Effective Performance of "The Tenth Sun"
Front Our Own Conmsronoier Nanking, June 6.
On Saturday afternoon, June 1, a Dance Drama, "The Tenth Sun," was presented by the Physical Education Department of Ginling College, Nanking. The performance was. partlclpated in by more than 70 students of the College, before a company of nearly 1000, The dances were given egeinst the background of the Ginling Mirror, a small lake bordered with weeping willows. The story of the tama is an elaboration of the Chinese fairy tole "Hou-sh Shoots the Suns." The dances used to tell this tory were created by Miss Tsui jan and Miss Edith C. Halght, of the Physical Education Department, and the music for all the dances was written by Miss Stella Marie Graves of the Music Department. "Chinese tunes were used in large part for this music. The accompaniments were on the piano, organ, and drums, gongs and bells, and the music was an in-tegal part of the drama, Miss Margaret Steward played the plane and Miss Graves the organ, Lin was in charge of general arrangements and Miss Wang Ming-chen was Chairman of the Costume Committee.
The story was that Jong ago when china had had Ten Suns, the Lai was parched and dry and the heat excessive, The. Growing Things withered and died and the People were unable to work because of exhhaustion and illness. The King and his Council, after deliberation, decided to. try. shooting the Suns since, being inhabitants of the alr, they were very like birds. In the' begin~ hing of the Dance Drama the Ten Suns made their entrance in dazzling orange costumes. The dance of the Growing Things portrayed their withfering under the heat of the Ten Suas. The people, in old Chinese costume, interpreted In dance the exhaustion and illness which comes in time of great drought. The trance of the King and his Councit and their consideration of the situa-ion was presented in a spectacular way, and the Messengers were dispatched to summon the Archers of the Kingdom.
After a brief pause in the dance to indicate the passage of time, the Messengers returned and the Archer arrived. The eight. Archers costumed in red and gold. In their dance they shot in vain at the Ten Suns, then Hou-Ili stepped forward and one by one shot down nine Suns. In fear and trembling the Tenth Sun disappeared. The coming of darkness tupan the land was told ina dance of Darkness with the People groping their way. The Storm Dance made even more real the tragedy of the situation. "The Peopte were in dec pair and so the King and the Cou fil met to consider the problem of how to persuade the Tenth Sun return, The Bonfire Dance was " fitting introduction to the colour? conelu= sion of the story. Dancers dressed Mame-coloured costumes with flam: coloured scarfs interpreted the sacrifice by fire to the Tenth Sun against of the black-draped More colour war the Archers ju which they sacrificed their bows to the Tenth Sun. After this sacrifice the Tenth Sun returned to earth and dfepelled Darkness. Then followed a solo dance by Lo Hwei-ling, the Tenth Sun. Finally came the dance of rejoicing in which the Growing Things came to life, the People expressed their happiness, and then group by group left the Tenth Sun to dance alone. again in inter pretation of tHe setting sun on an. earth where he was supreme,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.