The 32nd Shanghai Tourism Festival
The 6-year-old skirt, as if it were a pair of hands, led me into the door of dance, and the dance skirt of "Crested Ibis" helped me push open the door and see the bigger world after dance, which gave me a new understanding of the profession of dancer. I was born again.
——Zhu Jiejing (born in 1985 in Jiaxing, Zhejiang, graduated from Shanghai Dance School and Shanghai Theater Academy. He is currently the chief rongdian of Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe, a national first-class actor, and the vice chairman of Shanghai Dancers Association)
Dancer Zhu Jiejing wears many dresses, two of which are of great significance to her. One is the dance dress of the dance drama "Crested Ibis"; the other is the new Chinese New Year dress that her parents bought for her from Shanghai when she was 6 years old — Zhu Jiejing said that her love for Shanghai began at the age of 6.
"I've never seen such a beautiful ruffle, and it was the most beautiful dress I've ever seen." When receiving the skirt, the 6-year-old girl noticed a detail, and the packaging of the skirt read "Shanghai No. 1 Department Store". In her mind, Shanghai was equated with the most beautiful skirt.
At that time, Zhu Jiejing had a dream: wearing a beautiful dress and going around in circles every day. She thought of all sorts of reasons, and finally she thought of dancing—dancing in a nice dress—and what could be more legitimate and reasonable than that? Whenever she thinks about it, Zhu Jiejing always feels that this ruffled skirt inadvertently opens up her connection between dance and Shanghai, "The 6-year-old skirt, as if it were a pair of hands, led me into the door of dance."
At the age of 9, Zhu Jiejing was admitted to the Shanghai Dance School, a city that, as she expected, was "new enough", not just the "most beautiful dress". Zhu Jiejing opened her arms and felt all kinds of new "stimuli": "As long as you are sharp enough, you will find that Shanghai has always stood in the latest place, there is a steady stream of new things to stimulate and hit you, and when you get here, you can't stop." Her mind spun along, and she felt that her whole being had become very fresh, "and every day the blood in her body seemed to be filtered over and over again." Zhu Jiejing likes this state: "Shanghai will make people become positive, let people continue to break through their comfort zone, to a new realm." 」 Therefore, even though she has been in the industry for 20 years and has become a "chief" and a senior dancer in the eyes of many people, for Zhu Jiejing, the field of dance is still open to her many new spaces. "Shanghai is a city that gives you too many opportunities. Even if a dancer is closed to the door of his profession because of his body and age, he can still use your experience, your thinking, and your everything to lead the team to create, and there is still a choice in hand. This city will give you a lot of windows, as long as you are sharp enough, you have enough courage, this city can accommodate anyone who dares to fight and dare to do it." Speaking of this, Zhu Jiejing's emotions were surging and her eyes were sincere and pure.
Zhu Jiejing's most direct feelings about Shanghai come from the stage, from the Shanghai literary and art performance market and Shanghai's demand for dance. Since she began working as a professional dancer at the age of 16, she found that the audience in Shanghai became more and more professional, and even achieved a play with the actors with an objective and professional vision. "After watching the performance, the audience will give you a lot of feedback, and even discuss the plot with you, and analyze with you from the perspective of the director, which is a very big 'impact' on me." This is also the charm of this city in my eyes." In Zhu Jiejing's view, Shanghai is warm. This enthusiasm is the audience that waits in an orderly line at the actor's exit after the performance to communicate with the actor, or more macroscopically, the enthusiasm of the people living here for life, the enthusiasm for work, the enthusiasm for friends, and even the enthusiasm for strangers. "Unlike enthusiasm, this warmth is a temperature that is just right. It doesn't get cold, it doesn't burn, and it makes me feel particularly comfortable. ”
The demand for dance in the Shanghai cultural market is increasing. Last year, Zhu Jiejing personally performed 120 dance dramas, almost every two days. Since July this year, the Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe has begun to perform in residence at the Majestic Theater, which in Zhu Jiejing's professional cognition is "dare to be the first". There is also a "dare to be the first", which occurs in her Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe, a song and dance troupe that dares to adopt corporate management. "This is unimaginable in the eyes of many people." Zhu Jiejing believes that Shanghai's rigorous attitude to doing things is an important reason why Shanghai can produce fine products, "She wants to go to the market, with a younger, more aesthetic international vision, to make the stories belonging to China truly elegant and popular appreciation." Such stories include "The Eternal Wave." In order to rehearse this dance drama, Zhu Jiejing almost walked all over the red venues in Shanghai, "Shanghai is like a circle, really into her history, into her blood, you can find her roots." She is defending the city with the flesh and blood of heroes."
Today's Zhu Jiejing is no longer the little girl who is excited about a beautiful dress, and dressing up has become a very energy-consuming thing for her. She found greater value in the dance, it was the dance dress of "Crested Ibis" that gave her new inspiration, helped her push open the door and saw the bigger world after the dance, "This dance dress is my gift for the year when I was 30 years old."
"For dancers, the world is actually very small, there may only be a classroom of tens of square meters, and a little larger is the stage, hundreds of square meters. We communicate with our bodies every day, practicing our muscles, bones, skin and flesh, and creating a body that is different from ordinary people to show dance. Zhu Jiejing sometimes feels like she is living in a frame. A question began to pop into her head: "Am I a dancer, but just a dancer?" "Crested Ibis" gave her the answer.
"Many people know about crested ibises because of Zhu Jiejing, and know that there is such a beautiful and auspicious bird in the East; but it is fragile and once endangered because of human activities." Through "Crested Ibis", Zhu Jiejing found the responsibility on her shoulders - above the dancers, she is also a communicator: "In addition to achieving their own beauty, dancers should use their cultivated bodies to shape the real sense of the world, the story about China, the people of this era, and even the grass, trees, flowers and the world, into a stage image for the audience to see." When standing on the stage of Lincoln Center to show Chinese dance and Chinese stories, when seeing the sincere applause of the Western audience after the performance, Zhu Jiejing thanked the dancers from the bottom of her heart for dancing, "I can represent the Chinese dancer group on the international stage to show today's China and show cultural confidence. ”。
Not long ago, at the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala of Oriental Satellite TV, Zhu Jiejing once again wore the dance skirt of the crested ibis to dance under the moon. In the darkness of the moon, I suddenly remembered a sentence she had said: "When I put on the dress of the crested ibis, I felt a sense of ceremony, which was somewhat similar to 'rebirth'." "The dance originated from ancient sacrifices, and Zhu Jiejing sometimes felt that she was the girl who was chosen. Looking back at the age of 6, she chose a beautiful dress and chose dance, "Didn't this dress choose its owner, and the dance chose this girl?" ”
Author: Liu Liyuan
Editor: Liu Liyuan