From cutting-edge improv to reindeer music

Went to two very different concerts today. The first was something called China Express, a Belgian-Chinese assortment of performances which started off in Hangzhou & Shanghai and has now hit Beijing. There was some indie and some DJ stuff, but the gig I saw at UCCA in 798 was experimental to the hilt : three 20 minute improvised pieces by pairs of musicians and then a half hour ‘jam’ between everyone. For me the best set was Wu Na on guqin (ancient 7-string zither), the sound of which was lovely enough, but made intensely gorgeous when fed through Esther Venrooy’s laptop.
The second was a big folkloric music and dance production called Aoluguya, based on the Ewenki people in the extreme north east of China near the Russian border. They are closely related to the Ewenki in Siberia, their lives similarly dependent on reindeer herding, but they are dying out fast. On the plus side there were fabulous costumes, some energetic dancing and it was good to see the public promotion of ethnic minorities. On the down side, it was all a bit twee and Riverdancey and there wasn't much of a story. At the curtain call they brought on a few elder representatives of the tribe and a real reindeer. You can just about spot a blur of scarily large antlers as its minder tried to keep it under control.