Venture to Australia

Anna Chau, International Face-Changing Artist

Tonight I went to see Anna Chau, International Face-Changing Artist, live on stage in the Brisbane Chinatown. From the minute I saw it in the Chinese New Year brochure of events I knew I wanted to go see the show since the only place I can remember seeing this kind of thing was on TV.


According to the Brisbane City website:

The true art form of face-changing is limited to about 100 people in all of China, so this very special performance is a must-see.

First appearing in the Qing Dynasty about 250 years ago in the Sichuan Opera, the secret art of face-changing has been heralded as one of China's national treasures by the Central Government.

After a prestigious career with the Sichuan Lu's Theatre, Beijing Chinese Opera & Dance Academy and Song City, Anna Chau made history by becoming the only female 'Face-Changer' in China.

The place was pretty packed when I got there, but I managed to find a seat on the ground at the centre of the stage. :) The stage was setup in the same way as it was when I went there for Chinese New Year and before the performance there was yet another lion dance and martial arts demonstration.

So... tonight I have a treat for you, 2 videos one small to give you the idea of what the art of face-changing is, the other, a much larger video of some of the performance which includes sound! Be amazed and astounded...

Video 1 (1.5MB - Note: No sound)
Anna Chau takes her performance out into the audience.

Video 2 (17.2MB - Note: Requires DivX)
A dance with some traditional Chinese music as well as a familar tune.

For those of you with an interest in Miss Chau I found this short biography on her.

posted by Compmouse @ 2/04/2006 12:11:00 AM