A visual feast of ancient history through modern times, Atlanta Chinese Dance Company's original production China in Transition: Animal Folklore to City Life explores the rich diversity of Chinese cultural history through dances depicting animals from Chinese folklore and follows in the footsteps of the millions of migrant workers who leave their children behind in the countryside to seek a better future in the city. The production features the colorful traditional costumes and dances that audiences have come to love in addition to a new modern thought-provoking finale that brings home the plight of the migrant workers - a moving testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Performances feature nearly 100 dancers, including professional guest artists from the acclaimed Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company from New York!

Qi Shu Fang , a 2001 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, is hailed as one of the preminent masters of Peking opera living in the United States. During the Cultural Revolution she was picked by Madame Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao's wife, to play the female lead in one of the eight national "model operas." Overnight she became a sensation throughout China. It is said that almost anyone from mainland China over the age of twenty-five can hum arias from her most famous operas. After immigrating to the United States in 1987, she and her husband Ding Meikui founded the Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company the following year to transplant their art to a foreign culture. The troupe has performed worldwide to critical acclaim, with appearances on Broadway, at Kennedy Center, and abroad in Poland and Canada. Atlanta Chinese Dance Company's China in Transition: Animal Folklore to City Life marks Qi Shu Fang's debut performance in Atlanta.

ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL GUEST ARTISTS Atlanta Chinese Dance Company is honored to feature professional guest artists Qi Shu Fang , Ding Meikui , and Ren Yingxin from New York City's Qi Shu Fang Peking Opera Company ! In honor of the Year of the Monkey, they will be performing in the roles of Sun Wukong (Monkey King), Zhu Bajie (Pigsy), and Baigujing (White Bone Spirit) in an excerpt from the classic Chinese mythological story Journey to the West .