Igniting Youth Power, Letting Magic Bloom in Innovation — The 7th "Golden Magic Ring · Summit" Shenzhen Youth Magic Exchange Comes to a Close
Shenzhen News Network, November 29, 2024 (reporter Pan Runhua) — Let boundless creativity lead the young people of this era in scaling the peak of "magic." The 7th "Golden Magic Ring · Summit" Shenzhen Youth Magic Exchange (hereafter "Golden Magic Ring"), part of the 6th Shenzhen Magic Festival, has successfully completed its final judging at the Shenzhen Nanshan Culture and Sports Center. It was hosted by the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Publicity Department of the CPC Nanshan District Committee of Shenzhen, and organised by the Shenzhen Acrobats Association and the Nanshan District Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Shenzhen.
The event stressed the combination of heritage and innovation and diversity of form and style. This year's "Golden Magic Ring" comprised six activities in all: two magic competitions, two magic lectures and the "Climb the Summit Together" performance trip to Macao by young Shenzhen magicians. The competition section opened on September 20, inviting entries from young magicians and magic enthusiasts aged 18 to 39 (of any nationality or region); after successive rounds of selection by the expert jury, 18 young magicians and their works — from Guangzhou in Guangdong, Jinhua in Zhejiang, Nanning in Guangxi, Hong Kong and Shenzhen — reached the final judging and competed for the various awards on November 25 and 26, with the outstanding works to be recommended for larger stages.
At the closing ceremony on the evening of November 27, during the performance of the acrobatic drama "Journey to the West · Wukong," the 15 awards of this "Golden Magic Ring"'s two competition sections were announced one by one. "Dream Return," performed by Li Juncheng (Guangzhou, Guangdong), took the championship of the stage magic section; "The Grapes Are Ripe" by Guzaliayi Abudukelimu (Urumqi, Xinjiang), "The Taste of Hong Kong" by Zhong Lihao (Hong Kong, China) and "Hidden · Bond with the Doves" by Li Yijie (Xi'an, Shaanxi) took second place, third place and the "Newcomer Award" respectively in the stage magic section. "Grandma's Bell," performed by Zhou Yu (Shenzhen, Guangdong), won the close-up magic section; "Adventures in the School of Magic" by Xu Jialiang (Guangzhou, Guangdong), "Illusion Revised" by Lan Dong (Dongguan, Guangdong) and "Mr.D" by Dong Junjie (Tianjin) took second place, third place and the "Newcomer Award" respectively in the close-up magic section. In addition, seven acts received the competition's "Finalist Award," among them "Rubik's Cube" by Deng Guanzhi (Hong Kong, China), "Same Frequency" by Gong Yuqi (Guangzhou, Guangdong), "Return of the Crane ▪ Brief Note, Long Feeling" by Li Jingzu (Changsha, Hunan) and "Variations in Colour" by Wu Dingbang (Hong Kong, China).
"Journey to the West · Wukong" takes "true growth" as its theme, telling how Sun Wukong, after more than a decade of study under his master in which he grasped the deepest principles and acquired magical powers, comes to understand the truth of growing up: that the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. The production fuses acrobatics, dance, drama, magic and puppetry, with nearly 20 kinds of high-difficulty acrobatics repeatedly pushing the limits of the human body and of stage performance, immersing the audience wholly in a romantic, fantastic world of myth and bringing this "Golden Magic Ring ▪ Summit" to a fantastical and fitting close.
This year's "Golden Magic Ring" also held two special lectures on November 25 and 26, with young magicians Li Xiaoyang and Wang Zhe invited to give "Classics and Change" and "The Dream Factory" respectively, explaining how the art of magic can carry on the classics, open up original ideas, innovate in magical routining and keep pace with the times in creating and presenting new stage effects, helping young magicians and magic enthusiasts refine their craft and take their magic to a higher level.
The "Climb the Summit Together" performance by young Shenzhen magicians in Macao was held on October 24 at Matteo Ricci College in Macao. During the event, Jin Cui, executive deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Nanshan District Committee, and Hu Yongxin, vice-principal of Matteo Ricci College, exchanged commemorative gifts, and Du Juan — deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen Federation of Literary and Art Circles, director of its Artists Association Service Center and full-time vice-chair and secretary-general of the Shenzhen Acrobats Association — presented the school with souvenirs of the 6th Shenzhen Magic Festival. The Nanshan District Acrobats Association brought together 15 magicians and crew members, including Lin Youen and He Jiayang, who presented 11 magic acts in succession, celebrating with Macao's young people the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, promoting cultural exchange between the two cities and contributing to the building of a humanistic Greater Bay Area.
As a city of innovation and creativity, Shenzhen has long discovered and nurtured countless talents in culture and the arts, and has supported and encouraged the creation of a large body of outstanding works that have repeatedly won prizes in competitions at home and abroad. The Shenzhen Magic Festival, a key cultural brand event of the Publicity Department of the Shenzhen Municipal Party Committee, has always worked to build a stage for young people and foster their artistic growth; over six editions it has greatly enriched the cultural life of the city's residents and yielded abundant artistic fruit.
As the main host and organiser of "Golden Magic Ring," the flagship sub-programme of the 6th Shenzhen Magic Festival, the Publicity Department of the CPC Nanshan District Committee and the Nanshan District Federation of Literary and Art Circles upheld the innovative concept of combining performance, competition, critique and lecture in one, and once again raised the quality of this edition, gathering young magic talent from across the country so that they could improve their skills in creation, show their strength in competition, broaden their horizons in exchange and grow through practice, driving the flourishing of Shenzhen's magic arts.