The “MGM Awakening Lion” premiered at the MGM COTAI Theatre yesterday evening in celebration of the 22nd anniversary of Macau’s return to the motherland.
According to a statement provided by the resort operator, the 70-minute techno-cultural dance drama was adapted from “Awakening Lion”, which won the “China Dance Lotus Awards”, the most prominent dance award in mainland China. It is also the Guangzhou Song and Dance Theatre’s first residency show outside of the Chinese mainland, the statement added.
The statement underlined that the dance drama is supported by the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office, the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) and the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC). Aside from MGM, it is co-produced by entities such as the Guangzhou Municipal Culture and the Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau, the statement noted.
The statement pointed out that the drama’s repertoire is based on “the awakening of a nation expressed in traditional culture”, portraying the transformation of two lion dancers “in the face of love and hate” as well as “the dilemma between family and the nation”, which reflects the Cantonese people’s perseverance.
The drama’s set has also gone through improvements in its “character styling, background videos, stage props, choreography, and the use of music.” The dance drama also utilises MGM Theatre’s indoor LED screen while incorporating theatrical technologies with intangible cultural elements such as the lion dance, “nanquan” (“southern fist”) and dance performances that showcase Lingnan (southern Chinese) culture, the statement said.
The statement said that the first round of the show will run until December 25 while a second round is scheduled from February 6 to 12, adding that tickets priced from 280 patacas are available at mgm.mo, damai.cn,macauticket.com, Klook, and select travel agencies.
Artistes of the techno-cultural dance drama “MGM Awakening Lion” perform at the MGM Theatre in MGM COTAI yesterday. Photo: Rui Pastorin
