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Wennan ✎ wind grass and woody fragrance
Edited ✎ by the South Wind Grass and Woody Fragrance
Preface
The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, held in the Bird's Nest Stadium, carefully planned and directed by the famous director Zhang Yimou, this visual feast amazed the audience all over the world, Zhang Yimou is also known as the "national teacher", he used extraordinary artistic wisdom, the profound oriental charm and majestic Chinese power vividly presented on the international stage, proving to the world that today's China is no longer comparable to yesterday, radiating a new vitality and style.
Behind this gorgeous and dazzling night, there are also some regrets and pains that cannot be erased.
In the preparation process of this grand opening ceremony, there is a name that has to be mentioned, and that is dancer Liu Yan.
Liu Yan played an important role in the opening ceremony dance program "Silk Road", which was expected to shine on this stage of global attention.
During a tense rehearsal, Liu Yan accidentally fell from a 3-meter-high moving float due to equipment failure or operation error, and this sudden accident caused serious damage to her lower body, making her lose the ability to walk and spend the second half of her life in a wheelchair.
Her tragedy became a profound footnote behind the success of this opening ceremony, and also gave people a deeper understanding of the hardships and risks behind the artist's life.
【1】
From "Liu Yijiao" to the double gold medalist of the dance competition, the artistic road of dancing moves life
Born in 1982 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liu Yan came from a prominent family background, with her father being a judge in the local judicial system and her mother being a life-saving doctor.
As soon as Liu Yanfu was born, he was sent by his parents to his grandparents' house to raise him, and his grandfather gave this newcomer granddaughter the name "Liu Yan", which means that she can be like a hard rock in the future, no matter what kind of wind and rain she encounters, she can be tenacious and stand proudly.
Liu Yan's family economic conditions are relatively superior, and her parents are well aware of the influence of art on personal temperament and cultivation, so they encourage her to get involved in various art fields since she was a child.
So, at the age of 3, Liu Yan began to try to learn painting, and then came into contact with the violin, but none of these seemed to ignite her inner enthusiasm.
It wasn't until she was 9 years old that a chance chance changed the trajectory of Liu Yan's life - she was exposed to dance for the first time, and under the arrangement of her mother, she entered the Inner Mongolia Song and Dance Troupe to learn dance skills from senior dance teacher Bai Ying.
At that time, Liu Yan, a fourth-grade student, only had two precious hours a day to dance practice, but under the careful guidance of Ms. Bai Ying, she quickly showed an extraordinary talent for dance, and her understanding and comprehension of dance far surpassed that of her peers.
In June 1991, Liu Yan, who had only undergone three months of systematic dance training, bravely challenged himself with the encouragement of his teachers and signed up for the entrance examination of Beijing Dance Academy.
With her extraordinary talent and hard work, she successfully passed the selection and embarked on the road to study in Beijing in September of the same year, accompanied by her mother.
In Beijing, Liu Yan's artistic path has become broader and deeper.
In August 1993, she was successfully admitted to the High School Affiliated to Beijing Dance Academy and began a six-year professional dance study and cultural course training, which laid a solid foundation for her dance and profound cultural heritage.
In the summer of 1999, Liu Yan was admitted to the Chinese Classical Dance Department of Beijing Dance Academy from the High School Affiliated to Beijing Dance Academy with excellent results, officially starting his university career.
During his college years, Liu Yan's professional ability was particularly outstanding, especially known for his leg skills, and he was affectionately praised as "Liu Yijiao" by his classmates, and his superb leg skills were unanimously recognized by teachers and students, and he was regarded as a new star in the dance world.
In his sophomore year, Liu Yan, who was only 18 years old, participated in the second National Lotus Cup Dance Competition and won the silver medal for his outstanding performance.
With the advancement of his studies, Liu Yan's dance career has gradually improved.
In June 2003, she received a bachelor's degree in classical dance from the Beijing Dance Academy with excellent academic results, and then successfully joined the Youth Dance Company of the Beijing Dance Academy as a professional dancer, officially starting her career.
In 2004, Liu Yan won the gold medal in one fell swoop in the 6th National Dance Competition with his dance work "Rouge Buckle" adapted from the novel by writer Li Bihua.
This success catapulted her to fame in the dance world, and her career has been on an upward trajectory ever since.
In 2005, Liu Yan struck again with the solo dance "Orange is Red" and participated in the 4th National Lotus Cup Dance Competition.
With her wonderful performance of this work, she finally won the gold medal, achieving another major breakthrough in her dance career.
