When erhu artist WeiWei Wuu took to the stage at Shanghai Concert Hall on April 30, she delivered a show that could be described as out of the ordinary.
The Chinese audience likely expected to see a woman playing the traditional instrument while seated, wearing a cheongsam (the body-hugging dress native to Shanghai) and playing ballads that evoke a sentimental nostalgia. Wuu, however, was resplendent in fuchsia, mint and gold, and began her performance by walking through the crowd playing a piece that had the jaunty rhythm of a Celtic jig. And the musical experimentation didn't stop there: She also touched on rock, jazz and balladry during the concert, capping it off with accompaniment from a backing orchestra comprising 70 of her Japanese students.
"I really wanted to show people in my hometown just how much my Japanese students love playing niko," Wuu says, using the Japanese word for the two-stringed Chinese fiddle.