In its second year, the first independent dance festival in China brings lust, desire, sensuality and sexuality to the stage. The Shanghai Dance Festival initiated by Jin Xing exhibits works of dance companies from China, Denmark, Israel, Sweden and Switzerland.

It’s the show we saw from Switzerland, closing Wednesday night (tonight), by the Dutch actor and choreographer Arthur Kuggeleyn that got us hot under the collar. His composition, “Master of Complications” is a bold exploration of society and sex. The show confronts the audience, literally, to decide for itself where boundaries lie between voyeurism, desire, lust, control and restraint. The passive-active portrayal of sexual relationships is cleverly mirrored by the choreographic interaction of dancers and audience.

Kuggeleyn's style uses pulsating rhythms of ritualized movement acoustics and visuals. He calls it "trance dance", a form that oozes sexual energy and builds in a long crescendo. The climax is tomorrow night.

Venue: Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center – Drama Salon. September 24//25//26, 19:30. Tickets: 260 RMB. 288 Anfu Lu near Wukang Lu. Ticket info tel: 6327 0578

Photo by Luca Pedrotti.

As a past visitor to the Chinese consulate in New York for visa related headaches issues, we are quite familiar with the quaint corner where the consulate stands, 12th Avenue and 42nd Street. So, it was with great gusto and anticipation that we arrived at the Majestic Theater (one of the oldest theaters in the city) for the China premiere of 42nd Street.

Unlike some of the previous musicals that have taken the stage in Shanghai, 42nd Street is a musical more in line with Broadway's roots and traditions, a true reflection of the Broadway of old...you know, before shows adapted from Hollywood movies took it over. Originally, the show debuted in 1980, based upon the 1933 movie of the same name. After it's Broadway debut and subsequent Tony award for Best Musical, 42nd Street went on to become one of the longest running musicals in Broadway history.

Like most Broadway musicals, the story is fairly simple and straight-forward. A young, wide-eyed girl (played brilliantly by Kristen Martin) comes to Broadway to make it big. After joining a musical production as an ensemble dancer, she must rise to the occasion after the show's lead actress breaks her ankle. And despite the very American qualities in the story (becoming famous, naive girl in a big city, overcoming obstacles, etc.), the Chinese audience responded quite well to the show's exciting ensemble tapdancing sequences. And who wouldn't? They were a stellar cast and an amazing sight.

Considering it was opening night, we expected to see a few minor errors out of nervousness from the performers, but there was none of it on Wednesday night. The performers delivered a highly entertaining and convincing show. The only problem throughout the otherwise pleasant evening were the constant nattering among the ushers, the really noisy setup of the lights in the middle of the show, and the theatre-goers walking around while the show was on as if they were unaware of their surroundings. Maybe we were just unfortunate enough to be seated next to the door.

The distractions notwithstanding, we thought this was a remarkable feat by the producers from Nederlander, who had to assemble and fly in an all-foreign team of about 70 actors/singers dancers, musicians, tech engineers, and wardrobe managers (We hear this was their very first production in China). In other news, some of the shows in the next two weeks have already been all SOLD OUT so be sure to order your tickets soon! Readers in other parts of China will be glad to know the touring ensemble will move on to Hangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Hefei, Wuhan, and finally Beijing (in that order).

42nd Street (四十二街 - 上海站)
in English, with Chinese supertitles
Majestic Theater, on 66 Jiangning Road (美琪大戏院, 在江宁路66号)
September 5 to September 22
Ticket Price Range: 160 to 800RMB
Ticket Hotline: 400 707 9999, 021-64812938, emma.cn

Kenneth Tan contributed to this story. Pictures by Hugo of PunctumFoto.

The next JazzArt concert is upon us once again! And this time, featured will be the JQ Whitcomb sextet, playing original compositions and fun music from their regular Thursday repertoire as well. It is the first of a whole slew of great concerts and jazz performances happening this month, many of which haven't made it into the magazine listings. So expect to see more news right here over the coming days reporting on them.

JazzArt, as you might have heard, is a monthly jazz concert series held at a different gallery each month. They have become our favorite regular jazz event, not just because we happen to be involved with the planning and implementation but also because art galleries are fantastic places for jazz concerts in general. Also people who show up to these kind of concerts tend to really listen to the music, whereas in smoky bars at night many people come to chat, or conspicuously consume pricy bottles of booze, perhaps giving the occasional nod toward the music in the background when it happens to catch their attention. The JazzArt series has been wildly successful, much to the chagrin of the evil gallery owners who pulled out at the last minute of planning early this year. Drawing an estimated 250 people to last month's show, at least 300 people are expected to pack this month's concert on the 3rd floor of MOCA to the brim. So get there early in order to get a seat, as there will only be about 100 chairs.

The show starts at 3pm, and is on Sunday, September 9 at MOCA- the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, located at People's Square, 231 W. Nanjing Rd. (People's Park gate 7). The concert will be held in the 3rd floor restaurant, so when you come in and they ask you for admission just tell them you're there for the jazz concert and they'll let you in free.

The sextet will feature most of the members of the regular sextet, including Lawrence Ku on guitar, Alec Haavik on sax, EJ Parker on bass, and the most recent addition Huang Jianyi. Lao Huang will be playing the Fender Rhodes he bought in the States before he moved back to Shanghai this spring...it sounds pristine! Since regular drummer Chris just left town for what will be a rather long chunk of time, replacing him for this Sunday's concert will be Nicholas McBride on the drums.

In other news about the sextet's regular Thursday shows at JZ Club, the next two Thursdays will see the band joined by Beijing drummer Xiao Dou, who has been swinging up a storm recently. After Xiao Dou heads back up to Beijing, Nicholas will take over the reins for the following weeks.

Sunday, September 9 at MOCA- the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, located at People's Square, 231 W. Nanjing Rd. (People's Park gate 7) 南京西路231号