Innovative exploration of non-narrative dance drama

The picture shows the stills of the original contemporary dance drama "Xian Xinghai".

"Yellow River Chorus" is the posthumous work of musician Xian Xinghai. He firmly rooted his creation into the soil of the times and composed an immortal melody with a short life. He once said: "Music should be dedicated to the motherland, to the working people, and to serve the salvation of the national crisis." Recently, the contemporary dance drama "Xian Xinghai", jointly produced by the National Centre for the Performing Arts and ningbo Performing Arts Group, has shaped the artistic image of this people's musician.

The plot of the dance drama "Xian Xinghai" is simple and profound. Xian Xinghai was born in a family on the water, living in Shanghai, the sound of the waves and the trumpet of labor is his childhood music, and later he opened the door to music with his work "Wind". When he was confused, it was the revolutionary horn of Yan'an that awakened him. He went to Yan'an to receive revolutionary baptism and created the "Yellow River Chorus". Xian Xinghai died at the age of 40, and his music is eternal. Today's Chinese is still deeply infected and encouraged by the spirit of struggle of "the wind is roaring, the horses are roaring, and the Yellow River is roaring."

The symphonic nature of non-narrative dance dramas is reflected in the fact that both dance and music adopt the principle of symphony to express the plot, depicting the spiritual world of the characters in the dance. In this regard, the dance drama "Xian Xinghai" has made explorations and has innovative significance. In addition to the prologue and epilogue, the play is presented only in three acts: "The Sea", "Torrent" and "Homeland". The dance drama creatively creates a prominent artistic image, fate, which is similar in appearance to Xian Xinghai in the play, and always carries an oil lamp to accompany Xian Xinghai. This character that runs through the whole play not only symbolizes the direction of Xian Xinghai's life, but also the projection and externalization of Xian Xinghai's inner activities.

Diluting the narrative and highlighting the symbolism are the characteristics of the play. In the first act, when Xian Xinghai created the work "Wind", "Fate" danced with Xian Xinghai, and the invisible "wind" described in the dance section symbolized that the storm of the revolution in the era of awakening was coming. In the second act, in the revolutionary life of Yan'an, the character Xian Xinghai and the poet Guang Weiran have a double dance, after which everyone holds their "Yellow River Chorus" and sings loudly - a great work is produced. Although there are figurative paper transmissions, abstract emotional actions are mainly used, and the audience feels emotions and feelings here, rather than specific storylines. In the third act, the choreographer uses the metronome commonly used by musicians, which is brought from "fate" to the final journey of Xian Xinghai's life, symbolizing the acceleration of the rhythm of life. It's a long and creative dance. The seemingly simple human wall is changing, constantly intertwined with the unfinished "Chinese Rhapsody" in Xian Xinghai's heart. At the end of the dance, the character "Destiny" walks towards the sun, bursting out a new vitality, showing the noble spirit of this musician who composed for the times and composed music for the people. These are not conventional plot narratives, but symbolic techniques, more logical than the real plot.

In terms of the structure of the dance segment, although there is a plot, the "sandwich between the meanings" and "meanings" not only contain "discussion", but also "intentions", which are consciousness and lyricism, and the lyrics are the feelings of Xian Xinghai and the feelings of the creators.

Xian Xinghai has created a unique dance vocabulary. The play rarely uses ready-made, popular dance moves, with no traces of ballet or other Chinese dance styles. The action refinement is quite powerful and remarkable. The most prominent of the dance language composition of the play is the hand movement, one is the gesture from the musician Xian Xinghai playing the piano, and the other is from the conductor's hand clicking on the beat. From the solo dance of "Wind", Xian Xinghai has the gesture of playing the piano, which is the customary action of the composer when conceiving, and it is logical to use this action to form Xian Xinghai's important movement or elemental action. The conductor's re-pat gesture is the driving force of the elastic and can drive the band. The creators of this dance drama truly appreciate the artistic power of the conductor, so although the dance is abstract, it is real and believable, which makes people feel intimate.

Dance dramas that represent musicians, music is especially important. Xian Xinghai's most famous "Yellow River Chorus", including the piano concerto "Yellow River", "To the Rear of the Enemy", "On the Taihang Mountain" and other songs developed by it, are all popular works. Especially after the development of piano music, its sonorous and powerful rhythm has long formed a "prototype" of sound in people's minds. The creation of dance dramas should fully reflect Xian Xinghai's abundant artistic passion. The composition of the dance drama "Xian Xinghai" did not disappoint the audience, from the passage of "Wind" to the creative process of "Yellow River Chorus" to the passage of "Chinese Rhapsody", which is full of agitated emotions, symphonic and has a strong appeal. It shares the fate of the characters, making the whole play full of inner tension.

The play focuses on success, one in structure and two in the language of dance. If the high standard is required, we especially hope to focus on its action characteristics, so that those important dance sections can truly become exciting musical dance sections and become classics of such works. In terms of choreography, simplicity is certainly good, but as a contemporary dance drama, dynamic multimedia means are indispensable, and its changes are diverse, which can enhance the inner dynamics of the characters and enhance the visual musicality of the dance drama.

(The author is the former dean and professor of Beijing Dance Academy)

People's Daily ( 2022-01-13 20th edition)