High Art Poorly Received in Wenzhou

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Published: Tuesday, 27 May 2014 19:30

Last night, Little Birch Tree Dance Troupe from Russia gave a wonderful performance in the Wenzhou Grand Theatre, but their high-level show seemed to meet with the cold shoulder in Wenzhou. The attendance was only around one fifth, and nearly half of the audience were kids, making the hall a little noisy. It seems that people in Wenzhou are not enthusiastic about high art.

In contrast, the performance of Little Birch Tree, one of Russia’s top national troupes, is often well received in other cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, with audience packing the house. However, it is not the only case. In June 8, the Red Detachment of Women, China’s most well-known ballet which has won praise over the world, will be put on in the Wenzhou Grand Theatre. It is learned that only half of the tickets have been sold, while the tickets are always the hottest in other cities.

The same cold reception happens to other forms of high art as well. Take movies for example, Les Miserables, an Oscar-winning musical, received a poor box office during the show and it was taken out of the schedule quickly. The Artist, another Oscar-winning silent film, had only been shown for several times before it was removed from the schedule. At present, the prime time of Wenzhou’s cinemas is given to commercial films because of better box office. Art exhibition, a typical high art, is of no exception in Wenzhou. How Art Museum Wenzhou, a local private art gallery, once held several international art shows, but they always received few visitors.

Though great efforts have been made to promote Wenzhou’s cultural atmosphere in recent years, people in Wenzhou has not formed the habit to appreciate high art. In a broad sense, Wenzhou people’s psychology of culture consumption has not come to maturity yet.