in 2004 with 73 performances; Phantom of the Opera in 2005 with 97 performances. Mamma Mia will be done in 2007 and you can be sure that it will run for at least 102 performances! It also seems that, for these musicals, actual ticket sales to individuals do take place. (This may sound unusual to the foreign reader, but in China most tickets are bought up by companies in blocs and then given to their employees. Thus it is entirely possible for a visitor to be bombarded with persons wanting to sell tickets in front of a supposedly sold-out performance and ending up by paying only a fraction of the price noted on the ticket if one is a good bargainer. And then finds a half-empty hall!)
Mr. Fang kept talking about the entertainment industry about profit-making with cultural events, about the joint-venture with Cameron Macintosh, about profit, profit, profit. He cited the example of Lion King, which was produced with no investment, only profit: A loan of 40 million RMB (4 million Euro) was taken out for the production & promotion of the show; with a revenue of 60 million RMB (6 million Euro), the net profit was 20 million RMB (2 million Euro). In his words we have learned important lessons from the Lion King musical as a product of the industrialized era for successful business model in the entertainment industry. Mr. Fangs ambitions even go so far as saying that he wants Shanghai to be the capital of musical theater in Asia and he is expecting to be able to produce everything locally (sets, costumes, sound, light, artists, concepts) in the very near future.
A theater is built being right now for musicals (on the grounds of the Shanghai Conservatory). Even though there is (seen with my own eyes) currently only a large excavation site in the ground and many cranes, the theater is scheduled to be in operation (!!) by October 2007 (!!!). As the saying goes in China everything is possible, nothing is easy...
Mr. Hu Jinjun, President of Shanghai Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group spoke on Expectation of glorious tomorrow to jointly fulfill the dream of cultural development for Shanghai World Expo 2010.
It goes without saying that Shanghai will deliver the biggest/greatest/best Expo ever held. After all, the municipal government is going to great lengths and investments to upgrade large areas of the urban landscape. Specifically, on the 3.28 sq. km of the Fair grounds, during the 180 days of the fair, they are planning for 20,000 activities to take place, 70 million visitors to attend, with an average of 390,000 visitors per day. The aim of the Expo will be for the visitor to take part in activities, be interactive (as opposed to the passive spectator of the Olympics in Beijing). Therefore the activities will place special emphasis on creativity and high tech entertainment.
The cultural activities will take place in an area of 41 hectares where there will be 27 outdoor and 14 indoor areas plus one entertainment center, which will be large enought to serve 3500 guests at any one time. This entertainment center will be turned into an international cultural center after the Expo.
Included in the above areas, there will be two indoor venues for 3000 people each; outdoor sites will include lifted stages and walkways that will unite different areas of the expo; there will also be several special sites such as three shipyards on the Huangpo river.
Every year, the Shanghai fair showcases a different province or autonomous region of China (no doubt subsidized and promoted by the government). This year it was Inner Mongolia. Indeed, the group of 12 musicians and one female singer from the Inner Mongolia Nationality Music & Dance, Opera Troupe of China (which actually has over 800 artist members) were most impressive, performing on their original instruments (Mongolian square bodied violins and celli, a mandolin-like instrument, several interesting flutes and percussions). Their music struck all foreign listeners as real - still original in its roots, full of passion, musicality and able to be understood by the audience. Each performer played several instruments and some of the men also sang or rather, used their voice as an additional instrument in the Mongolian overtone singing style. Their performances were enjoyed very much by the foreign representatives, especially because of their as yet non-commercialized style. Of course, there was also a dancing group with extraordinary, colorful dances, but it was the musician group that impressed most.
For more information on this years events go to http://www.artsbird.com (Shanghai Festival) and http://www.bmf.org.cn (Beijing Music Festival). There are English versions on both sites. Neither the dates nor the programs for next years festivals are available as yet this information is usually published in the spring.
In the past, the major agencies from Beijing were present with a stand. This year, not a single one was represented. It seemed to be a purely Shanghai-only event. Maybe a change in participation rules? For the foreign contingent, it gave the impression of a weaker turnout. More than anything else however, these fairs are an opportunity for the participants to network amongst themselves, since there are still very few Chinese presentors willing or able to take the risk to bring foreign acts to China. Most of the tours within China with foreign artists are still undertaken by government controlled agencies, even though privately owned agencies have been allowed to exist since about past ten years. All agencies are still obligated to get permission from the central Ministry of Culture to present any foreign group, right down to, for example, a single pianist on a goodwill tour or a major symphony orchestra.
