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Ballet in China 鈥 Part 1 

cctv.com 05-25-2005 17:17


Ballet made its debut in China in early 19th century Shanghai. China had suffered a blow during the Opium War, and Shanghai had its beginnings in an age of both humiliation and development. Western powers established concessions (鈥攍eased territories鈥) in this city. The Russian immigrants held ballet performances and opened ballet schools.

Madam Dai Ailian, born in 1916, was an overseas Chinese. After studying at one of London's renowned dance academies, she returned to her homeland in 1940. Dai Ailian employed a basic ballet training method for her students. Today there is a bust of Dai Ailian on display at the British Royal Dance Academy to honor her contribution to popularizing this art.

After the new People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the former Soviet Union sent several ballet troupes to visit the mainland. Their performances helped to familiarize Chinese audiences with this art form. As a by-product of the political relationship of the two countries at the time, Russian ballet began to exert a positive influence on China's local talent.


In 1954, the first professional center for studying dance鈥擳he Beijing Dance School (later known as The Beijing Dance Academy)鈥攚as established in China. Ballet experts from the former Soviet Union鈥擸ealina and Gusev鈥攚ere the school's artistic directors, and trained the first group of Chinese ballet students. The year 1957 saw 'swans' dancing on a Chinese stage: the performance of the classic Swan Lake indicated that ballet had formally entered the stage in this country.

The New China first focused on introducing traditional western ballets. In the 60's, Chinese artists began to explore the idea of combining western ballet technique with Chinese themes. The results, one 'red,' and one 'white', are now standard repertoire for Chinese ballet artists: 'The Red Detachment of Women,' and 'The White-haired Girl.'

China stepped into a unique historical period鈥攖he Cultural Revolution. Ballet was first classified and criticized as 'the weed of capitalism.' But later, when this art form was discovered as a tool that could promote political ideologies, ballet grew rapidly in popularity.

National Ballet of China

Now we come to the National Ballet of China, which was founded in 1959 and now ranks among the world's top 10 ballet companies.


In these very studios, generations of NBC artists have sweated and strived to perfect this art. Over the past decades, the NBC has made some outstanding artistic achievements presenting western and Chinese, classical and contemporary ballet. However, they did have their rough times鈥攆or years the NBC was under-funded and over-aged. During this period, the only reward for the dancers seemed to be art itself. Despite the difficulties, the artists didn't fail in devoting themselves body and soul to their career. They became the early pioneers of China's unique ballet style.

This is a typical morning for the NBC dancers. Their bodies are waking up as they listen to a melodious piano accompaniment and go through their daily basic skill training. Over the last ten years, the company has initiated a series of reforms, especially in administration. The troupe has actively recruited young dancers, and now the average age of NBC dancers is a lithe and lively 22. Their repertoire has also been fleshed out. Ms. Zhao Ruheng, once a dancer herself, took over the NBC in 1993. As always, she still cherishes a deep affection for this art form and this career.

The National Ballet of China gathers top dancers from around the country. Almost all of them are graduates of the Beijing Dance Academy having six to eight years of professional training. NBC dancers are now internationally acclaimed for their solid classical ballet training, an all-around artistic sensitivity, and a delicate style. Among them, a good number of world class dancers have emerged and many have taken home medals from prestigious international ballet competitions, including those held in Varna, Moscow, Paris, and Tokyo.

The NBC attaches great importance to international communication. The company regularly invites world famous ballet masters to work with the troupe, training the dancers and rehearsing new pieces. The NBC has toured over 30 countries and regions. Although these tours have brought new life to the ballet company, this new openness has at the same time been a Pandora's Box of problems. In the past, especially in the late 80s and early 90s, some of the more gifted dancers went abroad, leaving behind a troupe of inexperienced youngsters and over-the-hill veterans. How does the NBC respond to this challenge today?


Rehearsing pieces is another part of the NBC dancer's daily routine. The day we visited, the choreographers and dancers were busy rehearsing a Chinese folk ballet, called 'Raise the Red Lantern'. Since its establishment, the company has treasured both outstanding western classical ballets as well as the pieces in their Chinese repertoire. Classical works such as Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, Giselle, Don Quixote, Sylvia, etc. have laid a solid foundation in classical ballet for the dancers and helped them mature in their skill and artistic style.

Zhu Yan and Sun Jie, leading NBC dancers, are rehearsing the 'pas de deux' part of the 'Raise the Red Lantern' ballet. They are star dancers and very popular with Chinese ballet lovers. Zhu is acclaimed for the flavour of authentic western classical ballet in her performance. And Sun has been shining on stage as the No.1 male dancer for years.

In recent years, the company has produced many successful pieces, such as the Chinese version of 'The Nutcracker' which reworks a traditional Christmas ballet into a Chinese plot that connects with a Chinese audience, 'Raise the Red Lantern'鈥攁 ballet rendition of Zhang Yimou's film, and 'Butterfly Lovers'鈥攁 Chinese Romeo and Juliet legend. The company is also quite progressive, and has experimented with different contemporary styles in ballets like 'The Rite of Spring', 'Serenade', 'Concerto', 'The Last Four Songs', and so on.

In the National Ballet of China's 40-year history, numerous pieces have been staged, Chinese and western, classical and contemporary. Even though not all of them have been captured and preserved on video, they surely have left deep impressions on those who attended each performance.

Editor:Hu  Source:CCTV.com


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