Gaming operator MGM Macau announced the first residency show to be based at its MGM Cotai’s Theatre, a lion dance, Southern Fist and drama performance starting in July.
Named the ‘MGM Awakening Lion’ Dance Drama Residency Show, the 70-minute drama starred by Iiliwan Umar, Peng Guanyu and Zhu Jinhu was created by MGM and the Guangzhou Song and Dance Theatre.
The company described the show as being ‘re-arranged and tailor-made according to the best dance drama in the China Dance Lotus Awards’ and example of cultural offering ‘catered to the new generation tourists’ and making use of the theatre’s ‘cutting-edge technology’, such as it immersive 4K LED wall.
Engineered by McLaren Engineering Group the 28 million pixels LED wall was designed as the world’s most flexible Ultra-HD screen.
The original ethnic dance drama “Awakening Lion” is said to be the first large-scale dance drama in China using Cantonese lion dance as its theme, and was named the best dance drama by the most prominent dance award in China – the China Dance Lotus Awards.
It includes multiple cultural art elements including the lion dance, Southern Fist (Nanquan), dance performance and other traditional folk intangible cultural heritage.
“As we embark on to the bright new journey of the 14th Five-YearPlan, MGM presents this large-scale ethnic dance drama ‘MGM Awakening Lion’, where lion dance, a symbol of Chinese national heritage and festive culture, stands as the theme of the show,” MGM’s Executive Director, Pansy Ho, states in the announcement.
“Curated for tourists of the new generation, ‘MGM Awakening Lion’ sets a new milestone for MGM, as it is the very first project of the ‘MGM Lion IP (Intellectual Property)’, a spectrum of tourism products in multiple categories”
According to Ho, the residency Lingnan-heritage-based show aims to help build Macau into ‘a base for exchange and cooperation with Chinese culture as the mainstream and the coexistence of different cultures’ while assisting cultural tourism exchanges in the Greater Bay Area.
The first shows will take place between July 8-13.
Since its opening in 2018, the MGM Cotai Theatre has held some shows, including the Jabbawockeez “True to Yourself” dance show and Argentinian production Fuerza Bruta, however, no residency performance had yet been announced.
The gaming operator also used the show unveiling to present guiness-record largest dancing lion created in 2010, which MGM spent six months to build.
‘This gigantic lion is 20 times larger than the usual dancing lion (6.2m in length, 4.36m in height and 2.1m in width), and the head itself already weighs 250 pounds, which takes four well trained lion dancers to operate it,’ the group noted.
‘The three main cast members, Iiliwan Umar, Peng Guanyu and Zhu Jinhui performed with “The Largest Dancing Lion” on stage, presenting the splendid charms of Lingnan culture to the audiences’.