So far, Liu Yan has set a milestone in the Chinese dance industry with his outstanding artistic talent and unremitting efforts, and has become a high-profile dance artist.
【2】
Dancing the Silk Road, it took half a year to carefully polish the solo dance of the opening of the Olympic Games
2008 is undoubtedly a year of pride and passion for the Chinese, because the Beijing Olympics are about to be held, and in the life of dance artist Liu Yan, this year is also significant.
Zhang Yimou, the chief director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games, conceived a solo dance program aimed at inheriting and promoting the history and culture of the ancient Silk Road in China, but due to the extremely difficult and dangerous dance skills, many professional dancers politely declined after receiving Zhang Yimou's invitation.
Zhang Yimou faced the dilemma that the show might be forced to cut because he couldn't find a suitable dancer.
At this critical moment, Zhang Jigang, who served as an assistant director, recommended to Zhang Yimou a dancer who he thought was extremely suitable and had outstanding skills - Liu Yan.
Liu Yan has always been eager to use her dance art to contribute to the motherland, and when she learned the news, she happily accepted the challenge, promising to go all out and practice this solo dance carefully.
As a result, Liu Yan has become the irreplaceable A corner of this solo dance show.
Although the performance time of the whole solo dance is only 2 minutes, Liu Yan knows that it carries a lot of significance, not only about personal artistic pursuit, but also on behalf of the image and dignity of the whole country.
To this end, she devoted herself to almost rigorous training, practicing every day from dawn until late at night, forgetting to sleep and eat, just to be able to achieve the ultimate in every movement and every detail in a limited time.
This dance is called "Silk Road", and the actual performance duration is only 1 minute and 37 seconds, but for this short moment, Liu Yan has worked hard for more than half a year and rehearsed it thousands of times.
She strictly controls every subtle movement of the dance, and strives to be meticulous and strive for excellence.
In order to maintain the best dance form, she also strictly controls her diet, consuming only the right amount of food every day, and devotes the rest of her time to high-intensity dance training.
In this way, Liu Yan danced day after day, night and night, and finally ushered in the day of rehearsal in the Bird's Nest.
Her tenacity and perseverance, as well as her devotion and reverence for art, are all condensed in the dazzling "Silk Road".
【3】
Liu Yan accidentally fell, and the doctor sentenced him to high paraplegia, causing grief in the industry
On July 27, 2008, this day should have been an ordinary rehearsal for Liu Yan, who waved a ribbon more than three meters long on the stage and danced lightly on tissue paper, like a flying reproduction in a Dunhuang mural.
Tragedy struck in an instant, when she was about to jump to the moving float according to the scheduled schedule after the solo dance, due to a backstage operation error, the float started one second early, and this delicate time difference was a matter of life and death for Liu Yan.
She jumped out but failed to land on the flower platform, lost her balance and rolled backwards, falling heavily from a height of three meters.
After the accident, all the people at the scene were shocked, and the on-site commanders responded quickly and immediately called an ambulance to send Liu Yan to the 305 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.
There, she underwent a gruelling 12-hour operation to treat her with all her might.
After receiving the bad news, their parents and Zhang Yimou, the chief director of the opening ceremony, were so anxious that they rushed to the hospital overnight.
The doctor told them that Liu Yan's twelfth vertebra had been severely injured irreversibly, which meant that she would face the fate of high paraplegia.
My mother, who is a doctor, knows what this means and can't help but cry.
After a week of close observation and treatment, Liu Yan was finally transferred from the intensive care unit to the general ward, although the doctor had previously revealed her condition in a gentle way, but when she saw her parents' red and swollen eyes and grief-stricken expressions, she couldn't help crying bitterly.
For an artist who lives by dance, high paraplegia is undoubtedly a blow that is so heavy that it almost collapses, and during this time, Liu Yan feels that his originally colorful world has collapsed in an instant.
In addition to the busy preparations for the Olympic Games, Zhang Yimou took special time to visit Liu Yan in the hospital with the director team.
Facing his former partner, Zhang Yimou's eyes at this moment are full of guilt and pity for Liu Yan, and he knows that the trauma brought to Liu Yan by this accident is a regret that he can't let go of as a director.
【4】
Liu Yan and the mental journey and recovery road behind the regrets of the Olympics
A sudden accident caused the original leading actor to be injured, but the imminent opening ceremony could not be missed.
Under such an urgent situation, the actor Yin Shuo, who originally served as the B role, was ordered to take over as the new "Flying Goddess" and began a high-intensity emergency rehearsal.
