The spectacular dance drama brought the legendary Chinese heroine to the David H. Koch Theater for four performances, September 18–20, 2026.
The story of Mulan came to New York as an award-winning Chinese dance drama that combined classical Chinese dance, martial arts, spectacular stage design, and original music.
Presented by China Arts and Entertainment Group (CAEG) and performed by China Ningbo Performance & Arts Group, Mulan made its New York debut at Lincoln Center with four performances at the David H. Koch Theater.
Winner of the China Dance Lotus Award, the highest honor in Chinese dance, Mulan is a sweeping interpretation of one of China’s most enduring legends. The story tells of a young woman who disguises herself as a man and takes her father’s place on the battlefield. This production looks beyond Mulan’s heroism to explore her inner journey — her sense of identity, devotion to family, courage, vulnerability, and profound desire for peace.
Mulan offered an opportunity to experience a major Chinese theatrical production on one of the city’s most celebrated stages.
A New Vision of a Timeless Legend
Created by award-winning choreographers and directors Zhou Liya and Han Zhen, the production brought together the elegance and expressive vocabulary of classical Chinese dance with martial arts and the scale of epic theater.
Rather than portraying Mulan solely as a fearless warrior, this interpretation reveals the woman behind the legend. Her strength exists alongside grace and vulnerability, while her journey becomes a story of self-discovery and the search for peace.
The result is a dance drama that crosses cultural and linguistic boundaries, using movement, music, visual imagery, and theater to tell a story whose themes remain universal.
A Vast Stage
One of the production’s most striking elements was its monumental 15-meter revolving stage. The rotating stage became an active part of the storytelling. It intensified the battle sequences, frames quieter and more intimate moments, and suggested the endless cycles of war, life, and remembrance.
Elaborate period costumes and atmospheric lighting further transformed the stage, creating a world that was simultaneously ancient and contemporary. Original music combined traditional Chinese instruments with dramatic symphonic orchestration, giving the production a sound that moves between intimacy and grandeur.
Together, the dance, martial arts, music, costumes, lighting, and revolving stage transformed the ancient legend into an immersive contemporary theatrical experience.
Mulan Comes to New York
The New York presentation of Mulan is part of CAEG’s Image China initiative, which brings major Chinese performing arts productions to audiences around the world.
CAEG has a long history of presenting Chinese dance, theater, music, and opera in the United States. Its previous New York presentations have included The Peony Pavilion, The Legend of Mulan, Dragon Boat Racing, Confucius, Princess Zhaojun, Dongpo: Life in Poems, and The Butterfly Lovers at Lincoln Center, while other productions have appeared at the Kennedy Center and major venues throughout the country.
The return of Mulan to New York continues CAEG’s longstanding commitment to cultural exchange through the performing arts.
The China Ningbo Performance & Arts Group is the only municipal state-owned performing arts company in Ningbo. It has created nearly 90 large-scale stage productions, including 56 original works, and its productions have received numerous national and provincial awards. The company has toured extensively throughout China and internationally, bringing Chinese performing arts to audiences in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East.
A Universal Story on the World Stage
At its heart, Mulan remains a story about a daughter willing to sacrifice for her family. But this production expands that narrative into a study on identity, duty, courage, compassion, and the tragic human cost of war.
For New York audiences, the Mulan dance drama at Lincoln Center offered both the spectacle of a major Chinese theatrical production and the intimacy of a deeply human story.
Majestic in scale yet grounded in universal emotions, Mulan demonstrates how a centuries-old Chinese legend can speak powerfully to audiences today.
Hi Class Living also covered the 2025 Lincoln Center engagement of The Butterfly Lovers.
Mulan at Lincoln Center
David H. Koch Theater
20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York City
Michael, the revolving stage sounds like far more than spectacle when it can intensify battle scenes and frame Mulan’s quieter moments. Centering her vulnerability and desire for peace alongside the martial arts gives this familiar legend a particularly human dimension.