San Francisco Gate – An actor in a plush panda suit bounds across the stage with the enthusiasm of a minor league baseball mascot, flanked by acrobats atop bamboo poles, stone-faced kung-fu fighters and over-the-top visual effects rarely seen off the Las Vegas Strip.
“PANDA!” — the first Chinese-produced show to take up a long-term residency on the famous tourist corridor — also takes pains to weave in Chinese folklore and motifs, including sweeping views of an ultra-modern Beijing skyline on giant LCD screens.
The loose, wordless plot needs no translation. The subtext doesn’t either: A growing, confident China wants respect, not just for its military or economic prowess, but also for its arts and culture. Experts say shows like the Vegas one are part of an effort in recent years to bring greater attention to China’s cultural offerings.
“China is very smart in understanding that arts and culture is how countries come to be defined,” said Alicia Adams, the vice president of international programming and dance at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and producer of its Festival of China showcase in 2005.
Produced by the team behind the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, “PANDA!” opened to mixed critical reviews in December and recently added dates through July. It comes after other Chinese shows have led the way to U.S. stages, including two Chinese-produced resident shows in Branson, Mo., and a steady flow of touring Chinese arts troupes at venues across the country.
“I hope that the show provides an opportunity for cultural bonding and shared mutual reference, so that Chinese culture will have a tighter bond with other cultures,” said Zhong Min Xu, producer of the Vegas show, answering questions by email through a translator.
While ‘PANDA!’ is privately funded, China has been sending performing arts troupes to overseas festivals and universities for years, often with backing from its Ministry of Culture. In the mid-2000s, the ministry set the explicit national priority of exporting Chinese culture.
