Let the good times flow

The Phoenix Fire Dance Show, presented every night during the festival by more than 160 fire performers from over 40 countries, highlights the Qingdao event. [Photo by LI KEWEI/FOR CHINA DAILY]

The show had its world premiere at the opening ceremony of the festival on July 20 at the Golden Beach Beer City in Huangdao.

It combines plays, dances and acrobatics-where the performers stage all their stunts with fire in their hands-in one breathtaking production. Wang Gong, the general director of the show and executive director of cultural events at the beer festival, says the show gathers "almost all the people who can best play with fire" together on stage.

"It took us four months to select the performers from around the world as it's not easy to find professional fireshow actors," says Wang. "It was also a challenge because they tend to travel a great deal, so we had to set up offices in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Vienna in Austria-as well as here in Qingdao-to coordinate and communicate with our performers."

The fire-dance show will be presented in six sections: Prologue, Ancient Fire, Power Fire, Love Fire, Future Fire and Carnival Fire.

According to Wang, the show uses stage sets, special effects and cutting-edge lighting-thousands of individual lights and over 40 lasers-to bring out the beauty of fire.

"It's the highlight of this year's beer festival. And the 80-minute show does not have any lines or lyrics, which makes it easier for the audience to focus on the visual performances," Wang says.

Co-director of the show, Briton Marc Brouard, has more than three decades of experience with fire show performances. "This is the largest stage production that I've ever taken part in," he says.

According to Brouard, the show combines a range of artistic styles from around the world, including China, India and the Philippines.

"The show connects classic cultures from different countries, and I'm excited to bring this new art form to Chinese audiences," says Brouard. "It took us a whole year to plan, create and rehearse."

Alongside the beer festival, an international music festival is being hosted at the newly built Sound of the Phoenix Grand Theater. Pianist Lang Lang kicked off the music event and was followed by 30 other performances.

Global City International Circus is presenting a show specially designed for the beer festival that will take place between the beer tents and can seat up to 1,500 people.

Contact the writers through liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn