Washington-Area Premiere of Dance Drama MULAN Comes to the Kennedy Center Opera House This Month

China Arts and Entertainment Group will present the Washington-area premiere of its award-winning dance drama Mulan, the legendary story of family devotion, loyalty, and love, at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Opera House Friday, September 29 – Sunday, October 1, for four performances only.

Tickets, starting at $30, are available online at www.kennedy-center.org, at The Kennedy Center Box Office, or via phone at (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324.

Winner of the 2018 Lotus Award for Dance Drama, China’s highest award for dance, Mulan explores the courage and vulnerability of a young girl who embarks on a journey of self-discovery when she takes the place of her elderly father in the army to fight the Huns. Disguised as a man, Hua Mulan courageously fights side by side with soldiers, even as she’s falling in love with the army general. Ultimately, she is true to herself, to her journey, and to her family.

Hao Ruoqi, principal dancer for the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, performs in the title role. She combines her classic dance training with martial arts to imbue the character of Mulan with grace, strength, and agility.

“I think Mulan was not only a strong person, but also a woman who was capable of great love, wisdom, and the ability to embrace everything,” shared Hao Ruoqi in a recent interview with CGTN.

Performed by China Ningbo Performance & Arts Group, the production of Mulan includes 45 dancers, with choreography by Zhou Liya and Han Zhen, critically acclaimed creators in China’s dance world. As female choreographers, they provide a unique perspective in telling the tale of Mulan through dance:

“Usually, you see a lot of lifting in pair dances, and the female role always appears to be soft and beautiful. However, Mulan has a righteous and strong character. The wushu [Kungfu] fight is a challenge to the dancers, who have to conquer another body movement method when practicing.”

The set design for Mulan includes a multi-ton revolving circular stage, its cyclical motion symbolizing life, death, and remembrance. When spinning rapidly, the revolving platform intensifies the battle scenes. Zhou Liya explains, “In our traditional culture, a circle represents reunion and a wish for perfection, which has been applied to the stage design. But in the war scenes, the audiences will notice a broken circle.”

The first production of Chinese dance drama to return to the United States since 2020, Mulan is a part of China Arts and Entertainment Group’s Image China cultural exchange initiative, which aims to introduce traditional and contemporary Chinese performing arts to audiences around the world. Since its inception in 2009, Image China has presented works at venues across the globe, including Lincoln Center in New York; The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and performance venues in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout Europe, including Germany, Italy, and the UK.