Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c11.s1.t6.52

v2.c11.s1.t6.52

Modern Chinese art troupe has ever rehearsed Indian musical drama on a large scale for three times. The first time was in 1957. To celebrate the fifth anniversary of China-India Friendship Association, China Youth Art Theatre India performed poetic drama *Sakuntala* of great poet Kalidasa. At that time, Indian dancer Kamala Lakshman visited China, and also participated in the dance rehearsal. The second time was in 1981. The China Youth Art Theatre made the new choreography of *Sakuntala*, and Zhang Jun was invited to do it. An Indian expert commented that Indian people didn’t find that it was Chinese people that performed Indian dance. The third time was in 2012. Lanzhou University rehearsed Tagore’s drama *Chitra*, with Jin Shanshan as choreographer and it was considered to be “the most Indian local performance of Tagore drama” by the then ambassador.