WING CHUN DANCE DRAMA – REVIEW OF 2025 PERFORMANCE AT MERIDIAN HALL, TORONTO

Reviewed by James Karas

And now for something new.

Wing Chun Dance Drama is a ballet-cum-martial arts or you may prefer to say it is a show that blends martial arts and ballet with dramatic stories. The program calls it a dance drama but that hardly does it justice. It is a production by the Shenzhen Opera and Dance Theatre and this is its premiere appearance in North America.

The performance combines the martial art of Wing Chun with ballet or modern dance. The martial arts provide athletics, gymnastics and physical exertions and exercises that left me astounded. This is accompanied or blended with ballet dances of poise, precision and beauty that make an extraordinary show. You will not find the denizens of Swan Lake or the waltzing snowflakes of The Nutcracker here.

The dancers display agility and movements that almost defy the laws of gravity. Their bodies seem to be made of soft rubber and they perform jumps over other dancers as if they are just walking in the park. They perform individually or as a group with disciplined and synchronized steps as if they were automatons.

For most of the production we hear prerecorded music that contains much rhythm and emphasis on percussion at a brisk speed. In the last few minutes, the tempo is reduced and mellower music dominates as we reach the end of the plot. The music and the volume at which it is played should be reviewed.

Wing Chun is a southern Chinese martial art that features rapid hand movements, using your opponent’s force against him and it is useful for smaller people  against big bullies. Its most famous grandmaster was Ip Man or Yip Man who was Bruce Lee’s teacher. Ip Man (1893-1972) is played by Chang Hongii in the Dance Drama and I have never seen anyone else be or pretend to be a master of Wing Chun and give him full marks as a fighter and dancer. Chang Hongii is the only one from the many people on stage who is named in the program.   

Scene from Wing Chun Dance Drama

According to the program, the production is divided into six acts and I admit that I could not follow the plot even with the large screen on the side giving some information. One of the titles is Arrival and we are informed that that is the arrival if Ip Man in Hong Kong. We get that as well as a dance, beautiful, energetic and captivating, with a woman that I thought was a courtship. He has arrived in Hong Kong and wants to be involved in the martial art that he is a master in. 

We see a cameraman on the stage and the filming of a movie about Wing Chun is the parallel story to that of Ip Man. Then we are told in the program that Da Chun who is involved in the making of the film, joined the production as a lighting technician, The act is truthfully titled Confusing because that is where I was for some of the details of the plot.

The production moves between the 1950’s in Hong Kong and the 1990’s during the making of the film WING CHUN and I admit my inability to follow the plot. Better subtitles on the stage may have helped with following the plot and the screen on the side provided very little help.

When we enter the theatre, we are used to getting a program. None was provided. Later, the wonderful publicist Katie Saunoris gave me a glossy program that, aside from the bragging by the producers, has the distinction of being almost useless. The show is produced by the International Cultural Exchange Association of Shenzhen and the China Culture Tourism, Sports Radio and Television Bureau of Shenzhen, China. It is Performed by TO Live, Adem Company Inc. and Canada-China Cultural Development Association with a Strategic Partner, a Presenting Sponsor and a Community Partner. The program lists the staff of TO Live including the office clerk.   

I repeat that there is no credit or even mention of the people on stage (with the one exception for a performer and the names of the choreographers/directors), the creative team and the designers and crew behind the scenes.

I resist descending to scatological language for the people responsible for this atrocious treatment of dancers, actors, artists and audience. The artists deserve better and so do we.
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Wing Chun Dance Drama, directed and choreographed by Han Zhen and Zhou Liya opened on December 16, 2025, and will play until January 4, 2026, at the Meridian Hall, 1 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. www.wingchundancedrama.com.

James Karas is the Senior Editor, Culture, of The Greek Press, Toronto