With the elegant magnolias and vibrant crabapples in full bloom, the Shenyang Imperial Palace presents a delightful spring scenery. The “Drama at the Palace” Beijing Opera Experience Event has attracted a crowd of people gathering to witness the spectacle. On April 30, over 20 Russian dancers joined this event, which marks the first immersive Beijing Opera event held by Shenyang Cultural Tourism, Broadcast and TV Bureau at the World Cultural Heritage site of Shenyang Imperial Palace, as well as the first instance of inviting foreign guests to immerse themselves in the quintessential Chinese art.

In front of the Fenghuang Building at the Shenyang Imperial Palace, makeup artists from Shenyang Beijing Opera Theater transformed these foreign ladies and gentlemen with blonde hair and blue eyes into iconic characters of Beijing Opera, such as Mu Guiying, Consort Yang, Justice Bao, and Xu Xian. For these dancers from the Russian ice show company, ICE VISION, it was not only their first time visiting Shenyang, but also their first immersive experience with Beijing Opera. They put on their costumes with great interest, admired their own exquisite appearances, studied the moves and gestures in Beijing Opera, and became deeply fascinated with it. The dancer named Babenko Vyacheslav was particularly interested in the facial makeup of Beijing Opera and chose to portray the character of Justice Bao. He asked the artist to paint the makeup on his face, and then put on a black costume adorned with a golden embroidered dragon. He kept taking selfies with his phone as he planned to share his Beijing Opera look on social media.

Among the splendidly decorated ancient buildings at the Palace, this group of “foreign Beijing Opera fans” gracefully performed and attracted tourists from all over the country to take photos with them. Their presence added to the beautiful scenery at the Palace.

“It’s fascinating to have the opportunity to deeply experience the culture and art here on my first visit to Shenyang, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province. Shenyang is a beautiful city, and the people here have a great passion for culture and art.” said Babenko Vyacheslav. He also expressed his hope that the people of Shenyang could have an immersive experience of Russian ice ballet. He warmly welcomed the audience from Liaoning to visit Shengjing Grand Theater and enjoy their performances of ice ballet shows “Arabian Nights” and “the Nutcracker and Lord of Darkness”.