Undertaking a journey to the West

Journey to the West, by Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) writer Wu Cheng'en, follows the adventures of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) monk Xuanzang and his three disciples: the animal spirits Sun Wukong, or the Monkey King, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, on their journey to find Buddhist scriptures.

In 1966, when French composer Laurent Petitgirard received a copy of the novel for his 16th birthday from his elder brother, he was intrigued. He read the story over and over again, and began to think about turning it into music.

That didn't happen for more than 50 years, until Petitgirard met dancer-choreographer Wang Yabin in Paris in 2019.

On April 29, the composer was present in the theater of Beijing Dance Academy to witness the dance drama the two created together. Also titled Journey to the West, it is directed and choreographed by Wang, with a 74-minute score by Petitgirard.

Between May 1 and 18, Journey to the West is doing a 20-performance tour of cities including Taiyuan, Shanxi province, Shenyang, Liaoning province, and Zhuhai, Guangdong province before being presented at the Theatre Marigny in Paris on May 21, as part of the program celebrating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and France. In December, it will tour France, including performances in Biarritz, Arcachon and Cannes.

"For me, it's also a journey, from writing the music alone for three years to recording the music with 90 musicians from the Hungarian Symphony Orchestra Budapest in 2021, from having a number of online meetings with Wang and other creative team members, to meeting them in person in Beijing," says the 74-year-old, who was born in Paris and who studied piano and composition as a child. Petitgirard's work ranges from symphonic music, operas and chamber music, to film scores.

"I wanted to depict the journey of Xuanzang and his three companions in a poetic way, as well as imbue the music with the spiritual experience found in this great monument of Chinese literature," he adds.

He also invited artist friends to participate, with Eric Soyer taking charge of the stage set and lighting design, and Mathieu Sanchez of the multimedia technology.

The score was released by the classical music label, Naxos, on April 28 last year, with a cover painting by monk and painter Shi Dachan titled The Big Fight Against the Yellow-Robed Monster that portrays a scene from Journey to the West.

The piece premiered in Tianjin, Wang's hometown, as well as in Beijing, as part of the 14th edition of the Yabin and Her Friends project last year. Afterward, Wang made revisions.

"I grew up reading Journey to the West and watching the cartoon and TV drama adaptations. Many Chinese are familiar with the story, but it really intrigued me to see how a foreign reader would interpret the story," says Wang, who trained as a dancer as a child and attended the Beijing Dance Academy, where she studied classical Chinese dance, ballet and contemporary dance.

The composer and choreographer worked together to tell the story, which begins with the monk Xuanzang embarking on his journey and setting Sun Wukong free from the mountain under which he has been trapped, and the ring of gold being placed on the Monkey King's head to control his rebellious nature.

It also shows how the other two disciples, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing, join the journey and how Guanyin, the bodhisattva of mercy and compassion, helps Xuanzang and his companions survive the journey.

Wang also uses elements of martial arts and traditional Chinese opera in her choreography, such as when dancer Niu Dongyan, who plays Sun Wukong, performs with a wooden stick resembling the Monkey King's golden cudgel, or jingubang, a magic weapon that can change in size, making it small enough for him to keep in his ear, or as big as he needs it to be to defeat an enemy.

Since 2009, Wang has been inviting dancers from around the world to be part of Yabin and Her Friends, making international collaboration a driving force in her dance work. For example, she collaborated with Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui on Genesis in 2013, and with choreographer Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on Dream in Three Episodes.

Wang attributes the collaboration with Petitgirard to Dong Qiang, a scholar and translator, who is dean of the Yenching Academy at Peking University and chair of the French department of its School of Foreign Languages. Dong introduced Wang to Petitgirard and served as the literary consultant on the project.

"When Petitgirard told me about his story with Journey to the West, and how he was fascinated with the novel, I was very touched. I immediately recommended Wang (Yabin) to him," says Dong.

"I've been building bridges between Chinese and French artists for decades. This collaboration, which has been ongoing through the challenge presented by the pandemic, is finally coming true."