In 1954, the first professional dancer training school, the Beijing Dance School, was founded in the Founding of The People's Republic of China, and Bai Shuxiang, from the Children's Theater Troupe of the Northeast People's Art Theater, was fortunate to become one of the first students, and this year, she was 15 years old.
In a courtyard in Xiangbai Hutong, dancers drawn from dance troupes from all over the world miraculously completed the syllabus of the Soviet dance school from grades one to six in only half a year.
In 1959, the school set up an experimental ballet troupe, the first rehearsal is the classic dance drama "Swan Lake", Soviet director Gushev selected the tall Bai Shuxiang from six or seven leading role candidates, and also specially equipped her with Liu Qingtang with strong arms as the male protagonist.
In 1958, Bai Shuxiang performed "White Swan" for the first time.
On June 30, 1958, "Swan Lake" led by Bai Shuxiang was performed for the first time at the Tianqiao Theater, with great success, and Zhou Enlai, Chen Yi and other central leaders took the stage to congratulate her, and the press praised her as the "first white swan" of New China.
A few years later, the first row of the ballet "Red Detachment of Women", also played by Bai Shuxiang as the heroine "Wu Qionghua", and what Bai Shuxiang did not expect was that her golden age on the stage was fleeting, and since 1965, this "White Swan" was forced to leave the beloved stage and decentralize the transformation of the cadre school, which was ten years away, and her boyfriend also broke up with her...
When she returned to the spotlight again, Bai Shuxiang was not only nearly forty years old, but also gained dozens of pounds, she resumed her dance training with great willpower, re-performed the role of "Wu Qionghua" in "Red Detachment of Women", and completed many difficult moves brilliantly.
This beautiful white swan, instead of folding its wings by suffering, once again spread its wings and flew high after suffering from wind and rain, once again writing a legend of dancers.
1. New China's "First White Swan"
Bai Shuxiang was born in Leiyang, Hunan, so there is a "Xiang" character in his name.
Her father is Zhang Xueliang's old department, once served as a professor of law at Northeastern University, and later served as a financial commissioner of the Northeast Army, due to the war, she and her sisters followed their father around the country, the Bai sisters are very talented in language, Bai Shuxiang and the third sister have participated in the recitation many times, and can always win the top two.
In 1949, 10-year-old Bai Shuxiang officially learned to dance in Shenyang, she often went to the Northeast People's Art Theater to watch performances, hoping that she could also be admitted to the theater and perform on stage, three years later, she really got her wish and was selected to join the Northeast Renyi Children's Theater Troupe.
Since then, while taking cultural lessons, she has practiced the basic skills of dance, and also followed the cultural troupe to perform in various places, among this group of small dancers, Bai Shuxiang's hard work and diligence are outstanding, in 1953, she was selected to join the third condolence group led by He Long to Go to Korea, and went to the front line to perform condolences for the volunteer army.
In 1954, the Beijing Dance School was opened in Baijiazhuang, an eastern suburb, with Dai Ailian as the principal.
In order to find good seedlings, Dai Ailian and her assistants personally went to troupes across the country to select students.
The method they picked is very special, so that the small actors all turn their backs on the teacher, barefoot, only wear small pants and small vests, they walk behind the small actors, see the hands, legs, necks, they push out the line into another column, and then go to the front to see the faces of the young actors, pick out the exquisite facial features, high nose bridge, and officially enter the interview.
This is because ballet dancers have physical requirements, such as "three long and one small" (long hands, long legs, long neck, small head), as well as "two 12 cm" (lower limbs are 12 cm longer than the upper body, the width of the open hands is 12 cm longer than the height), the instep is higher, can be selected to meet the standard actors, the action will be more stretched, but also more pleasing to the eye.
Bai Shuxiang, who was less than 15 years old, was selected in this way.
At that time, the Beijing Dance School had excellent conditions, all food and accommodation were free, and nutrition products were issued every month, and when they first went, the first batch of small students ate fat, weighed at the end of the month, and were scared to practice and lose weight.
When she was in the Northeast Literary and Labor Troupe, Bai Shuxiang believed that her innate conditions were not good, whether it was her figure or image, she was not the seedling that the teacher focused on cultivating, but this actually aroused her competitive spirit, and when she studied, she worked harder and suffered more than others.
Luckily, after entering the Beijing Dance School, she began to contact ballet for the first time: tiptoe dance, tights, dance moves Alabes... This classical dance originated in Europe, so that the students at first felt very strange, they were also shy about the physical contact between male and female students, the teachers at that time were mostly Soviet ballet experts, using Tchaikovsky's composition of "Swan Lake" for teaching, there was a dance partner kissing action in the second act, the students did not dare to put their faces close to each other, only dared to symbolically draw it.
Because the trainees selected by the training class were all the top dancers in the country, each of them had reiki, willing to endure hardships, and also had a certain dance foundation, they only took half a year to complete the syllabus of the six grades of the Soviet dance school, and passed a strict examination, which surprised the Soviet experts.
In 1957, the school invited Gushev, the head of the choreography department of the Leningrad Dance School, as the teacher of the second training class, Gushev was a soloist at the Bolshoi Theater and a famous dancer in the Soviet Union, with a high level of teaching.
After Premier Zhou saw the debriefing performance of the first batch of students, he asked: "Can we dance "Swan Lake"?" Principal Dai Ailian said: "No, the children are not experienced enough, the level is not enough. Gushev said, "You can try!" ”
Gu Xuefu instructed Bai Shuxiang
In 1958, the Beijing Dance School used the strength of the whole school to rehearse "Swan Lake", and at the beginning set up 6 groups of male and female protagonists to play the prince and the swan, and in the later stage of rehearsal, Gu Xuefu took a fancy to Bai Shuxiang.
This made Bai Shuxiang herself a bit surprised, because, compared with other actresses, she was too tall and her waist and legs were not soft enough, and she was not the most perfect candidate, but her stage expression and quiet classical temperament made Gu Xuefu identify her.
To this end, Gu Xuefu also specially equipped her with 26-year-old Liu Qingtang as a dance partner, Liu Qingtang's image is relatively stout, 24 years old "advanced age" to enter the training class to learn ballet, the foundation is not as good as other male actors, but because other male actors feel difficult when lifting Bai Shuxiang, Liu Qingtang with strong arms is designated as the prince's actor.
In order to present the best image on the stage, Bai Shuxiang practiced desperately, and also controlled her diet to lose weight, and even dared not drink more saliva.
At that time, GuShev boldly put forward a creative idea, let Bai Shuxiang play the two corners of "White Swan" Ojeta and "Black Swan" Ojelia alone, and the Black Swan had a classic dance movement: 32 rotated on one leg in situ, in order to complete this action, Bai Shuxiang practiced hard day and night, but unexpectedly fell down before the official performance, her right leg bone cracked, and after playing a closed needle, she still insisted on going on the stage.
The black swan played by Bai Shuxiang
On June 30, 1958, the students of Beijing Dance School performed "Swan Lake" for the first time at the Tianqiao Theater, and Bai Shuxiang's performance achieved unprecedented success, and newspapers and periodicals at home and abroad called her the first "White Swan" in New China.
2. Leave the stage at its peak
After the establishment of the National Ballet of China, it has staged many foreign classic plays.
At the end of 1963, Zhou Enlai proposed:
"You can't always dance princes, fairies or whatever, there are not many really good dance dramas in foreign countries, what should I do when the rehearsal is finished?" Can you do something revolutionary and popular on this basis? Of course, ballet is a foreign art form, and it is difficult to completely nationalize at the beginning, can you first revolutionize the subject matter, and then transition to nationalization, first make up a ballet with a foreign revolutionary theme, such as a story reflecting the Paris Commune and the October Revolution? ”
Under this guidance of Premier Zhou, in order to make ballet "localized", the troupe began to prepare to rehearse a new work with Chinese characteristics.
During the discussion, screenwriter Li Chengxiang proposed: "Xie Jin and Zhu Xijuan won the award for their film "Red Detachment of Women". The girl scout army, female-dominated, ballet elements are more, the music is also good. ”
His opinion was agreed by everyone, and the group officially set up a project to adapt the dance drama of "Red Detachment of Women".
In 1964, China Baba began to rehearse "The Red Detachment of Women", Bai Shuxiang and Liu Qingtang became partners again, Bai Shuxiang played the heroine "Qionghua", and Liu Qingtang played the party representative "Hong Changqing".
In 1964, Bai Shuxiang was rehearsing "The Red Detachment of Women"
However, because "Qionghua" is an innovative image that has never appeared on the ballet stage, from a fleeing female slave to a warrior carrying a gun, its image style is very different from before and after, and it is difficult to perform, and the actors are accustomed to dancing "swans", and they still have the softness and delicacy of classical court women in their hands and feet, as a result, at the first trial of this play, the chief of the Beijing Military Region said: "You are like a woman who is not like a soldier, soft and does not pull a few, not holding a gun in your hand, like holding a fire stick!" ”
To this end, the crew stopped rehearsals, and the regiment sent Bai Shuxiang and the actors to the shanxi Datong troops, taking them as female soldiers for training, learning to lie down, kneeling, shooting, bomb throwing, assassination, crawling and fighting underground, after a month of military training, the "swans" finally had the style of warriors.
Chinese bar actors practicing shooting
On October 8, 1964, after watching the ballet "The Red Detachment of Women" in the small auditorium of the Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong took the stage to express congratulations and praised the play as "the right direction, the art is good, and the revolution is successful." ”
The next day, as the major newspapers published the news, the dance drama went on fire.
Bai Shuxiang in "Red Detachment of Women"
However, not long after the performance, Bai Shuxiang was designated as a "white professional model" because of her family origin, and in 1965, when "Red Girl Scout Army" and "Oriental Red" and "Red Lantern" became the "three reds" that swept the country, Bai Shuxiang was stopped from all performances, and the next year, she was banned from practicing.
At the same time, her former partner, Liu Qingtang, who played Hong Changqing, was good at speculation, and went all the way up the clouds, red and purple, and became the leader of the ballet.
Partnering with Bai Shuxiang for many years, although Liu Qingtang also worked very hard, his artistic achievements and fame were far less than Bai Shuxiang's, which made him very depressed inside.
After he gained power, Bai Shuxiang's life was very difficult, and she was repeatedly pulled out of the regiment to criticize the fight, and in 1969, she was sent to Changping Xiaotangshan Cadre School for labor reform.
The roof leak was even rainy, and at this time, the boyfriend who had been in love for many years did not trust her and proposed to her to break up.
Both love and career have been frustrated, and there is hardly any hope in life, and Bai Shuxiang feels that she is "almost numb in pain."
3. Perform "Qionghua" again ten years later, and dedicate your life to the cause of Chinese ballet
In the countryside, Bai Shuxiang, who had never been exposed to agricultural work before, was planting seedlings, cutting wheat, raising pigs, feeding horses, digging river mud, picking cow dung, getting up in the middle of the night to use a large knife to cut grass, and often being sent to the Xidan toilet in Beijing to "dig for dung", she silently endured all this, preferring to use physical labor to consume her own thinking and restrain her pain.
During labor breaks, she would be pulled out from time to time to criticize the fight, often being pressed on the head, pulled on the shoulders, bowed and bent down to sit in the "jet", a stand for several hours.
She laughed at herself that it was fortunate that she had practiced for many years so that she would not fall.
Physical pain can be endured, but inner pain is difficult to make up, and even in the most difficult time, Bai Shuxiang is not willing to give up her ballet dream.
She carefully hid her makeup case and ballet shoes in the corner, only to prove it during a search.
Once, she was tired of work, subconsciously raised her legs, wanted to stretch her body, was criticized as "thief heart does not die", at that time, life, in Bai Shuxiang's feelings, was completely dark, black and white upside down.
In the cadre school, some artists could not bear this kind of torture, desperate suicide, but Bai Shuxiang stood up strongly, at that time, she and her old principal Dai Ailian lived bunk beds, Dai Ailian's cheerfulness and optimism gave her great encouragement.
Since 1972, Bai Shuxiang's life has finally revealed its light.
That year, China's foreign relations took a turn for the better, Premier Zhou often invited visiting foreign heads of state to watch the classic ballet "Red Detachment of Women", the ballet company had two teams performing, but the main actors were extremely short, especially the heroine who played "Qionghua", some were sick, some had children, had to use some new people to take the lead, the performance effect was not ideal, Premier Zhou had some regrets, and specially asked: "Where is Bai Shuxiang?"
In 1974, the ballet informed Bai Shuxiang that she could resume practicing.
Back at the Central Ballet near Taoran Pavilion, after walking into the familiar practice room and putting her hands on the practice pole, Bai Shuxiang cried with joy, and at this time she was 35 years old, wasted a full decade of time, weighed more than 130 pounds, looked quite bloated, and her muscles began to stiffen.
Once the dancers have lost their work for a year or two, their physical condition will be difficult to recover, and Bai Shuxiang has been dancing for ten years, and then she has done the previous actions, she immediately feels the pain of tearing, but the strength in her bones that does not accept defeat makes her grit her teeth and fight again.
