15th Annual Peking Opera Festival Set for 9/20

Wei Liu (Artistic Director of Wu Han Peking Opera Company of China) is an award-winning Peking Opera performing artist. She is a Level-One Performing Artist of China*, and is known for her performance as virtuous and elite female characters (Qingyi). In her thirty-plus-year performing experience, she has created many original roles that received endless raves. Ms. Liu is also the youngest performer to ever receive two Plum Performance Awards, the highest honor to receive in the Performing Arts in China. Under her leadership, Wu Han Peking Opera Company has been continuously selected as one of Top Ten Peking Opera Company in China for many years.

Ms. Liu's specialty is "Qiao Gong", which is very similar to dancers standing on balls of their feet. Qiao shoes come with additional small heels to give an illusion of tiny feet. An Qiao Gong artist performs on her or his toes throughout from beginning to the end, which sometime can last three hours. This type of skill is to portray a Chinese female whose feet were traditionally binded during ancient time.

(*There are three levels in Chinese performing artist category. Level-One is the highest level that one can achieve.)

Wu Han Peking Opera Company of China was founded in 1950. The first Executive Director was the renowned Peking Opera Master, Shinfang Zhou. Since the company was founded, many world-class Peking Opera performing artists have been part of the company. After the 1970s, a new generation of Peking Opera performing artists also joined the company, including Wei Liu, who brought the company to a new height. Wu Han Peking Opera Company of China is not only known for its traditional repertories, but is also known for many award-winning modern Peking Opera productions. The Company has performed internationally in Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Yugoslavia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Macau.

Qi Shu Fang has been performing Peking Opera all of her life. In her youth, she studied with her sister-in-law, the renowned martial arts actress Zhang Meijuan. At sixteen, she created a stir in Beijing when she played the lead role in Three Battles with Zhang Yue'e. The great actor and female impersonator Mei Lanfang praised her performance of this tremendously difficult piece. After this early success, Ms. Qi went on to study at the Shanghai Municipal Theater School and performed as a leading actress with Shanghai Youth Peking Opera Company and the Shanghai Peking Opera Theater. During this time, her performance in the Yang Paifeng was made into a movie and her role in the 'modern Peking Opera's Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy made her a household name in China.

Ms. Qi also has performed throughout Asia and Europe. She performed Green Stone Mountain, The Legend of the White Snake, and Autumn River in Vienna, Austria, to great acclaim in 1987. She was hailed as "a white-clad empress" for her performance of the Flaming Phoenix in Hamburg, Germany. In Japan, she is also known as one of the country's most beloved Peking Opera stars. Ms. Qi moved to New York City and established the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company in 1988. She was awarded the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship, the highest honor in traditional folk arts in the United States in 2001.

In 2003, Ms. Qi made her Broadway debut in her company's historic performance of The Women Generals of the Yang Family at the New Victory Theatre. Ms. Qi is accomplished in all areas of Peking Opera performance, in particular she is known for her full and sweet soprano voice, and her remarkable powerful martial abilities. Jack Anderson of The New York Times wrote "she fills the stage with magic that is inexpressibly enchanting." James R. Oestreich of The New York Times has praised her as "a bright star, a truly great artist."

Ms. Qi and her husband Ding Meikui currently lead the company across the country to promote Peking Opera and Chinese culture. Every year their professional performances are greeted with great enthusiasm by American audiences. In this regard, Ms. Qi has made a great contribution to cultural richness in America while at the same time building a bridge between East and West.

Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company, established in 1988, is a non-profit arts organization. The Company mission is to promote Chinese and Chinese American culture by bringing Peking Opera - one of China's national treasures - to a global audience. Through its performances the Company aims to foster a deeper cultural understanding between East and West.

The professionalism and the high level of artistic attainment of the Company have been met with enthusiasm by audiences throughout the United States and the world, including at the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts, Madison Square Garden in New York City, and in Krakow, Poland. The Company's activities have also been generously supported by New York State Arts Council.

Highlights of the Company's twenty-year history include performances in 1997 in Connecticut, Texas and Ohio; a twelve-city tour of Florida in 1999. In 2000, the Company participated in the International Confrontation Festival in Krakow, Poland. In 2001, the Company organized the first annual Peking Opera Festival, an event that was greeted with approval by both audience members and critics from The New York Times. In 2002, the Company was one of thirty groups invited to Washington, D.C. to take part in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. During this ten-day event, the Company reached an audience of over one hundred thousand people, the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company was recognized as the "Audiences' Favorite". The Company made history by staging a critically acclaimed complete performance of The Women Generals of the Yang Family at the New Victory Theatre on Broadway in 2003. Finally, in conjunction with the Arts Power Group, the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company performs, lectures, and holds workshops in schools and universities throughout the country.

NYU SKIRBALL CENTER (The Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts) is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for New York University and lower Manhattan. Founded by Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and led by executive director Michael Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU's mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance. www.nyuskirball.org