JUJU CHINESE DANCE

A celebration of Chinese New Year in dance

Happy Chinese New Year, and welcome to Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham on Tuesday 28 January 2025.

This is the Year of the Snake, the sixth animal in the 12-year repeating sequence of the traditional Chinese calendar, based on the lunar cycle. People born in the year of the snake are said to be reserved and mysterious but warm inside. They excel in the arts and literature.

‘Ode to Beauty’, our first dance, is based on ‘Ballad of Beautiful Ladies’, a poem written in 753AD by Du Fu, one of the greatest Chinese poets, who lived in the Tang Dynasty. Du Fu [doo foo], also spelled TuFu (712-70), was born into an aristocratic family near Changa (Xian). He became a minor official at the Tang court despite failing the necessary examinations. His lyric poems celebrate love, friendship and wine, but he also explored political and social issues and was a stern critic of war.

The dancers interpret the opening of the three-part poem, describing the spring outings of elegant ladies by the Qujiang River.

Spring festival and spring
Is truly in the air, by the winding stream to Chang'an
Lovely ladies walk, looking
Proudly ahead, then exchanging
Sweet and charming smiles with
Each other. 

(Opening of ‘Ballad of the Beautiful Ladies’ by Du Fu, by Rewi Alley, 1962.)

Our second dance, ‘Ayikezi’, 阿依克孜, is from Xin Jiang. The word means ‘The Moon Girl’, a meaningful given name.

Our final performance, ‘The March of Lord Xiang’, 象王行, is a classical fan dance, incorporating many Chinese cultural elements, including opera, martial arts and Tai Chi.

The accompanying music uses a large number of Chinese musical instruments, such as the drum, flute, zither and the single-stringed instrument called the erhu.

JuJu has been learning Chinese dance since childhood.

After dance academy, she worked in education in Hong Kong, leading inter-school competitions and helping her team win many awards every year.

Moving to the UK 4 years ago, and living in Cheltenham, she is now  bringing traditional Chinese dance to children and adults of all backgrounds.

Anyone who would like to know more about JuJu’s teaching and the group can email her here: zhuqing845@yahoo.com.hk

About the group

‘We love Chinese dance because it opens a window on thousands of years of culture, history and civilisation. On our journey, we are learning more about what we share and what we can offer the world,’ says Helen Marriott, a keen student.

JuJu Chinese Dance Events

8th February: St Matthew’s Church, Cheltenham, Chinese New Year celebration 2-5pm.

1st February: Wingye, Bristol, Chinese New Year celebrations, throughout the day.

Contact JuJu: zhuqing845@yahoo.com.hk

Cheltenham Music Festival Society Youth Music Concerts

Pittville Pump Room, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

Tuesdays at 1pm. Free, with a voluntary collection to pay for the use of the hall.

Contact Andrew Auster: a.auster30@gmail.com

Forthcoming Attractions

4. 2. 2025 Stephen Selby (piano)

11. 2. 2025 Violet Wong (trumpet & Winnie Chan (piano)

12. 2. 2025 Serinus Trio (two flutes and piano)

4. 3. 2025 Eleanor Driscoll (soprano) & Chloë Underwood (piano)

18. 3. 2025 Nina Savecivic (piano)

25. 3. 2025 Concert for Ukraine

1. 4. 2025 Ivan Hovorun (piano)

JuJu thanks Dean Close School for the opportunity to perform today.

We are pleased to welcome Paul Baker, Mayor of Cheltenham.

MEGO prose

The cover picture is a detail from ‘Court Ladies Newly Preparing Silk’, by Zhang Xuan (713–55), which is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, USA. We believe it to be in the public domain. Rewi Alley’s translation of Du Fu is from Du Fu Selected Poems published by Foreign Language Press of Beijing in 2003.

All other content by the group. Booklet and website edited and designed by John Morrish, 2 Priory Mews, Cheltenham, GL52 6DJ. mail@johnmorrish.com