The Beijing Dance Theater presents The Golden Lotus, October 5 and 6 at Mississauga’s Living Arts Centre for its second Canadian stop in its first-ever tour outside of Asia. The contemporary ballet is an adaptation of ‘Jing Ping Mei’ – China’s most notorious and banned novel, forbidden in mainland China for the past 700 years due to its erotic content. The controversial 90-minute ballet explores the story of a 1500s era Chinese “Madame Bovary” named Pan JinLian (“Golden Lotus”) who’s in love with three very different men; the tiger slayer Wu Sung, the powerful Xi Men Qin, and her humble peddler husband Wu Da – which inevitably leads to her tragic downfall.

The Golden Lotus is performed by the 28-member Beijing Dance Theater company and is directed and choreographed by Wang Yuanyuan, one of China’s most prominent choreographers and the co-founder of Beijing Dance Theater. Set and costume design is by Timmy Yip, best known for his work on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which he won an Oscar for Best Art Direction. Music is by composer Du Wei with advisement by Chen Qigang, the musical director of the 2008 Beijing Olympics’ Opening Ceremony.

“It is a true honour to bring this engaging story to Mississauga for the first time, “ says Wang Yuanyuan. “This ballet is based on a novel written during the Ming dynasty in a corrupt and excessive society, but the story still resonates today – people get swept up in their pursuit of greed and want immediate gratification. The hope is that this ballet not only entertains and enthrals, but spurs honest discussion of the topics of greed, sex and power.”

The Golden Lotus runs from October 4 to 6 at The Living Arts Centre, 4141 Living Arts Drive, Mississauga. Performances start at 7:30pm and ticket prices range from $50 - $270 (plus a processing fee).
Tickets are on sale now at: http://www.livingartscentre.ca/theatre-performances/the-golden-lotus