介绍:
It is a story about growing-up.
The eleven young men performing Shaolin Kung Fu in this original Kung Fu show, The Eleven Monks, have been through a lot and have had a tough time.
They belong to a small Shaolin Kung Fu troupe called Dragon Rhythm. Their show borrows elements from dance dramas, theater plays and high-tech variety shows, making it work both on stage and on the TV screen.
In 2006, the eleven teenage boys were handpicked by Kung Fu star Jackie Chan. They were sent to a deserted factory in suburban Beijing and that has been both their school and home.
Now the troupe is one of the best in the business, and most members have developed a stronger-than-usual sense of belonging.
"I think I will keep doing this as long as I can still do it."
"Doing what we are doing now is the best way to achieve what we want in the future."
They get up before 6, practice ten hours a day and go to bed after 10.
During the first few years, troupe members earned less than 500 yuan a month. But after years of practicing and searching for opportunities, now they can easily get tens of thousands a month if they sign a business contract elsewhere. Several have left the troupe but most of them have decided to stay.
The oldest member Hu Mingwu is also the art director of the troupe. He turned down several opportunities and decided to stay for the sake of his fellow members.
"After all these years, we are here not for ourselves, but for the others."
Troupe leader Hu Wei is like a mom to those young men. She has witnessed all the ups and downs of the troupe and also the changes of her young troupe members and the bonding between them.
"Of course this is a painstaking career path. But we don't sell pains. We want to showcase the power of persistence. People can be easily touched by their dedication and happiness."
Hu Wei incorporates literacy, music and philosophy education into the daily practice of the troupe. She says it's all paying off.
"I think they know how to love and give instead of just receiving."
There are a lot of dynamics taking place in the troupe similar to a family with a mother and teenage boys.
Hu Wei is now in her 60s. As the mom of this big family, she says she never ignores teaching the young men what is really important in life.
"What does the starting point mean? I think it indicates how to be a good person. Knowing the techniques well is far from enough. Being a good person is the first and foremost thing."
The "big brother" Hu Mingwu says this approach has shaped what he is like and what the troupe is like today.
"I didn't quite get what seniors told us that being a good person is the precondition to achieving career success. But now I get it. How well a person lives his life is connected with his career. It is a delicate thing. I think if we can hold on to this bonding, this brotherhood, we will never lose the affection from the audience."
The troupe is currently in Israel and it is about to embark on its global tour to the U.S. and Europe with up to 100 shows later this year.
Art director Hu Mingwu says they are trying to put new vitality into their performance.
"When you put real emotion in it, choreography, storyline and other things, they are not that important. The most important thing is the real emotion in it".
Just like a Buddhist monk pursing the essence of his belief system, the young men on the stage of the Eleven Monks have seemingly found the meaning of their careers and lives.
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