(Photo by Liu Jianjun)
A wave of royal blue light yarn wings, blue peacocks or light jade necks, wandering on the lakeside; or flapping their wings, dancing between heaven and earth...
Anyone who has personally watched the solo dance "Spirit of the Sparrow" performed by Xu Yan, a young dancer of the Battle Flag Cultural and Labor Troupe, will be enchanted by her Wei Miao Wei Xiao and her spirited dance style! You see, Xu Yan's slender and healthy figure on the stage, the beautiful and beautiful face, is indeed comparable to Yang Liping, the queen of the dance world, and when Li Yan interprets the fine works of the dance master, the rhythm of the disease or Xu, the charm between the hands and feet, not only reveals the charm of many masters after the dance, but also combines her own understanding of the connotation of the work with the perfect combination of artistic re-innovation!
There was once a British film called "Red Diamond", which revolved around a pair of red dancing shoes that never stopped, telling the poignant story of a beautiful dancer between life and career choices. The story is derived from Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "Red Dancing Shoes", which says that once upon a time a shoemaker made a pair of red dancing shoes, which were attached to a magical magic, and whoever wore it would keep dancing and never stop. A girl who loves dance and aspires to a successful career resolutely chose it and finally jumped to the end of her life!
Xu Yan began to learn dance at the age of 5 or 6, and planted the seeds of her dream in the depths of her soul at a very young age: she must become a dancer when she grows up! From the day she made her vows, she put on the magiced red dancing shoes and never let her toes pause. From the "little swan" performed at the kindergarten and primary school party to the "blue peacock" flying on the professional stage of the army's cultural and industrial troupe; from the basic skills training in the practice room to the rehearsal review in front of the stage; in the early morning and late night, in the cold winter and heat, it is common for her to practice alone and sweat like rain. The tip of her toe bubbled up, oozing blood, and her knees were red and swollen, and she still gritted her teeth and endured the pain, repeating those boring tricks over and over again, so that later her toes were ground out of thick cocoons, and the joints such as waist and knees suffered from chronic inflammation due to excessive strain! Dance is the part of her life, just like the heroine of the movie "Red Diamond" story, Peggy, when others ask her why she dances? She replied, "Just like why are you alive!" ”
Often when people look at or try to evaluate and praise an actor, they only notice the shining and brilliant side of her stage, the moments of success and glory, and the countless flowers and applause, often ignoring the loneliness behind the glory, the hundredfold and thousandfold effort behind the success, and the body full of scars, or the sweat that can be measured in kilograms!
Today, Xu Yan, who has been standing for more than a year, has long relied on her innate superior physical conditions, extraordinary wisdom and understanding, and ten times, a hundred times the hard work of others, from a cute "little swan" to a dazzling star inside and outside the military, especially in the Bashu dance world!
She has created and performed a large-scale song and dance "The Light of Tibet" (the drama won the highest government award "Wenhua Award")," starred in the large-scale music and dance poetry painting "Colorful Southwest"; and at the opening ceremony of the first Sichuan Chengdu International Panda Festival, she performed the solo dance "Hibiscus Flower Fairy", which won the high praise of the Chinese and foreign guests! In 1989, she won the first prize in her performance at the first modern dance competition in Sichuan Province, and in 1994, she was invited by the Chongqing Song and Dance Theater to serve as the heroine of the large-scale dance drama "Three Gorges Love Festival". The play caused great repercussions when it was staged in various places, and was invited to Jinjing to report on the performance. The dance drama was later awarded the "Wenhua Award" by the Ministry of Culture, and Xu Yan was also awarded the "Wenhua Performance Award"; later in the National Dance Competition, he won the Outstanding Performance Award and the "Special Award" issued by the Organizing Committee of the Competition. In 1996, he became one of the ten outstanding actors who won the Outstanding Performance Award in the All-Army Dance Competition. She has also been awarded the second and third class merits many times, and has been selected as one of the top ten actors in Sichuan Province, a deputy to the Eighth People's Congress of Sichuan Province, and a national first-class actor...
Xu Yan performs a double dance at the opening ceremony of the 5th China Arts Festival << Hundred Flowers praise >> (Photo by Liu Jianjun)
Xu Yan takes the lead dance in the >> of the << wild mountains (photo by Liu Jianjun)
Xu Yan's solo dance << Mountain Girl >> (Photo by Liu Jianjun)
Xu Yan takes the lead dancer in the << auspicious and ruyi >> (photo by Liu Jianjun)
(Note: This article was published in Southwest Military Literature in 1998)
About the Author: Full-time violin teacher; freelance photographer. Former violinist of the Chengdu Military Region Battle Flag Cultural and Labor Troupe, member of Sichuan Musicians Association, member of Sichuan Violin Education and Research Association, and examiner of Sichuan Provincial Social Art (Music) Examination. Engaged in photography for many years, he was a member of the Southwest Military Photography Society; a special reporter of the Legal Propaganda Center of the Sichuan Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission; and a special reporter of the Culture and News Department of West China Metropolis Daily. He is currently a member of The Sichuan Photographers Association, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Sichuan Entrepreneur Photography Association, an expert member of the Sichuan Ethnic Image Art Association, and a signed photographer of xinhua news agency photo library and Chengdu Classic Hui Culture Company.