She bought a five-pound bottle of warm water, filled it with water every morning, carried it to an empty practice room in the middle of the fifth floor, and began to practice desperately.
In 1978, Bai Shuxiang dressed up as black and white swans while touring the United States
Morning long run, afternoon swimming, from early morning practice to late at night, she used 4 chairs to practice spinning in the middle, not allowing her feet to touch the legs of the chair, after more than two months, Bai Shuxiang's weight dropped by nearly 30 pounds and re-entered the stage.
Ten years after a long absence from the stage, for the first time, she danced the "Qionghua" in "Red Detachment of Women" again in the National Palace, and then she played Ke Xiang in the dance drama "Rhododendron Mountain".
In 1977, Bai Shuxiang married her husband who was engaged in scientific research, at this time she was nearly 40 years old, and felt that she should live a life of "husband and son", so she said to her husband: "You go to develop a scientific career, I will be a backup, I will not jump." The husband said, "No, no, you still have to develop on stage." He knew his wife's love of the stage.
Bai Shuxiang has been dancing like this, for the sake of her beloved ballet career, she has not had children in her life.
From June to August 1978, the Ministry of Culture organized 149 of the best performing artists to form a Chinese art troupe to tour the United States for 40 days, and the ballet "Red Detachment of Women" starring Bai Shuxiang appeared on the international stage and won a high reputation.
The New York Times commented: "The performance of works such as 'The Red Detachment of Women' is incredible. The famous American dance artist Martha Graeme has watched the play again, and she fully affirmed the work, saying: "Chinese ballet is very tense, and the red classic phenomenon is worth pondering." ”
Several generations of "Qionghua" in Zhongba (left One Xue Jinghua, right one Bai Shuxiang)
Dancing ballet is a high-intensity performance, the body consumption of the actress is very large, the third generation of "Qionghua" Xue Jinghua (the film version of Zhu Xijuan is called the first generation of "Qionghua") was sick for five years, for five years, she almost every afternoon fever, can not return to the stage, and 40-year-old Bai Shuxiang on the stage completely "Death of the Swan", "Red Detachment of Women" and other nearly ten ballet repertoire, called a miracle.
Bai Shuxiang, 41 years old
Bai Shuxiang, who climbed the peak of art in middle age, was not satisfied with this, ballet originated in France, in order to learn advanced experience abroad, Bai Shuxiang began to learn French at the age of 42, and went to France for a year of further study in 1982, going to Paris, Lyon and Cannes to observe and study.
After 1983, as the deputy director of the Chinese Ballet, she also came into contact with Denmark, Britain and other genres, learned from the strengths of all, and rehearsed plays such as "Fairies" and "Don Quixote", which made the performance of the National Ballet of China more colorful.
Until the age of 50, Bai Shuxiang performed the curtain performance, after which, although she did not play the starring role in large-scale dance dramas, she was still active on the stage, and did not really stop performing until the age of 65.
From the age of 15 to 65, in addition to the decade taken away by the catastrophe, ballet accompanied her for nearly half a century.
Because of her outstanding performance achievements, honorary titles such as the National Youth Committee, the National Model Worker, and the National First-Class Actor have come to her, and almost all generations of national leaders have seen her performance.
The red dance drama "Red Detachment of Women" first danced by Bai Shuxiang and starred for many years has also become a classic play of fame in the world, this drama has toured more than 4,000 times around the world, and has also been performed in world-class performance halls such as the Paris Opera House.
The "Red Detachment of Women" dance drama performed at the Paris Opera
After watching many dance performances of China Ballet, some foreign artists have sighed and said: "The future of art is in China!" ”
In 2019, Bai Shuxiang, who served as vice chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and chairman of the China Dancers Association, was selected as one of the 100 Huxiang Figures for the 70th Anniversary of New China.
The 83-year-old dancer is still busy with the inheritance of Chinese dance, passing on the help among young actors, she said: "I want to inherit the red gene, keep fighting, keep working hard... Dance for the people. ”
This white swan who has dedicated his life to the cause of Chinese ballet is so elegant and beautiful even when he grows old.
Reference source: Qingdao News Network "Interview with Bai Shuxiang: The First "White Swan" in New China"
Sons and Daughters of China "Bai Shuxiang, Legend of China on Red Dancing Shoes"