TO Stay, ADEM Firm Inc., Canada China Cultural Improvement Affiliation: Wing Chun Dance Drama. Created by Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre, produced by the Worldwide Cultural Change Shenzhen and China Tradition, Tourism, Sports activities, Radio & Tv Bureau of Shenzhen China. Zhou Liya, Chief Director & Choreographer; Han Zhen, Chief Director & Choreographer, starring Chang Hongji as Ip Man. Meridian Corridor, December 16, 2025. Continues till January 4, 2026; tickets here.
Wing Chun Dance Drama tells the story of Ip Man, the long-lasting martial arts practitioner — and legendary trainer of a younger Bruce Lee — via his struggles to determine himself, arrange his college, and endure the opposite ups and downs of his life. It’s a narrative acquainted to many who’ve seen the film sequence starring actor and martial artist Donnie Yen.
The present makes its North American debut with this 20 efficiency Toronto run, after having performed internationally in 62 theatres in 51 cities for about 265 performances, with complete viewers numbers at greater than 340,000. As a part of their mandate to group engagement, blocks of tickets have been donated to non-profits just like the Canadian Most cancers Society, SickKids Basis, CAMH, and different organizations.
Choreographers Zhou Liya and Han Zhen have beforehand staged productions on the Sydney Opera Home and the Kennedy Heart, amongst different distinguished venues.
Story
The story provides two views. One is Ip Man’s story because it unfolds, whereas the opposite focuses on Dachun, a lighting technician working with a Nineteen Nineties movie crew as they movie the martial artist’s story. It’s a narrative inside a narrative idea that creates some fascinating moments on stage.
Two screens on both aspect of the stage provide context to the scenes as they unfold, together with saying the six chapters of the story — Standing Agency, Wandering, Aspiration, Farewell, Adversity, and Inheritance.
Ip Man’s story begins as he arrives within the metropolis, attempting to determine his martial arts college, and lift the status of Wing Chun. It’s not lengthy earlier than a confrontation with native road thugs arrange his first battle, and recognition from the folks on the road. The varied chapters are approached as themes in addition to plotting numerous factors in his life. His story progresses chronologically, with dance sequences that flesh out the underlying themes as a lot as they do particular occasions.
Within the first half, there’s a stunning and romantic dance sequence between Ip Man and his spouse. Choreographers Zhou Liya and Han Zhen mix conventional Chinese language dance with fashionable Western balletic motion for an impact that’s fluid and expressive.
The film shoot truly launches the manufacturing, and Dachun the lighting tech emerges as a personality in his personal proper, one whose story of craving for an even bigger function usually mirrors that of Ip Man. In a single notably dramatic sequence (in Aspiration), the 2 dance on stage in an intersection of their tales. Ultimately, he too learns to grasp Wing Chun, and turns into a martial artist as nicely.
Efficiency
The story proceeds in dance sequences, many to arrange the story and environment. The massive group of dancers usually current a form of tableau, as if a part of the surroundings, in addition to ensemble items. Their stylized actions are exact and synchronized completely.
Film making as a dance is an intriguing idea that the manufacturing makes use of to punctuate Ip Man’s story. The movie crew dances collectively, and the lady who portrays the director has some expressive dance passages for example the trials and tribulations of bringing a narrative to display.
Highlights embody the battle scenes, naturally, and particularly the half that opens the second half, the place Ip Man explores a number of different martial arts, together with Tai Chi (Taijiquan), Baguazhang (Eight-Diagram Palms), apparently, practiced by ladies, Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist), and Praying Mantis (Tanglangquan).
Chang Hongji, a principal dancer of the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre, naturally, is a stand out who blends class and spectacular athletics in his actions, together with the dancer who portrayed Dachun. The latter’s athleticism and vitality got here to the fore throughout his parallel scene with Ip Man.
Additionally of observe was the dancer portraying the film director, fleshing out a extra minor, but memorable, function.
Stage
The manufacturing contains over 200 props and almost 300 detailed and vibrant — aside from Ip Man’s iconic black robes — costumes. The costumes use Gambiered Guandong Gauze material, crafted utilizing historic strategies that contain 14 methods and 36 processes, together with plant-based dyes. The silk material floats together with the dancer’s actions.
The set is constructed with a sequence of constructing facades on a rotating stage that may characterize every little thing from an exterior streetscape to the intimacy of Ip Man’s residence, together with extra summary areas just like the scenes of martial arts demonstrations.
Curtains rise and fall so as to add or take away the depth of perspective. It’s an efficient method that provides to the impression of a stage that’s continually shifting and evolving. In lots of instances, it’s the dancers themselves who transfer across the facades to totally different groupings, or swap from inside to exterior view.
Lighting design is essential to the present. Lighting and sound produce a scene alongside the shore with undulating waves, and elsewhere, mirror the intimacy of the connection between Ip Man and his spouse.
Scenes of Ip Man’s story flip right into a film with a swap from white to gold tinged lighting, full with darkish flecks to emulate the feel of movie, and rolling perforations (sprocket holes) that seem on both aspect of the stage.
The rating ranges from excessive drama to softer and extra romantic, combining Chinese language and Western idioms and orchestration. It underpins the feelings of the story.
Last Ideas
It’s a narrative about China’s martial arts heritage and philosophies as a lot as it’s about Ip Man himself, and the screens to the aspect of the stage remind the viewers of the ideas of Wing Chun, together with delineating totally different scenes and themes.
There are spectacular battle scenes, however they’re woven right into a narrative that’s rather more concerning the atypical man who persists via the ups and downs, and tragedies of life, with the martial arts credo to information him.
The shiny veneer of excessive tech manufacturing values mix with dance artistry to inform a narrative about resilience and holding to your fact within the face of adversity.
However, significantly….
Can somebody, anybody, PLEASE invent a tool that theatres can use to deactivate cell telephones for the length?
Along with the 2 guys within the rows forward of me who routinely needed to cease and verify their textual content messages, together with unabashedly filming bits of the present (this regardless of repeated warnings from the stage and the 2 screens adjoining to the stage), there have been two ladies sitting in my row who actually took the cake.
The arrived after the intermission, and proceeded to take a seat hunched over their cell telephones for nearly the whole length of the remainder of the present, texting, watching TikTok movies, and even sharing them with one another as they chatted.
Why come to a present when you may clearly exhibit zero respect for both what’s taking place on stage, or your fellow patrons, the vast majority of which did respect the telephone ban?
This present deserves higher.
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Anya Wassenberg is the Toronto Metropolis Editor at Ludwig Van. Beforehand, she was a contract author with a specialty in tradition and journey for 3 many years, and a artistic writing teacher for Ontariolearn.
