Hollywood has already given the world an animated Mulan and a live-action one. This September, a Chinese dance drama brought her to New York without a movie studio.
From September 18 to 20, China Ningbo Performance and Arts Group staged Mulan at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. China Arts and Entertainment Group presented the New York premiere, which ran four times. The production has already been performed more than 100 times. It has won the China Dance Lotus Award, the top honor in Chinese dance. Choreographers Zhou Liya and Han Zhen mix classical Chinese dance with martial-arts movement. At the center of the stage is a 15-meter revolving platform. Scenes change as the floor turns, so the story can move without building a new set for every moment.
The legend is familiar: a young woman disguises herself and takes her father's place. Many American viewers first met her in Disney's cartoon, then in the live-action remake.
Tang Xinyi, who dances Mulan, stayed on stage for almost the whole evening. On opening night, critic Jerry Hochman wrote for CriticalDance that the show is not ballet. The emphasis is drama, and much of the movement is martial arts. What stayed with him was the turntable and the lighting around it. He called the production spectacular.
The same company had already taken the dance to Boston and Washington in 2023. New York was the next stop. The cartoon told one Mulan. The live-action film told another. The version that reached Lincoln Center was made of Chinese dance, martial arts, and a turning stage.