Qiu Jirong

Qiu Jirong (Chinese: 裘继戎), also known as Qiu Ziqian(Chinese: 裘子千), was born in Beijing on September 18, 1985. He is the fourth-generation heir of Peking Peking Opera Qiu School, a pioneer Crossover integration artist. Qiu Jirong is the grandson of a famous Peking opera master and began to learn Peking opera at the age of 9 by following his family rule. And he also fell in love with contemporary dance when he watched Michael Jackson in a video when he was 13. Qiu Jirong has absorbed various influences from different art forms, which has broadened his vision as an artist and enabled him to look at Peking opera|Peking Opera from a fresh perspective. Gradually his innovation creates a new art form by giving the old art a modern touch, using western dance and music to express oriental theater art. His works include the show "2047 Apologue" produced by Zhang Yimou, who is the director of the film” House of Flying Daggers” and “Hero (2002 film)”, the dance drama "Under Siege" produced by Yang Liping have had a great achievement. Many young people became interested in traditional art after they saw his performances.
== Early life and family ==
Qiu Jirong was born into a family of opera artists. His grandfather is Qiu Shengrong (1915~1971）, a famous Peking opera|Peking Opera master and founder of Qiu School. His father, Qiu Shaorong was a famous Peking opera|Peking Opera actor as well, and died of illness in 1996. As the only male in the fourth generation of the family, Qiu Jirong must be responsible for inheriting the art of Peking opera Qiu School. Therefor he entered the Beijing Opera Vocational Art College and began to systematically study Peking opera after his father passed away, when he was only 10 years old. Two years later, Qiu Jing started to perform Peking opera on stage and won the National Theatrical Gold Award. 
When he was 13 years old, he saw Michael Jackson’s video for the first time. He was startled by the rock stars' fascinating dancing, which moved his heart. From then on he was obsessed with modern dance.
In 2002, Qiu Jirong started his bachelor's degree program at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, and after graduating in 2006, he became an actor of the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre. 
== Career ==
=== 2006--2014:Beijing Peking Opera Theatre ===
As a professional actor of the Beijing Peking Opera Theatre, Qiu Jirong has performed most of his grandfather's representative plays and has won many awards. 
Peking opera, known as the quintessence of Chinese theater art, has 200 years of history. This old Chinese theater art peaked half a century ago and has declined in recent decades. It lost most of its audience due to people being more interested in modern entertainment. In the meantime, the Peking opera|Peking Opera industry adheres to cruel training methods and strictly follows the ancestral performance procedures. Any attempts at new ideas will be rejected. Qiu Jirong faces a huge pressure to challenge the old tradition. However, his unique personality and spirit help him to overcome the difficulties. Qiu Jirong believes that art starts with imitation and flourishes with innovation. He embarked on his journey of exploration into art integration and created created several dance programs and songs that wed Peking opera|Peking Opera with modern dance.
=== 2014--Present A pioneer Crossover integration artist ===
Qiu Jirong focused on integration and innovation after he left Beijing Peking Opera Theatre in 2014. He frequently appeared on stage and TV, showing the audience his new works. He connects brilliant traditional culture with the modern world by combining elements of both traditional Chinese culture and Western dance. 
The Monkey King is a legendary mythical figure and one of the main characters in many cartoons, movies, dramas ,video games, etc. Qiu Jirong's work "Wukong" show Created a distinctive image of the Monkey King, which was loved by the audience and became his logo.
== Disputes ==
Many people in the Peking opera circle believe that Peking opera is a stylized art, and inheriting Peking opera means that no changes can be made. They think Qiu Jirong betrayed the tradition. But other people think that Peking Opera can only develop through innovation, and they think Qiu Jirong’s attempt is very meaningful.
== Accomplishment ==
=== Choreographic and Performance ===
 
Year	Title 	Notes
2006	Song of Yue Boatman 	Singing and Dancing: Qiu Jirong
2010	Rong(Integration) 	Peking Opera and Street Dance Theatre
2012	Soar 	
2014	Go Game 	
2014	Song of Yue Boatman 	New Version
2015	Under Siege 	Dance drama produced by Yang Liping
2015	Evolution 	
2015	Escaping the Temple 	Dance drama produced by Zhao Liang
2016	Wukong 	
2016	Drumming Banner 	Dram music with flag dance
2016	The True Monkey King	
2017	Guqin·Lightsaber 	2047 Apologue season 1 produced by Zhang Yimou
2017	A Tale of cat city 	Musical and Dance theater
2018	Rong Dance·Light 	2047 Apologue season 2 produced by Zhang Yimou
2021	Jing Hong 	2021 New Year 2021
2021	Rong Dance·Light 	2047 Apologue season 5 produced by Zhang Yimou
=== Music ===
 
Year	Title 	Notes
2014	Red Cliff 	
2014	Perplexed 	
2014	Old to New 	
2014	Helpless 	
2015	Distance 	Prod. by Conrank
2015	Sleepless with The Bright moon	
2016	Begone Love 	Singing with Dong Fei
2018	Overlord@Sudan 	Singing with LIL-EM
2020	A long Journey 	
2020	Nirvana 	
2021	Gravity feat.Qio 	Prod.Sing.by Félix
=== Filmography ===
Year	Title 	Notes
2004	A Minor Role 	as the male lead in this Microcinema
2014	Pursuing Dream 	as the actor in this documentary
2015	The Final Master 	role: Dojo Fighter
2016	A Young Operatic Player	as the actor in this documentary
2016	Escaping the Temple 	as the actor in this documentary
2017	The Martial Arts Movie 	as the actor in this documentary
2018	Dramaholic 	4 roles:Chi, Mei, Wang and Liang
2019	The File 	as the actor in this documentary
2019	From Chung Kuo to China	as the actor in this documentary
Category:1985 births
Category:Chinese dancers
Category:Chinese choreographers
Category:Chinese musicians
Category:Chinese singers