From September 30th to October 1st, Shanghai Ballet's "heirloom" ballet "White Haired Girl" was performed twice at the Shanghai International Dance Center And Coliseum to celebrate the 72nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. From October 5th to 6th, Shanghai Ballet's Red Ballet "Shining Red Star" will also be performed at the Shanghai Grand Theatre. This will be a new appearance of the "Red Star" after careful polishing.
The White-Haired Girl
"The White-Haired Girl" has realized the epoch-making process of Chinese ballet "from scratch". It not only uses the vocabulary of Western ballet, but also absorbs a large number of ethnic folk dances, traditional operas and martial arts. The music adopts the form of combining orchestral music and ethnic instrumental music, absorbing a large number of folk songs from North China as materials, full of distinct national style and strong sense of life. This "heirloom" like a work, for the people of Shangba, is the original heart, blood, and feelings.
Technically, "The White-Haired Girl" is no easier than the classic Western ballet. A variety of difficult spins and jumps make the main actor sweat every time he jumps. Secondly, character building is also a huge challenge. Every generation of shanghai ballet pillars has to go through the test of "White Haired Girl".
The White-Haired Girl has influenced generations of Chinese with its historical authenticity and emotional romance. So far, Shanghai Ballet has performed more than 2,000 performances of "The White-Haired Girl", and has also brought it to the United States, Canada, North Korea, Japan, France, Australia, Singapore and other countries.
The ballet "Shining Red Star" was born in 2018 and is a continuation of The Red Passion of Shangba. Choreographer Zhao Ming strives to use romantic creative means to make the image of a simple and resolute Chinese soldier meet with a classic ballet, and to create an image of Pan Dongzi, a flesh-and-blood Red Army soldier for the audience.
"Shining Red Star"
"This is a grounded, open and passed down work" "This work has deep enlightening significance for Chinese ballet creation", "The perfect fusion of realism and freehand" "Several times full of tears, both memory killing and film continuation".
In the past three years, the original ballet "Shining Red Star" has traveled all over Beijing, Nanchang, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Jinan, Xi'an and other cities, performing nearly 100 performances and receiving countless praises. With the support of the National Arts Fund, the Shanghai Cultural Development Fund, and the Shanghai International Dance Center Development Foundation, Shanghai Ballet and its main creative team have always been unremitting in revising and polishing their works.
"Shining Red Star" is in rehearsal
In order to create the image of Pan Dongzi on the stage, Wu Husheng, the "prince professional household", crawled, squatted and fell to the ground like a real warrior on the stage. "It's a character that's both classic and subversive." Wu Husheng said, "Because of his sad childhood experience, he is determined to throw his head and shed his blood for the beautiful future of the nation. Standing on the stage, carrying a gun, the blood of a Chinese boils up, and the excitement and dedication, the transmission of the emotions of the characters, will naturally flow. ”
Choreographer Zhao Ming in the rehearsal hall
Choreographer Zhao Ming sculpts his works with ingenuity, from plot, dance sections, music to stage beauty, overturning and reorganizing again and again, grasping the inspiration that bursts out, and refining the stage presentation. The Shangba actors also went all out to rehearse for the revision of the dance. Can the revised "Red Star" capture the hearts of the audience? We'll see.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Shi Chenlu Text Editor: Shi Chenlu Photo Editor: Cao Liyuan
Source: Author: Wu Tong