Performance: Jiangsu Performing Arts Group Opera and Dance Theater

Host: Huasi Culture

When the spark of life once again illuminates the corridors of history.

Memories are rushing towards us.

We have more than just angry tears and shouts.

We will remember everything our nation has experienced.

History will not change with the changing times.

The truth will not disappear because of denial.

Only by remembering the darkness can we see the light.

The glimmer in the darkness is the soul dancing.

In the past few years, the most eye-catching thing about the Nanjing Massacre was the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 2014 to designate December 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre; in 2015, the Nanjing Massacre archives were included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, and the memory of 1.3 billion Chinese people has since become the common memory of all mankind. The Nanjing Massacre has been more deeply engraved on the pillars of history.

Against this backdrop, "The End of Memory" chooses to focus on the witnesses of the Holocaust, presenting those memories that are buried deep and touch the soul. In the devastated and hellish days, we can find a lot of love from people's mutual help, selfless sacrifice, and tenacity. After being refined by the Holocaust, this love transcends personal emotions.

"Deep in Memory" is strictly based on and compared with historical materials, combining documentary and artistic qualities, and is created and presented with new ideas and techniques. The whole play starts from the perspective of Chinese-American writer Iris Chang's exploration of the truth of the Nanjing Massacre, and uses this as a clue throughout. The play is directed and written by Tong Ruirui, and performed by the Dance Troupe of the Opera and Dance Theater of Jiangsu Performing Arts Group. The screenwriter forms an interlocking script with relatively independent and mutually corroborated chapters. Although each character's vision and original intention are different, they all point to the same truth in the end: in the name of peace, use this work to commemorate the suffering and pain experienced by our nation. The main characters such as rescuers (represented by Rabe and Vautrin), survivors (prototyped by Li Xiuying and others), and Japanese soldiers (prototyped by Shiro Azuma and others) go hand in hand. The development of the event and the character's mental journey are interspersed and integrated. Each chapter is a dialogue, not only with Iris Chang, but also with the past, with human nature, and with conscience, and ultimately boils down to a contest between good and evil.

Accordingly, the choreography of "Deep in Memory" is based on truth, with a contemporary perspective and a stage texture of modern aesthetic concepts. The most direct and powerful dance vocabulary captures and presents the strongest emotional outburst points and the most sensitive psychological contradictions of the characters. The soul dance with a big opening and closing has a strong sculptural quality. The tension of the main characters' vocabulary is ups and downs, and it is meticulous, which not only expresses multi-layered emotions, but also leaves a deep historical imprint on each character. In addition to retaining a small amount of necessary narrative, the dance arrangement focuses on the environment in which the characters live and the complex psychology of their human nature, those respectable, pious, brave, honest, persistent, and of course hateful, pointing to the unforgettable parts deep in memory, showing the different powers of this dance drama that go straight to the heart.