sommerszene blog

By Wu Wenguang

It was my come to Szene, Summer Festival in Salzburg again after 12 years! The first strongest impression was that the city is still same, the festival, including people there are same. I mean that I am able to be easy to find way of go to Republic Theater, to close the bridge I was taken photo before, the bar where I had a cafe and cigarette. To compare with the city, Beijing where I’m been living in or Kunming where is my hometown in China, I often lost my way for “change too fast”. Of course, the mean of “change” is not about contemporary performance there, just relate with “the face of modernization”.

For our group Living Dance Studio, all members were first time in Salzburg, except Wen Hui and I, so I don’t know what kind of feeling they had, but for myself, it was very amazing for the city is still been (not just the name like Beijing), the festival and people are still been (actually the festival has been in there very early before I came there 1995), even if it’s not the art scene relate with the mainstream, but it’s still been as the part of culture, art of Austrian history. That’s what different then the Beijing city where we are living in China, where we can find theater to perform? Who are our public? Which scene is the festival that is able to take those independent groups up? Everything is empty before that, in fact, we have to building by ourselves, for independent creation and group, for independent theater, for independent festival, for public, that’s what we have been working since end of 2004.

I’m dreaming there is a theater, festival which like Republic in Salzburg to funding in Beijing after 12 years, but of course, I understand Beijing is not Salzburg, I’m not sure what happening later, even for next year as such situation in China, anyway we can hold today, are able to start from the first step.

Beijing, 2007-7-1