"The children here all look like little ballet stars, I learned to dance decades ago, and I didn't know ballet until I was 10 years old at the Beijing Dance School." On September 12, Feng Ying, director of the National Ballet of China, braved the heavy rain before the typhoon "Candu" and joined hands with Ma Xiaodong, chief actor of the National Ballet of China, and Qiu Yunting, the main actor, to arrive in Shanghai from Beijing and Qingdao respectively, and gave a unique ballet education class in the square hall of the Majestic Theater.
Many of the small audience members sitting in the first row were wearing ballet dresses, and Feng Ying sighed, "I have practiced beautiful leg lines." Qiu Yunting said, "Children are happier than we were then, and I did not popularize ballet in my small city, starting from Chinese dance." Now the children are lucky. "When Ma Xiaodong was a child, he learned the national standard dance, and later changed to ballet.
For parents' somewhat worried exercises such as leg presses and lower backs, Feng Ying admitted that she had shocked when she learned to dance and press her legs, "I was too strong, I held myself back, and my waist was injured at the age of 14." When I was a student, Feng Ying lay on the bed to rest, and she was used to tie her legs to the bed frame to continue practicing, "My conditions are not the best, the instep is not high enough, and there are some flat feet, so I may not be able to go to dance school today." "In the 1980s, Feng Ying performed the black swan in "Swan Lake", the sound engineer put the record back, and the murmur replaced Tchaikovsky's melodious melody, and Feng Ying was still able to complete the role perfectly without interference," repeated rehearsals before taking the stage, bringing out the feeling. ”
As a congratulatory performance for the 80th anniversary of The Shanghai Majestic Theatre, Feng Ying led the National Ballet of China to perform "Jewels" and "Don Quixote" on Maggie from October 5 to 6 and October 9 to 10 respectively. In 1985, Rudolf Nureyev, then president and chief choreographer of the Paris Opera Ballet, came to Beijing at the invitation of the dance master Ailian Dai to give a lecture to rehearse "Don Quixote" for the National Ballet of China. Nureyev's version of Don Quixote became one of the repertoire of China Ballet.
Compared with previous versions, Nureyev's version of Don Quixote is more technically difficult. Complex and changeable foot movements, faster and more compact movement rhythms, combined with enthusiastic bullfighting, jeep village dance, Bolero dance, flamenco, frequently show "showmanship" famous scenes.
Recalling studying art with Nureyev in 1985, Feng Ying said, "We are all afraid of Nureyev, he is demanding, anyone who does not obey or cannot do his requirements will be 'driven' out of the rehearsal hall, interestingly, during the day he scolded people, at night to take us to the famous Maxim restaurant to eat, which was a rare Western restaurant in Beijing at that time." Today, Feng Ying changed from a student to a teacher, and experienced The mood of Niuriev who hated iron and steel.
Dancing "Don Quixote", all the actors are under pressure, and China Baba dispatched 9 male actors with a height of 187 centimeters, which were laughed at as "Tiantuan". Ma Xiaodong said, "Ballet has requirements for softness, pressing the legs is very hard, but dancing, the whole person's state is different, life has become more active." The ballet industry is cruel, and it is not a reward for giving. Every breath, small expression, variation, and lifting of the actor must pursue perfection. Don Quixote is physically demanding, and the left hand and the right hand do the same lifting action to reach the same height. Filming film and television dramas can be repeated seven or eight times, and there is only one time on stage, relying on basic skills. Injuries are not terrible, what is terrible is that you must train in time to make the body recover. ”
Qiu Yunting has an indissoluble relationship with Don Quixote. In the 10th Tao Li Cup Dance Competition, she and her partner performed the "Don Quixote" big double dance and won the gold medal in the junior group, and at the age of 18, she was admitted to the National Ballet of China, and her first official performance was "Don Quixote". Qiu Yunting said that he would not be nervous on stage, but he would be shy to do anything other than dance. Feng Ying commented, "People come crazy and are born for dance. ”
"Jewelry", by the hand of "father of symphonic ballet" George Balanchine, is the world's first three-act "abstract" ballet, composed of a trilogy of "Emerald", "Ruby" and "Diamond", accompanied by the movements of Forre, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky, connecting the delicacy of French romantic ballet, the enthusiasm of American ballet, and the eternity of Russian classical ballet. In the words of Feng Ying, "Jewelry is sparkling and beautiful. ”
"I'm often asked what kind of kids are suitable for learning to dance?" Feng Ying summed it up as having a good brain, quick response, high understanding, improvisational performances and imitation performances in place, "China Ballet Dance School watches performances by making games. We don't press hard, first cultivate children's interest, starting with storytelling, wearing a nice little skirt, and using the scientific method to get started. ”
Someone asked Feng Ying if it was too late to learn ballet in her twenties. She replied, "It's never too late for adults to practice ballet, with a cheerful spirit, an elegant posture, and a more quality life." On the other hand, Feng Ying reminds parents and children to be mentally prepared, professional ballet is always a cruel industry, "those who can endure hardships and perseverance, every day to compete with themselves, in order to become professional actors." ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Zhang Yi Photo Editor: Cao Liyuan
Source: Author: Zhuge Yi