Ailian Chen: Every moment of dancing is eternal

【Remembrance】

Guangming Daily reporter Li Xiaomeng

On November 21, Chen Ailian, a famous Chinese dance and opera performance artist and educator, died of illness in Beijing at the age of 81. On the morning of the 27th, the farewell ceremony of Chen Ailian's body will be held in the Babao Shandong Auditorium in Beijing.

Chen Ailian was one of the first dancers from China and one of the founders of the new Chinese dance industry. She once said: "Showcasing the best dance style to a wider audience is my dream that I have been catching up with. "Chen Ailian's life has always belonged to the stage.

Chen Ailian (photo taken in August 2020) Photo by Yan Huifang, reporter of Guangming Daily/ Guangming Photo

In the memory of everyone, Chen Ailian on the stage has no age and is always an active dancer. At the end of 2019, on a TV dance program, Chen Ailian completed "The Death of Thunderstorm Zhou Ping" with young dancers as a guest dancer, which surprised the audience.

In 1939, Chen Ailian was born in Shanghai. At the age of 10, due to the death of her parents, Chen Ailian entered the orphanage with her sister. In 1952, Chen Ailian was admitted to the student class of the Dance Troupe affiliated to the Central Academy of Drama, and her strong personality made Chen Ailian always be an excellent student in the class. Two years later, Chen Ailian was selected to study at the Beijing Dance School, China's first dance school.

"Chen Ailian's dance steps took off from the orphanage, and the establishment of New China gave her the opportunity to develop." Feng Shuangbai, chairman of the China Dancers Association, said, "In the early days of the founding of New China, the older generation of artists and educators aspired to establish a Chinese dance system, on the one hand, to absorb nutrition from traditional Chinese opera arts, but also to learn from the experience of Soviet ballet. The results achieved by both forces are perfectly reflected in Chen Ailian and in her re-creations. ”

In 1959, After graduating, Chen Ailian stayed on to teach. In the same year, she played the heroine of China's first ballet national dance drama "Fish Beauty", and the dignified and atmospheric Princess Donghai defined the meaning of beauty in the hearts of a generation, and made Chen Ailian one of the youngest dancers in China at that time. At the 8th World Youth Festival Dance Competition, 23-year-old Chen Ailian won 4 gold medals for her performances of "Spring River Flower Moon Night", "Snake Dance", "Bow Dance" and "Grass Dance". The moving style of Chinese dance has attracted countless surprises and praises in foreign countries, and people call Chen Ailian "the goddess of oriental dance".

In 1963, Chen Ailian was transferred to the China Opera and Dance Theater. He has starred in the dance drama "White Haired Girl", "Little Knife Society", "Princess Wencheng", "Dream of the Red Chamber", "Overlord Farewell" and other works, and is the dancer with the most starring dance dramas in China.

"Many people only see her 80 years old and can still dance on stage, but they can't see the decades of persistence behind the glory." No matter what kind of ups and downs or physical pain she encountered, she was persistent. "In Feng Shuangbai's impression, Chen Ailian never interrupted her practice." Every Spring Festival, we visit Teacher Chen, whose home is in the Eileen Dance School. At that time, the children were on vacation, and it was a good time to practice. "Sometimes, when Feng Shuangbai arrives early, he can see Chen Ailian alone in the practice room." I remember the Spring Festival of 2019, when we arrived at the school, we were just in time for Teacher Chen to come out of the practice room, and I saw the brilliant sunshine sprinkling on her in the distance, she was really an 'ageless myth'. Feng Shuangbai was deeply impressed by that day.

Chen Ailian once said that the most important talent for dancers is not physical condition, but the love and perception of dance in their hearts. She is always connected to the character because of her love, and because of this, she can "travel through time" and become an ageless dancer.

In 1981, the 42-year-old Chen Ailian played Lin Daiyu for the first time in the dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber", creating a Lin sister who was gu panshenghui and smiled for everyone. Between 1981 and 1986, she performed nearly 400 shows, each of which was very popular. In 1997, Chen Ailian personally invested in the rehearsal dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber". Before each rehearsal, she re-reads the love story about Bao Daichao in the original book, finds inspiration from the story, constantly innovates the dance section, and adjusts the rhythm of the script. In 2019, the 80-year-old Chen Ailian re-performed the dance drama "Dream of the Red Chamber" to present the 70th anniversary of the founding of New China.

When asked if Dai Yu is Chen Ailian's favorite character, she always replies: "Every character is my child, this eye is good-looking, that tooth is good-looking, I like it." "She loves her children like a mother, cherishing and caring for every character she creates.

Chen Ailian is also a bold innovator. In 1989, with the support of the former Ministry of Culture, she founded the "Chen Ailian Art Troupe" and performed all over the country. In 1995, Chen Ailian founded the first private dance school in Beijing, Beijing Ailian Dance School, which compiled many years of stage practice experience into teaching materials and personally guided the students. In Chen Ailian's heart, she has always been a dancer cultivated by the country and the people, and her early experience has made her want to give back to the society through her own strength. In 2014, when Chen Ailian was collecting style in Guizhou, she learned that the local art education resources were scarce, so she returned to the Ailian Dance School with 10 children from poor families who loved dance, and waived all tuition and miscellaneous fees for them.

In September this year, Guangming Daily published an article interviewing Chen Ailian. Near the end of the interview, Chen Ailian whispered: "I quietly tell you, in fact, I still want to rehearse the dance drama "Princess Wencheng", hoping to achieve it." On that day, in the rehearsal hall of the Eileen Dance School, talking about her dance life, the 81-year-old Chen Ailian's face was radiant, and the "secret" in her heart was still only about dance.

Life goes on, and the dance steps go on. "She really did." In Feng Shuangbai's eyes, Chen Ailian is a dancer who walks out of the plateau and climbs the peak.

Chen Ailian dedicated her life to her beloved artistic career, leaving colorful colors for the world with dancing postures. The classic images of dance art closely related to her name will last forever and forever.

Guangming Daily (09/11/2020)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily