Conrad Askland, from Mount Vernon, WA USA, is currently living in Macau (SAR) China while working with the Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA show at the Venetian Macao. In Asia he has also performed in Shanghai, South Korea and Japan.

October 1, 2009 – 中国加油，中国万岁

Happy Sixty Year Anniversary to the People’s Republic of China!

It’s a four day holiday for the locals here in China. When locals have holidays it usually means that I work more; doing entertainment shows to accommodate the tourists.

China’s last 60 years has been bittersweet with a unified people exposed to both hard living and the largest economic boom in modern history. At the end of my blog post there’s a link to a great CNN article by Jaime FlorCruz that gives an overview of China’s 60 years as The People’s Republic of China.

I have posters of Mao Zhe Dong (Mao Tse Tong) in my Macau apartment. They are reproductions from the originals that call for united workers. I picked these up on a vacation to Beijing that included the typical tourist activities of climbing the Great Wall and visiting Tiananmen Square. Local Chinese and Macau residents that see the posters smile and are suprised I have them. I myself was surprised no one chastised me saying “Why do you have photos of Mao?”.

Mao Zhe Dong is loved and revered overall in China by my experience. I have asked many mainland Chinese what they think of Mao and the most common response is “50-50” or “both good and bad”. My perception is they recognize many problems but also recognize it is part of their history and the country is headed in a new direction. I have never heard a mainland Chinese person speak poorly or critically of Mao in private conversation.

While vacationing in Beijing I met a Chinese college student and she had asked me which locations I was visiting for my vacation. I mentioned Tiananmen Square and she said, “Why would anyone want to go there? It’s SO boring!”. I replied, “Well, you know, because of what happened there?”. She answered, “What happened there?”. She didn’t have any knowledge of the Tiananmen events of June 4, 1989. (You can read about those events here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989)

I was surprised by her response that she knew nothing of it and I chose to let the subject go. I’m here in China as a guest to work and in the process want to learn about their culture. I’m not here to project my culture onto theirs.

Recently I received an email from a Canadian friend that said, “China’s great to visit, but I think the US is a whole lot safer, and has a lot more opportunity.” I don’t know if that’s true.

Living in Macau (SAR) China and the strong influence of neighboring Hong Kong; I have the unique experience of being able to visit mainland China and have mainland Chinese friends while also having the progressive thinking and relative autonomy of Macau and Hong Kong residents. Macau and Hong Kong are now “Special Administrative Regions” as part of China. They will officially be integrated totally under China in 2050, but until that time retain local government and infrastructure. So in a way it’s like “China light”. I get to experience Chinese culture from a base that is very Western and comfortable for someone from the US.

What do locals think of the US? To my face people give a thumbs up when they learn I am from the USA. And the first question after that is usually “Do you like Obama?”. When I say “Yes!”, they smile and give a thumbs up.

Although in a Hong Kong taxi I was wearing an Aussie shirt and told him I was Australian when asked my home country. He was from VietNam. Told me about his escape from the country and the evil acts of Mao Zhe Dong’s brother. Then told me that the USA only wants war. “They only know war. It’s all they do.”

Many of the younger generation in China are dreaming of new opportunities and possibilities. Many ask me about how to navigate jobs and how to be an entrepeneur. Many ways of thinking in the West seem to be new to them. Or maybe it’s because of a great change in thinking between the generations. The older generation went through many great difficulties and were very used to fitting in and doing their part as part of a whole. The new generation has only known the great propulsion of the China economy and has heard first hand accounts of many friends who have had success during this opening to business in the West.

These are exciting times for China. Happy 60th Birthday to the People’s Republic of China, and many sincere thanks for letting me learn about your culture and to see first hand the development of your new era.

Read the CNN article “China 60 Years On: From Mao to Today” here:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/china.60years.preview/index.html

Indian movie stars at the “green carpet” outside the ZAIA Cirque Du Soleil Theater in Macau, China at the Sands Venetian June 11, 2009. The Bachchan family, as well as other dazzling stars, are greeted on the green carpet for the 10th Annual IIFA awards in Macau.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMpKaO5gQ5A

In this “part one” video you will also see some photo shots of Cirque Du Soleil “ZAIA” artists.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzmxHaRWzRI

Bollywood actors reached Macau to attend the IIFA function at the Sands Venetian, Macau (SAR) China.

The official soundtrack for Cirque Du Soleil’s ZAIA show (Venetian Macau, China) was released on May 26, 2009. You can currently purchase on Amazon.com: ZAIA CD Amazon.com – or go to Amazon.com and search for “ZAIA”. A cut from the CD should also be on the Cirque Du Soleil 25th Anniversary CD which will also be available on Amazon.com late June 2009.

If you follow the Amazon link you can also listen to Mp3 excerpts from the album. I’ve heard rumors there will be a “Making of ZAIA” documentary released that will include many of the musicians and artists involved in creating the CD soundtrack. 

To my knowledge, this is the first Cirque Du Soleil original soundtrack CD that has been recorded by the original show musicians. Most tracks recorded in Macau (SAR) China, string parts recorded in Hong Kong.

Music composed by Violaine Corradi. As a sidenote, I was asked by Violaine to arrange string parts for the CD which were recorded by members of the Hong Kong Philharmonic. That was a very fun project to work on. Hope you enjoy the soundtrack!

Gondoliers of the Venetian in Macau (SAR) China, March 2009. You can take a ride with them and be serenaded on the second floor of the Venetian by the retail shops.

My part in the project was to play keyboards and arrange string parts recorded by members of the Hong Kong Symphony. Most of the recording was done on location in Macau (SAR) China, and the string parts with the HK Philharmonic players was completed at a recording studio in Hong Kong.

Rumor mill on the street is that Guy LaLiberte (founder of Cirque Du Soleil) has heard the soundtrack and loved it. I’ve even been told he asked to hear a second time the next morning.

Members of the ZAIA band got to hear a preview of the finished soundtrack with composer Violaine Corradi at the end of February. I won’t give you any spoilers, except to say that I was very pleased with the project and enjoyed the creativity in the mixes.

Violaine Corradi (ZAIA composer) told me one of her goals of the finished soundtrack was to have it be like looking at a prism held in your hand, then rotating it to look at the prism from different perspectives. I definately got that feeling from the soundtrack.

To my knowledge, this is also the first Cirque Du Soleil soundtrack CD recorded by the actual performing musicians in the show. The other soundtracks are recorded with studio musicians in Montreal I’ve heard. (With the exception of some subsequent live releases from shows like Mystere).

So I hope you all enjoy our work on the ZAIA CD when it’s released. Of course I’ll post on my blog when I know the official release date.

Clips from Valentine’s Day 2009 at the Sands Venetian, Macau (SAR) China. This is some of the cast and myself handing out balloons to customers at the Venetian before the show.  It was very hard work handing out balloons to the pretty ladies.

ZAIA artists and staff helped wrap the gifts and even took the older children on shopping trips in Macau to pick out their own clothes. A couple days before Christmas the older children will get to see the ZAIA show live and meet Cirque artists in person. Merry Christmas Macau!

Cirque Du Soleil ZAIA excerpts from one month after opening at the Venetian, Macau (SAR) China.

“11,000 To Lose Casino Jobs in Macau” – front page featured news at CNN.com today. They are referring specifically to the Sands Venetian.

Well now, not the best news for us working at the Venetian in Macau – but insiders have known it was coming. The dream to make Macau the Vegas of Asia does not come without an element of risk. Granted, Macau IS currently the largest gambling destination in the world, having already surpassed Las Vegas. But a 12 billion or so development project (just to START) by the Sands is monstrous.

There are things I can say and things I can’t say. But about the mood of us over here working at the Venetian? Some are a little nervous wondering what the future brings, and others see ourselves as pioneers like the old Wild West. Not everyone made it in those wagon trains…

Me? I’m of the pioneer mindset. I follow paths to see where they lead. Sometimes it’s fun to do that, sometimes it’s not. But I can’t live without knowing which it is – so I’m in.

I believe in the vision of Adelson – and I think he will stop at nothing to see it through. And I believe in the vision of Cirque Du Soleil. I don’t mind bumps in the road – it tells me I’m still above ground…

CNN Article:
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/11/13/macaus.sands.ap/index.html

EXCERPT:

The Macau sites, which have cost $1.16 billion so far, are part of the company’s $13 billion master plan in Cotai. Sands is trying to arrange between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in financing to continue building in Macau, but Weaver said it’s not clear how long that will take or when construction might resume, though he’s confident it will.

“We’ve got $1.2 billion sunk in to the ground, we’re not going to walk away from it,” he said. “I think there’s no possibility that it’s never going to start again.”

Weaver wouldn’t rule out further layoffs in Macau.

“We can’t promise that there won’t be people that ultimately are laid off,” he said. “But at this point no decision has been made.”