Dance, martial arts and theater mix in "Heartbeat," which begins a 12-performance run Wednesday at the Blaisdell Concert Hall. The action-musical celebrates Chinese culture and history with costumed finery set to a haunting soundscape punctuated by drums.

" 'Heartbeat' is a most unusual show," said creator-producer-director Dr. Dennis K. Law. "No other Chinese dance show has been set purely to percussion music. For the first time, we're depicting the history of China with music, dance and movement. In some respects, it's somewhat like an African show, with a lot of drums, but African shows are more tribal in nature. Ours gives the audience a new sense of action and rhythm — with a lot of color."

The 60-member cast, making its American debut, is composed of mostly mid-20s performers from some of China's most prestigious performing arts schools, such as the Beijing Dance Academy and the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

The troupers provide a panorama of dances and occasional martial-arts feats to tell the story of Jade, a girl who dreams of a god of dragons who takes her on a historical journey of China ... and drums. An ensemble of nine percussionists and musicians provides a thumping, insistent pulse.

"Chinese drumming is vastly different from Western drumming — or, for that matter, much of the world," Law said.

"In Chinese drumming, we use the drumsticks to hit the sides of the drums, the wooden part," he said. "We play the edge of the drum, more than the middle, to create this wonderful noise — and a language of its own. I mean, this is rock 'n' roll, razzledazzle, rhythmic stuff.

"The beating of the drums makes an impact on the human mind and emotions and parallels the beating of the heart. This is true in every culture, in every part of history, even before instruments were invented. It's natural for people to tap, to hit, to drum ... to create a rhythmic sound. Drums have been circulating the world as each culture evolved."

It took a year and a half to build, mount and rehearse the show in China before it made its debut in Canada in 2004.

Law, who had a previous life as a successful surgeon, is a hands-on producer and director.

"I tend to write the script. I direct the show, hire the choreographers and composers as well as costume and set designers," he said.

"Heartbeat" is the fourth of six action-musicals from Law's Sight, Sound & Action Ltd., the production wing of The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. The company is based in Vancouver and owned by the Law Brothers, a hui of four siblings. As CEO and president of the operations, Law is the sole brother involved in mounting the shows. "The others are involved in name only," he chuckled.

And there's a roundabout Hawai'i connection: Garth Drabinsky's now-defunct company Livent, which put on "The Phantom of the Opera" production that toured Hawai'i in the 1990s, was based at the theater that would become The Centre in Vancouver for Performing Arts. Law purchased the facility from Livent for $6.9 million.

An American who lives in Denver, Law commutes regularly to Beijing and Canada to tend to his theatrical endeavors.

With Law Brothers based in Canada, the company's productions often trigger comparisons with Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil extravaganzas. But, he says, "We only do so much with acrobatics, and we don't want to compete in the arena that is Cirque. But even with Cirque, they're using less and less Chinese talent these days, reaching for performers in Eastern Europe.

"While we have other shows that may be grander, or more dramatic or artsy, for the holiday season we wanted a more family-oriented production," Law said of bringing "Heartbeat" across the Pacific. "If this one works, we'd love to bring other projects to Hawai'i."

Reach Wayne Harada at wharada@honoluluadvertiser.com.