This incident did not cause Liu Yan to cry senselessly, although at the moment she was lying in a hospital room a stone's throw away from the "Bird's Nest" of the National Stadium.
Most of the time, she silently stared at the familiar outline of the bird's nest outside the window, her eyes were full of deep attachment to the stage, and tears slipped quietly, silently telling the sorrow and helplessness in her heart.
In the blink of an eye, the night of the grand opening ceremony came, and the whole city of Beijing was immersed in jubilation, with the noisy gongs and drums and the brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky, jointly announcing the opening of this global sports event.
Liu Yan, who knew that he could not face the reality, asked the nurse to close the curtains of the ward tightly, trying to isolate all the lively scenes of the outside world.
She didn't dare to look directly at the bright fireworks outside the window, didn't dare to turn on the TV to watch the live broadcast, and even curled herself up under the covers, trying to block out all the sounds related to the opening ceremony.
Even when he covered his ears, the rousing music and cheers still penetrated his eardrums and reached his heart.
In desperation, she had to turn on the small speaker she carried with her and play her favorite song in an attempt to calm down.
In the sound of the music, she had already burst into tears, and in the end, she still couldn't resist the deep desire for the stage in her heart, turned on the TV, and watched the live broadcast of the Olympics.
On the screen, a magnificent picture slowly unfolded, and the "Flying Goddess" Yin Shuo was graceful, dancing in the air like a fairy.
This scene deeply pierced Liu Yan's heart, tears blurred her vision in an instant, she could no longer suppress the grief in her heart, and let the tears flow freely, because it was originally the stage she dreamed of, and it was the role for which she had paid countless efforts.
On the fourth day after the opening ceremony, the chief director Zhang Yimou and the entire director team came to the hospital where Liu Yan was located to visit the dancer who was injured in the line of duty.
Liu Yan tidied up her appearance in advance and repeatedly warned herself to stay calm and pretend to be strong, but when she saw that group of familiar faces, especially Director Zhang Yimou's eyes full of apology and respect, all the lines of defense instantly collapsed, and tears broke the embankment again.
Zhang Yimou looked at Liu Yan affectionately and said sadly: "You are the deepest pain in my heart, Liu Yan, you are a real hero!" He also brought a card with gratitude to Liu Yan for her contribution to the Olympic Games, praising her as a hero.
Liu Yan was moved to tears again, recalling the encouragement and support of her peers, she decided to use the weak hope as the motivation and go all out to devote herself to rehabilitation training.
Under the careful guidance of the doctors, Liu Yan began a long and arduous recovery process, and every day was full of challenges and pain.
As a doctor, her mother was extremely tormented when she saw her daughter's tenacity and pain, and she knew that according to medical common sense, unless a miracle occurred, the possibility of Liu Yan standing up was very small.
Whenever she saw her daughter sweating profusely completing the training, she looked up at her expectantly and asked, "Mom, do you think I'll be okay?", she would always respond with a tearful smile: "It's going to be fine!" This is not only the mother's endless love and support for her daughter, but also the affirmation and encouragement of the seemingly slim but extremely firm hope for recovery.
【5】
Spinal cord injury recovery is hopeless, and the choice of rebirth after falling from the peak
Liu Yan was seriously injured in an accident and had to spend half a long time in the hospital.
During these torturous days, she always believed that miracles would happen, so she actively cooperated with the doctor's rehabilitation training, insisted on showing up in the rehabilitation training room on time every day, and became one of the most diligent patients there.
No matter how hard she tried, in the end a miracle did not bebefall her.
In the quiet of the night, Liu Yan endured pain and despair alone, often hiding in a place where no one was crying silently, but every time the morning sun rose, she would cheer up and smile at her parents, relatives and friends, and even medical staff, her strength and optimism infected everyone around her.
After learning about Liu Yan's condition, Beijing Hospital specially invited Ragnarson, an internationally renowned spinal cord injury rehabilitation expert, to consult her.
After Ragnarson's careful examination and evaluation, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and told Liu Yan that there was no hope for her condition to recover, and the cruel reality shattered the last glimmer of hope left in Liu Yan's heart.
From the peak of his career to the lowest point of his life, facing the fate of being unable to stand forever, Liu Yan's deep pain and despair can be imagined.
Whenever she saw her parents' eyes full of love and concern, she forced herself to pick herself up again, telling herself that she had to be strong and not let her parents worry too much about her.
After learning that her recovery was hopeless, Liu Yan made the decision to be discharged from the hospital, and she understood that it was no longer meaningful to stay in the hospital.
After leaving the hospital, she has no clue where she should go and where her future life direction is, and the road ahead is full of unknowns and confusion.
Despite this, Liu Yan still chose to face it bravely, because she knew that life still needed to go on, and behind her, there were parents who loved her deeply who always supported her and encouraged her to move forward strongly.
【6】
From the center of the stage to the podium, Nirvana is reborn and dances as a miracle
After experiencing that stage accident, although dancer Liu Yan was forced to bid farewell to her beloved stage and faced the cruel reality that her lower body was paralyzed and she could only be accompanied by a wheelchair, she did not give up her pursuit of dance art and love for life.
She firmly believes that the world of dance is not limited to the stage, as long as you have a heart that loves dance, even if you are in a wheelchair, you can continue to dance in the vast world outside the stage.
Therefore, Liu Yan faces his future life with a positive attitude, seeing it as the only correct way out in his life, and insists that his dream of dancing has not been shattered by physical limitations, but will continue in a new way.
In March 2009, with the affirmation and support of all walks of life, Liu Yan won the "Best Dance Actress of the Year in China" award issued by the second "Chinese Performing Arts Celebrity Public Image Satisfaction Survey", which was awarded by director Zhang Yimou and singer Song Zuying.
Zhang Yimou has expressed his deep apologies to Liu Yan on many public occasions, saying that Liu Yan is the person who makes him feel the most sad and guilty in his life.
In the face of setbacks, Liu Yan chose another way to return to the world of dance, turning around and becoming a teacher at her alma mater, Beijing Dance Academy, where she opened a unique course called "A Comparative Study of Hand Movements in Classical Chinese Dance and Indian Classical Dance", focusing on the movement of the hands.
In addition, she has been involved in a wide range of hand movement systems, including Chinese sign language for the deaf, Buddhist mudras, Peking Opera and Liyuan Opera, and has opened up new perspectives and paths for the research and development of classical dance through in-depth and meticulous research.
In 2010, Liu Yan once again showed his tenacity and perseverance, chose to study for a doctorate, and was successfully admitted to the dance major of the Chinese Academy of Arts, where he continued to improve himself and make more contributions to the study of dance theory.
Even though his legs could not move freely, Liu Yan still danced the excitement and hope of life with his own hands, and integrated the art of dance into the bits and pieces of life.
In 2020, Liu Yan was invited to participate in the recording of the program "A Good Lesson", as a class representative, she used practical actions to explain to the audience what is the real inspirational and the spirit of turning into a butterfly, inspiring every audience to bravely face the difficulties and challenges in life and insist on pursuing their dreams.
Liu Yan's life story is like a butterfly, even after experiencing a difficult and difficult transformation process, he can still dance his own most beautiful rainbow on the stage of life.
【7】
From the center of the stage to the forefront of public welfare, dance is used to light up the future of disadvantaged children
In 2010, with the strong support of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Liu Yan founded the "Liu Yan Literature and Art Special Fund" under his name, aiming to assist children who have difficulty accessing the art of dance due to poverty or physical disabilities, so that they have the opportunity to realize their dance dreams.
Although Liu Yan herself is unable to stand up and dance due to injury, she believes that she can continue her love of dance in other ways, and that is to help children who also have a dream of dancing to overcome the barriers of life and step onto their own stage.
Since its establishment, the Foundation has successfully sponsored 162 children to learn dance, including 96 orphans and 66 children with hearing impairments.
Despite the injustice of fate, these children still maintain their innocent and kind nature, smile brightly, and face life's challenges with optimism.
In order to let more people pay attention to and participate in the charity action to help disadvantaged children, Liu Yan launched a public welfare photo exhibition called "Angel's Smile".
In the exhibition, the innocent smiles of the children leap into view, although they are in a difficult situation, or have lost a loved one, or live in a silent world, their photos reveal tenacity and positivity, like a bright sunshine, dispelling the gloom and illuminating people's hearts.
The exhibition, which has been held for ten years, not only records the growth of children, but also awakens the public's attention and care for the disadvantaged, attracting more and more people to join the ranks of charity.
Fast forward to 2012, and Liu Yan's identity has changed again, and she has become a dance director.
During this time, she met an 11-year-old boy named Fan Jie.
Fan Jie has been deaf in both ears since childhood, but this has not stopped him from showing extraordinary talent in the field of dance.
During the conversation with Fan Jie, Liu Yan noticed that the boy often frowned, and due to the lack of hearing, he always seemed to have a trace of worry that did not match his age.
This touched Liu Yan to come up with a new idea: since speech communication is limited, why not try to communicate emotions and convey strength through dance, an art form that does not need words? As a result, Liu Yan's first dance directorial work "Say to Him" came into being, which is not only dedicated to special children like Fan Jie, but also to all people who are still tenacious and pursuing their dreams despite their disabilities.
From a radiant stage star to a loving and generous philanthropist, Liu Yan has completed a gorgeous transformation of the role.
She always inspires her children with a positive attitude that no matter how bumpy life may be, the flower of dreams will never wither.
The children's optimism and tenacity, in turn, have become a source of spiritual healing for Liu Yan, allowing her to gradually get rid of her excessive concern for her own disability and turn her attention to a broader future, devoting herself to dance education and cultural communication.
In 2014, Liu Yan returned to the academic hall and joined the Beijing Dance Academy as a professor of classical dance.
In the process of teaching and educating people, she is also inevitably questioned and provoked by individual students.
Once, a student openly questioned in class, "Why should I take this course of yours?" and his words were full of resistance to the course and contempt for the teacher.
In the face of such a provocation, Liu Yan did not get angry, but calmly asked the student: "Do you know what the 'Phoenix Three Nods' and 'Three Nods' are?" to guide students to think about the cultural connotation and technical essence behind the dance.
When asked about the meaning behind the name of a dance, the students were momentarily speechless, and Liu Yan emphasized that learning dance is just like learning knowledge, not only to grasp the surface of the movement, but also to understand its deep cultural connotation and artistic philosophy.
This is exactly what she has learned after years of injury.
In 2014, Liu Yan published her first book, The Dance of the Hands, in which she believed that her mind could still dance independently in the world, inspiring and inspiring others, even though her legs were paralyzed by an accident.
In 2018, Liu Yan participated in the reality show "New Dance Forest Conference", and teamed up with the well-known actress Anglebaby to skillfully integrate the dramatic plot into modern dance, presenting a novel and unique artistic style.
Although Liu Yan suffered the tragedy of falling from a height at the peak of her career, resulting in lifelong paralysis and leaving irreparable regrets in her life, she always maintained a positive and optimistic attitude, worked hard to overcome physical and mental difficulties, and even if she was in a wheelchair, she was able to show the elegance and charm of classical dance on stage.
In recent years, Liu Yan has always been active in various fields, busy and fulfilling, and her career has climbed all the way to achieve a series of remarkable achievements.
Today, she is not only a professor at the Beijing Dance Academy, but also a postdoctoral researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, serving as the vice chairman of the Beijing Youth Federation and a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
In 2020, in the face of the sudden new crown epidemic, medical staff across the country saved lives day and night, Liu Yan was deeply moved, and specially choreographed a hand dance called "Hand Protection" to pay tribute to the angels in white.
Then, in 2021, she published a new book "Impression of the Hand", which filled the gap in the research on the culture of hand dance handprints in China and became an authoritative expert in this field.
In the same year, Liu Yan was invited to participate in the "2021 China Top Dancers Night" gala hosted by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, and amazed the audience with his wonderful dance "Blue Skirt", like a blooming blue enchantress, which was breathtakingly beautiful.
In the face of the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Liu Yan actively participated in it, specially coaching a team of wheelchair models to cheer for the participating athletes with a hand dance version of "Together to the Future", showing the tenacity of never giving up and always being born to the sun even in the face of adversity.
【8】
From the stage to life, illuminate the journey of life with the heart of dance
More than ten years have passed, and Liu Yan, the former stage goddess, although her physical condition no longer allows her to stand and walk, her yearning and dedication to dance art have never diminished.
Whether she dances on the stage in person, or sits quietly under the stage to enjoy it, or stands on the podium to carefully impart dance knowledge, or even devotes herself to academic research to explore the connotation of dance, Liu Yan has always retained that pride and love for dance art in her heart, and she firmly believes that dance is not only the expression of the body, but also the sustenance of the soul and the presentation of faith.
Liu Yan once said impassionedly: "Even if I can no longer dance on the stage, the world outside the stage can still become a vast world for me to display my talents." Only by facing each day in the future is the most critical choice in my life. I firmly believe that my dream of dancing does not end there, on the contrary, I will interpret the rest of my life journey as a new and equally wonderful dance. ”
Liu Yan has overcome the great difficulties in life with great tenacity and courage, and her life is like a beautiful melody and rhythmic dance, full of ups and downs but without losing beauty and strength.
The real warriors in life are people like Liu Yan who dare to face difficulties, transform the ups and downs of life into motivation for progress, and live their own style.
————END————
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