Ballet in China 鈥揚art 2 

cctv.com 05-25-2005 17:18

Chinese Folk Ballet

If only one piece needs to be mentioned when talking about Chinese folk ballet, then it will surely be 'The Red Detachment of Women'. These pictures document some real-life stories about this piece's beginnings鈥攈ow the dancers once lived for months in military camps to learn how to practice swords in order to portray the soldiers vividly on stage.

'The Red Detachment of Women' was the first and most successful large-scale Chinese ballet, with both the theme and content reflecting a very unique Chinese style.

Adapted from a movie with the same name, 'The Red Detachment of Women' tells a story about an impoverished girl, Wu Qionghua, who escaped from the tyranny of an oppressive landlord, joined the Red Army, and later grew up to be a distinguished revolutionary solider.

Although the storyline of this ballet seems a little bit out-of-date today, it still possesses its original charm. The piece is a model example of the successful combination of western ballet technique with Chinese folk dancing. The two styles are melded seamlessly within one piece, and it never fails to impress the audience with a natural flow of body language supported by intense emotions. 'The Red Detachment of Women' was a prelude to the exertions of Chinese ballet artists trying to establish a Chinese identity using an essentially foreign art form.

For four decades, 'The Red Detachment of Women' has been staged thousands of times and now still draws enthusiastic audiences to the theatre. A permanent part of the National Ballet of China's repertoire, this performance is now called the 'Red Classic'. The Poly theatre's March show was the most recent performance, and it was another big success. Maybe for some of the first-timers who attended, it was a completely new experience. But for most of the Chinese in the audience, it was just another re-view of the classic, and a chance to linger in memory lane recalling times in younger days when they had watched the same piece.

Chinese Ballet Education

The grandeur and glory of dancers on stage is backed by painstaking exercises at the bar, day in and day out, and year after year. Ballet is the kind of art that requires extremely tough training. It is no wonder that some people call it a cruel art.

The Beijing Dance Academy was former known as The Beijing Dance School. It was founded in 1954. One of the academy's major programs, the ballet department was established with direct help from Russian experts when the newly-founded People's Republic of China started its dance education. The department has two programs: the ballet performance program and the ballet education program. Because of the long-term input a ballet career requires, choosing ballet as one's major often means a life-long commitment. What draws these boys and girls into the ballet classrooms? What dreams do they cherish? And moreover, what are their plans for developing their careers after graduation?

For its nearly 50 years of history, this department has been proud of the talents it has produced鈥攖hose who are dancing, those who do choreography for China's ballet troupes, as well as those teaching students in various ballet education positions.

After an entire morning's practice, the students step out the classroom for noon break. And some day in the future, they will walk out of the gate of this school to their future careers, on or maybe far away from the performing stage.

These sophomores are taking the 'Western Folk Dancing' class. Introduced from the Russian ballet school, this course has become a traditional one for the Ballet Department of The Beijing Dance Academy. And actually this is just one of the signs of the Russian school's heavy influence on Chinese ballet education. As said before, the Ballet Department of The Beijing Dance Academy was established with direct help from Russian ballet experts. In the very beginning, the ballet program received everything from the Russian ballet school, including the syllabus, teaching materials and teaching methodology, etc.

The development of the Ballet Department of The Beijing Dance Academy shares a similar story with that of the National Ballet of China. Since the 60s, Chinese ballet education began to turn to Chinese art and literature for nourishment. To attend the courses offered by The Classic Chinese Dance Department is a 'specialty' unique to the Ballet Department of The Beijing Dance Academy.

After the Cultural Revolution, when China re-opened its doors and began to reform, the development of China's ballet education also had a fresh start. All different styles of ballet worldwide were learned and a Chinese ballet education system was gradually formed. The department has also kept up an active academic exchange with their international counterparts. Famous international artists are regularly invited to teach at the academy. For example, the artistic director of The Houston Ballet, Mr. Ben Stevenson, has been a visiting instructor at the academy several times and has been appointed as honorary professor of the department. Furthermore, there are teachers from France and Great Britain, as well as Spain, Russia and Denmark, etc. The department can learn advanced teaching content and methodology from these international academic exchanges. As for the students, this helps to keep their minds open, and provides them with dynamic training in diverse styles of ballet.

During the four years' program, the students here receive a systematic education. Take the 'repertoire course' for example: western classical ballets, Chinese ballets, and modern dance are all offered to the students. A 'Pas de Deux Course' is available for students with special interest and talent in this field. Besides dancing classes, a variety of courses are also offered to supplement the student's all-around knowledge鈥搒uch as 'Ballet History', 'Music Appreciation', 'Dancing Works Appreciation', as well as Chinese, English, History, etc. Dancing skills themselves, no matter how advanced, are far from being enough to make an excellent ballet dancer. Ballet, in a way an aristocratic art form, calls for all-around and high-standard artistic cultivation. These students, young and talented, are the future of China ballet.

Editor:Hu  Source:CCTV.com