 | | Performers dance in and around a sailboat during the opening ceremony for the Asian Games at Guangzhou, China, on Friday. (AP) |
From the Nest to the nautical. China showcased a riverside ceremony and a flotilla of athletes to launch the Asian Games in Guangzhou on Friday, a little over a month after the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Light beams, fireworks and water jets exploded from the banks of the Pearl River. Two years ago, China had dazzled the world with the Bird’s Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics. The venue on a tiny island in Guangdong province was configured like a sailboat for the opening festivities designed by Chen Weiya, famed Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s deputy when he crafted the Beijing ceremony. The 27,000-capacity stadium stood as the cabin; four towering pillars in front of it unfurled screens that doubled as sails. Some 10,000 athletes were ferried in 45 floats — one for each country and territory — draped with fairy lights and dropped off at the island for the athletes’ parade. With the images of the Delhi Commonwealth Games opening ceremony still fresh, The Telegraph gets into the potentially risky — and divisive — but tantalising business of comparing the two events. China: They had dedicated sections devoted to opera and percussion music; Guangzhou was micro-focusing on its own culture, even the colour palette was subtle with splashes of red and green. India: Our choice of colours and cultural shows ironically enough resembled our national bird, the peacock — fiery, warm, proud and overwhelming, even overpowering in stretches. In-your-face as the Indian people, in all their flamboyance, the show marred by many a slip between the cup and the lip. Performers falling from their poles during the nagin dance, interrupted broadcasts, bad co-ordination, hasty choreography. Conduct They had eight giant screens, our only saving grace was the aerostat, the helium balloon that, in retrospect, was overrated. Theirs was a precise show, no false steps, superbly choreographed. No surprise since there were four dress rehearsals. We had only one, our stadium wasn’t ready for practice! [url=] [/url] |
The mix China: They never forgot to send a message that they are as modern as they are ancient. If four dozen water goddesses walked across the water, performers on jet skis zoomed into the stadium and performed tricks. Dozens of dancers attached to wires seemed to run across cityscapes beamed across the video screens. If China was represented in the flotilla by a replica of the Temple of Heaven, also around was the country’s pavilion from the Shanghai World Expo. India: The opening ceremony had several lovable moments but too much stress was laid on the traditional — what one would expect in India. The symbols of an emerging — or “emerged”, if Barack Obama has his say — giant were missing Star power China: Star classical pianist Lang Lang performed on a white grand and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon actress Zhang Ziyi sang as synchronised swimmers danced and water sprouted before them. India: A.R. Rahman performed at the opening ceremony but the Bollywood A-list was missing. The closing ceremony had some Bollywood representation but many felt it actually diffused the feel-good that the initial performances by others had generated. Faces They had Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari at the opening ceremony, we had Sri Lanka’s Mahinda Rajapaksa at the closing. Underbelly China: Residents within half a mile of the venue were asked to leave the city to prevent any sniper attacks. They were, however, asked to leave their lights on during the opening ceremony to enhance the city’s skyline. There was much twittering on Chinese social networking site Weibo of a retaliatory no-lights campaign which was quietly muzzled. India: The homeless were asked to leave the city till the Games got over. Delhi, though, was lit up in parts. Tickets China: Their tickets went by lottery draws, the rest had to be content with television footage. India: No one knows where our tickets went. The first lot had to be scrapped after complaints that stadiums were empty despite organisers’ claims that tickets were all sold. Run-up China: No complaints in the run-up to the Asian Games regarding delays or corruption, no slanging matches between organisers and no stinking stories about dirty loos either. Media gag reminiscent of a totalitarian regime or squeaky clean polity? Too sanitised, said a green-eyed sports enthusiast. India: The Games rocked from one crisis to another, only to somehow retrieve itself by its bootstraps at the last minute. Bad food at canteens one day, Delhi belly the other day and bed collapses when athlete tries to lie in it. The only plus, someone smartly remarked, was that one could openly boo at Kalmadi. Try that in China! Spectators China: Prim and propah. Waving little flags, sitting like programmed mannequins in their seats. No roaring, no whistling, no shouting.… Just what Big Brother prescribed. Opener verdict China: Their show was spectacular, dazzling and precise, said the admirers. Reminded you of a military band, said detractors — all pomp and no soul. But there was just no comparison in terms of ambition, scale and eye for detail. India: Exuberant, free for all. A show that can only be called the great Indian wedding, but for the feasting, with the ubiquitous Bollywood music bit thrown in — by the end everybody was on their feet. But that probably also describes key differences between India and China, between democratic chaos and totalitarian precision. We should learn one lesson from today for good, though. Whatever our politics, we should just not dream of comparing ourselves with China. | 
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发表于 2010-11-13 08:23
发表于 2010-11-13 10:28
