Bianlian or Face-Changing
First she had on a blue mask. Then faster than you could blink your eyes, it was yellow! “How’d she do that?” Before you could think about it…… whoosh…. It was now red with a yellow eye band…………. “Whoa!!!!!!!!” And then…………. Gone! Just that fast!Of course, I’m talking about the magician lady at the recent show. It was the same lady that I got to tie up in the magic act during the second show. (See previous posting.) But in the first show, she put on one of those amazing displays of “Bianlian” or face-changing. One second she had on a blue mask, and with a pass of her hand across her face,……….. Presto…… it was now another color!
I had long heard about “Bianlian.” It is the face-changing technique that started from the Sichuan Opera. Performers used the masks in character, and with a quick wave of the hand or turn of the head, they change the mask. I read that professionals can change up to 10 masks in 20 seconds. And there are only about 200 artists able to perform the face-changing effectively. I guess we were privileged on this night! I sure was. (You may find some videos on YouTube.)
The magician lady did keep the stage lights dimly lit for her act. I’m sure that made the illusion and actions easier. Instead of doing many masks face-changes though, she reverted to a succession of other magic acts. In quick succession she did produce probably about 20 umbrellas, practically from thin air! They just kept coming out.
Other acts were more common, like girls dancing to different themes representing different regions of 
Several singers performed, including one that did a Michael Jackson imitation. I was more than a little confused when that one started. After a song or two in an army style outfit, he stated he was going to do a “Michael Jensen” song. The audience around me got very excited, as one of my co-workers kept calling out “Michael Jensen!” Until he donned the white glove, I couldn’t figure out where this was going. Then it finally hit me: his Chinese dialect was a little off….. “Michael Jackson!”
A group of at least 10 young men did a kung fu demonstration. At one point one performer jumped right into the audience. Another lady did a juggling act, and appropriately for our company, took a large table and spun it in the air with her legs. One odd performance included a man who did impersonations of birds and other noises.
But all performances were good, and everyone seemed to enjoy the night. I sure enjoyed it, particularly the magic shows, both the Bianlian and my magic debut.
Labels: China Shows, Decca Furniture, Life in China, Magic
posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:02 PM
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