Having given this brief overview, it was nonetheless interesting to hear the views of a couple of leading personalities from the Shanghai performing arts sector:
The CEO and president of the Shanghai Grand Theater Arts Center, Mr. Fang Shizhong, spoke about the maturing and growing audience for musicals in Shanghai: His group was responsible for the staging of the Lion King, which ran for a record-breaking 101 performances with 98% attendance. In comparison: The first musical that was shown in 2002 was Les miserables with 21 performances; Cats in 2003 with 53 performances; Sound of Music in 2004 with 73 performances; Phantom of the Opera in 2005 with 97 performances. Mamma Mia will be done in 2007 and you can be sure that it will run for at least 102 performances! It also seems that, for these musicals, actual ticket sales to individuals do take place. (This may sound unusual to the foreign reader, but in China most tickets are bought up by companies in blocs and then given to their employees. Thus it is entirely possible for a visitor to be bombarded with persons wanting to sell tickets in front of a supposedly sold-out performance and ending up by paying only a fraction of the price noted on the ticket if one is a good bargainer. And then finds a half-empty hall!)
Mr. Fang kept talking about the entertainment industry about profit-making with cultural events, about the joint-venture with Cameron Macintosh, about profit, profit, profit. He cited the example of Lion King, which was produced with no investment, only profit: A loan of 40 million RMB (4 million Euro) was taken out for the production & promotion of the show; with a revenue of 60 million RMB (6 million Euro), the net profit was 20 million RMB (2 million Euro). In his words we have learned important lessons from the Lion King musical as a product of the industrialized era for successful business model in the entertainment industry. Mr. Fangs ambitions even go so far as saying that he wants Shanghai to be the capital of musical theater in Asia and he is expecting to be able to produce everything locally (sets, costumes, sound, light, artists, concepts) in the very near future.
A theater is built being right now for musicals (on the grounds of the Shanghai Conservatory). Even though there is (seen with my own eyes) currently only a large excavation site in the ground and many cranes, the theater is scheduled to be in operation (!!) by October 2007 (!!!). As the saying goes in China everything is possible, nothing is easy...
Mr. Hu Jinjun, President of Shanghai Wenhui-Xinmin United Press Group spoke on Expectation of glorious tomorrow to jointly fulfill the dream of cultural development for Shanghai World Expo 2010.
It goes without saying that Shanghai will deliver the biggest/greatest/best Expo ever held. After all, the municipal government is going to great lengths and investments to upgrade large areas of the urban landscape. Specifically, on the 3.28 sq. km of the Fair grounds, during the 180 days of the fair, they are planning for 20,000 activities to take place, 70 million visitors to attend, with an average of 390,000 visitors per day. The aim of the Expo will be for the visitor to take part in activities, be interactive (as opposed to the passive spectator of the Olympics in Beijing). Therefore the activities will place special emphasis on creativity and high tech entertainment.
The cultural activities will take place in an area of 41 hectares where there will be 27 outdoor and 14 indoor areas plus one entertainment center, which will be large enought to serve 3500 guests at any one time. This entertainment center will be turned into an international cultural center after the Expo.
Included in the above areas, there will be two indoor venues for 3000 people each; outdoor sites will include lifted stages and walkways that will unite different areas of the expo; there will also be several special sites such as three shipyards on the Huangpo river.
Every year, the Shanghai fair showcases a different province or autonomous region of China (no doubt subsidized and promoted by the government). This year it was Inner Mongolia. Indeed, the group of 12 musicians and one female singer from the Inner Mongolia Nationality Music & Dance, Opera Troupe of China (which actually has over 800 artist members) were most impressive, performing on their original instruments (Mongolian square bodied violins and celli, a mandolin-like instrument, several interesting flutes and percussions). Their music struck all foreign listeners as real - still original in its roots, full of passion, musicality and able to be understood by the audience. Each performer played several instruments and some of the men also sang or rather, used their voice as an additional instrument in the Mongolian overtone singing style. Their performances were enjoyed very much by the foreign representatives, especially because of their as yet non-commercialized style. Of course, there was also a dancing group with extraordinary, colorful dances, but it was the musician group that impressed most.
For more information on this years events go to http://www.artsbird.com (Shanghai Festival) and http://www.bmf.org.cn (Beijing Music Festival). There are English versions on both sites. Neither the dates nor the programs for next years festivals are available as yet this information is usually published in the spring.
A background report by Zenaida des Aubris, correspondent, Munich
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