On December 25, the news of the Central Broadcasting Network Shanghai (reporter Lin Fuyu) came to the ice and snow kingdom, the snowflakes fell one after another, a small group of reindeer elves jumped from the eyes, a pure and immaculate glass wonderland; and in the candy kingdom, the top of the castle slowly rotated with ice cream sprinkled with colorful sugar crystals, which was particularly tempting, and there were meteors in the air that slid over from time to time, and the jumping bubbles together created a dreamy, sweet mood... Another year of "Walnut Season", from December 23 to 26, this "Shanghai-produced" "Nutcracker" was upgraded to a plus version this year, and it was performed for 6 consecutive performances at the Shanghai Grand Theatre.
Stills of the ballet "The Nutcracker" (courtesy of the interviewee sent by the Central Broadcasting Network)
The ballet The Nutcracker is a must-have for the world's major ballet companies during the Christmas season. Co-produced by the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Ballet, the Shanghai Grand Theatre version of the Christmas ballet "The Nutcracker" was launched during the 2010 Christmas season. Invited derek Deane, the former artistic director of the British National Ballet, as the choreographer, skillfully integrated Chinese elements on the basis of the classic story, so that this "Shanghai-produced" ballet has continued to be popular for ten years, and each performance will be sold to extra scenes and seats, which belongs to the "blockbuster" works of Shanghai stage art.
In order to make the classic works look new, this year for the first time, the "MOTSE Mozi" team was invited to participate in the upgrading and renewal of the stage, so that the emerging new media art was integrated into it. Under the barrier of the epidemic, choreographer Derek Dean could not come to China, the main creators through the cloud collision ideas, decided to add new media art effects to some scenes such as the Ice Kingdom and the Candy Kingdom this year, this edition is called "Nutcracker plus", and it is expected that in the winter of 2022, the 130th anniversary of the world premiere of this classic ballet created by Tchaikovsky and Ivanov will be greeted with the "Nutcracker max" with all the stage upgrades.
Different from the previous version, the "Nutcracker plus" that adds new media art effects is more interesting. Not only can the fantasy elements of the stage be extended just right, but also the body language effect of the dancer's performance can be achieved from the perspective of the audience, which is the creative concept of creating new media art for the grand theater version of "The Nutcracker", and will not take the video image as the protagonist of the stage.
In order to create a more relaxed and comfortable welcome atmosphere, the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Ballet jointly decided to extend the intermission to 30 minutes, and the audience can make full use of this time to go to the A+ Art Space for a short break, go to the cafe to have a "true love first" Christmas package, and shop for winter gift boxes and other cultural innovations at the back book and art store. On the afternoon of the last day of "The Nutcracker" on December 26, Wu Husheng, chief star of Shanghai Ballet, and Qi Bingxue, the main actor, will become the "one-day store manager" of the Grand Theatre Café, allowing the audience to feel the ballet art of the aroma of coffee in the theater.
Shanghai Grand Theatre New Year Installation (Photo courtesy of the interviewee issued by the Central Broadcasting Network)
The reporter also learned from the Shanghai Grand Theatre that on the occasion of the resignation of the old and the new, the "welcome season" of the New Year's Day and Spring Festival of the Shanghai Grand Theatre is colorful, with a total of 30 sets of 80 performances waiting for the audience.
This year, the Shanghai Grand Theatre's "New Year Concert" will join hands with the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra to perform Tan Dun's "Chinese Music "Dunhuang Ode to Mercy" – A Audible Silk Road" concert at the end of the year on December 31. After the upgrading of the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the New Box Small Theater will also join the ranks of the New Year's Eve performance with a "Bright Spot - Musical Candlelight Concert", with candlelight and musical golden songs. Violinist Wang Zhijiong, who teaches at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and Shangyin teachers and alumni form the "Times Ensemble", stepping out of the ivory tower, will also bring a lively "Dance of the World" New Year Concert. The "Disney Carnival Concert" starring Xu Lidong, Xu Junshuo, Wang Ziting, etc., will lead the audience into Disney's fantasy kingdom. Created by China Oriental Performing Arts Group, "National Essence huafeng - China Oriental and her friends" is a Chinese dance all-star New Year GALA, and Zhang Han, the main actor who has a brilliant performance in the dance poetry drama "Only This Green", will also appear on stage.
In addition, Liaoning Ballet will bring "Swan Lake" tailored for the company by "Dancer of the Century" Malakhov. During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Tiger, from the third to the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, the Shanghai Ballet will also dance "Swan Lake".
The new A+ Art Space has also specially planned 4 categories of art activities. Every weekend, there will be a special "special tour" New Year installation to explain the 23-year development history of the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the story in front of the stage; the "next stop, the stage" pop-up performance, aiming to inspire the future stars of the theater; the "one person, one city, one story" art sharing, will invite artists, cultural people, theater watchers to decipher the cultural cities around the world; the "One Hour in the Dance Room" series of dance workshops, concentrated on December 27 to 31 at noon on the working day, for white-collar workers and other young people, Call on everyone to dance and recharge their batteries to attract many people to sign up.