As a part of their culture exchange tour in Europe, dancers from Beijing Dance Academy, a renowned institution of higher education of dance in China, will visit Estonian and give dancing performance of Nuo Emotion at Russian Cultural Centre (Address: Mere pst 5, Tallinn), at 15:00-16:30 on Saturday, 3rd February, 2018.
The performance is organized by Tallinn City Government and Ministry of Culture of China. It also represents the beginning of a series of cultural events celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year – the Year of Dog in Tallinn in February 2018.
Nuo (傩 nuó) means ‘exorcism’ and the religion mainly comprises of maintaining harmony by driving out evil spirits and disease, and also to petition for blessings from the gods. Originating in ancient hunting times in China's central plain area and from the ancient witchcraft, Nuo rooted in the worship of nature, spirits and ancestors. Beginning from the Xia and Shang (c. 2070 BC-1046 BC), Nuo fully developed into a phenomenon of civilization – ceremonial rites of Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046 BC-256BC ). In such ceremonies, people prayed for blessings and exorcised pestilence and evil spirits. Dancers performing with masks is the most salient feature. Nuo Opera performers are believed to gain the capability to communicate with Gods once they wear their masks. They can inform Gods of people’s admiration, wishes for blessing favorable weather, good fortune and flourish population.
Passed down by family or by troupe, Nuo Opera was evolved over thousands of years and spread all over China and neighboring countries such as Japan and Vietnam. Over time, the original religious rituals gradually became more a form of entertainment. Nuo opera has been selected as one of the intangible cultural heritages of China.
Tickets for the performance are free of charge and can be booked on Piletilevi website https://shop.piletilevi.ee/public/?concert=236405&design=piletilevi&lang=eng¢er=7#view=ticketsselect.
Kindly find more information about the performance below.
The Embassy takes this opportunity to wish the people of Estonia a prosperous new year and happy Estonian centenary!