Throughout the opening ceremony, the 5-minute "Construct a Snowflake" was the only dance performance. 96 guides came holding guide cards and formed a huge crystal snowflake.
"Director Zhang Yimou has always demanded that 'convergence' is the most central expression." Wang Yuanyuan, director and artistic director of the Beijing Contemporary Ballet, served as the sub-director of this paragraph, "During the Winter Olympics, friends from all walks of life gathered in China to jointly convey the concept of 'community of human destiny'. ”
The phased rehearsal of "Building a Snowflake" began in early October last year. "Before the rehearsal, we had revised the creative part for more than half a year, and after the rehearsal, the work continued, with no less than 5 versions revised." Wang Yuanyuan said. The collaboration between Wang Yuanyuan and Zhang Yimou began with the 2000 ballet "The Red Lantern Hangs High", and then at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Wang Yuanyuan participated in the choreography of the chapter "Picture Scrolls" that amazed the world. This time, Zhang Yimou approached this old friend, hoping that she would bring some unique and "modern" expressions.
But as the opening ceremony continues to advance, many ideas are constantly extending and "deforming". "Later, the director told me that he now needs us to be 'neat' and that is a challenge for me." Wang Yuanyuan is good at modern dance, and needs to use a variety of dance ideas, and the dancers' physical expression is very personalized, "The general director wants to 'break' me back, and then let me use my own feelings to present what he wants." As a dancer, Wang Yuanyuan often has to find a balance between dance creation and the theme of large-scale activities, "the general director is always energetic, the speed of speech and thinking are particularly fast, but he is also quite 'stubborn', sometimes it takes time to 'fight' with him, in order to let him understand what you are saying, let him change his mind needs a little skill." How to complete your artistic concept within the prescribed range? For me, this is an important takeaway. ”
The repeated revisions brought a lot of challenges to the rehearsal. Over the years, Wang Yuanyuan has become accustomed to working with mature professional dancers, "I have not used actors of such a young age, their comprehension ability is relatively weak, and some movements have to be rehearsed many times to understand our requirements." "And a lot of times, a version is not fully familiar and in-depth," the director said with a new opinion. The actors have to constantly revise and memorize, which is very difficult. ”
However, even if she encounters problems, Wang Yuanyuan also feels that "all teams can carry out various tasks with confidence and step by step." This calm maturity is not quite the same as the brave excitement of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" in 2008. After 14 years, Wang Yuanyuan feels lucky for the love affair of the Double Olympic Games, but also witnesses the growing strength of the motherland. 14 years ago, "the demand is grand, to take the Chinese position in all the scenes, but this year, we have used more technology, creativity and artistic means to complete these plans." In her view, the simple and ethereal style reveals a new gesture of "the country is more confident".
Source Beijing Daily Client | Reporter Gao Qian
Editor: Zeng Jiajia, Gao Shanshan, Xie Yongli
Process Editor Tai Shaofeng