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National Ballet of China's Nationwide Tour


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Ever since her world premiere in 1964, the National Ballet of China has presented about 2000 performances of the ballet The Red Detachment that has still retained the record as the hottest Red ballet in China. (The hottest White ballet is Swan Lake, as you all know.)


To celebrate the 50 anniversary of her debut, the NBC made a plan to take a major nationwide tour of The Red Detachment, and all performances would take places in Poly Theaters. Including shows in Beijing and her "hometown" Hainan early this year, the NBC is totally to give 50 performances of The Red Detachment in 2014.


At the same time the NBC would perform John Neumeier's ballet THE LITTLE MERMAID along the tour.


2014/5/21—22,Shenzhen,《The Red Detachment

2014/5/25—26,Chongqin,《The Little Mermaid

2014/5/28—29,Chongqin,《The Red Detachment

2014/6/01—02,Wuhan,《The Little Mermaid

2014/6/04—05,Wuhan,《The Red Detachment

2014/6/08,Wenzhou -《The Red Detachment

2014/6/10—11,Ningbo -《The Red Detachment

2014/6/14—15,Wuxi -《The Red Detachment

2014/6/17,Taizhou -《The Red Detachment

2014/6/20,Kunming -《The Red Detachment

2014/6/22,Hefei -《The Red Detachment

2014/6/25—26,Qingdao -《The Red Detachment


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A short version "The Red Detachment of Women" is performed in John Adams' opera "Nixon in China" to portray how the Nixons intended a performance while in China. Mark Morris did the choreography for the Met Opera production performed and shown in HD in 2011.

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A good question -- the work is still in active repertory (unlike many of the early Soviet dramballets), and though I think White Haired Girl is more interesting choreographically, Red Detachment is the iconic work.

I wonder if, at some future point, the Chinese equivalent of Ratmansky will create a new version, as Ratmansky has with some of those early Russian works.

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On the Left: Feng Ying, The Artistic Director of the National Ballet of China.

Right: Li Chengxiang, One of the Choreographers of Ballet the Red Detachment of Women.


The National Ballet of China held a Press Conference in Beijing on June 11 of 2014 to announce the official kicking out the event to celebrated the 50 anniversary of premiere of Chinese ballet the Red Detachment of Women and having a commemorative performance on September 26, 2014 in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China. The Artistic Director of NBC, Feng Ying, and one of the choreographers of the Red Ballet, Li Chengxiang, attended the press conference along with many famous stars from movie, music, other entertaining circles and show business in China.


The Ballet Red Detachment of Women has won the reputation as a milestone in the history of Chinese ballet, is a model of successful synthesis between Chinese and Western cultures. The art of ballet was exotic, filled with romantic stories and images of the Prince and Princess. The Red Ballet for the first time lets women in soldiers uniforms wear pointe shoes to dance on the ballet stage, presents a thrilling storyline with grand colorful scenes as well as unique local customs, becomes an elaborate symbol of Chinese ballet style by blending Chinese folk dances and western classical ballet.


For 50 years, the Red Detachment of Women have been staged for more than 4000 shows by the National Ballet of China and many local ballet theaters all over China. The Red Ballet also has been performed in the USA, UK, Russia, Denmark, Israel, France, and Italy, touring more than 20 countries. On the score of Red Ballet China has won a great reputation in the world of Ballet.


Today, "the Red Detachment of Women has far exceeded her value as a revolutionary modern ballet," the A.D. Feng ying said: "the Red ballet is both spiritual and cultural treasure of the nation and people, as well as the NBC's 'heirloom'. She is like a banner calling the artists from generation to generation in NBC to carry on the tradition, continue the creative approach for Chinese ballet, to produce more and more prime ballet works.”


References:

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I was hesitant to continue this topic. I don't want the readers think that I am promoting the "communist arts" and doing propaganda.


I have no interests in politics at all. I keep on posting topics on news from the National Ballet of China to let the readers know that there are many ballet lovers and talented ballet dancers in China, same as in the West. It would not hurt to have communication and understanding.


When I just came to the USA, I heard people talking about something like: the classical music is dying, ballet is dying, ... I didn't get it, because I saw that most of ballet audiences were young people in China. As Lang Lang has said: the classical music is dying? I don't believe that! There are 30 millions kids who are learning to play piano and violin in China.


Ballet is universal, humanity is common, body languages can easily go beyond the boarders. That is what I believe. I am not denying the political influence on artistic works. But, my life experience has taught me how to filter out the political noises. Underneath, there are always the humanity, emotion, feeling, expression, love, ....


thanks.GIF

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Please don't stop: ballet on China is part of ballet history, but less known to us because there have been far fewer tours, and not the wealth of DVD's, YouTube clips, and HD broadcasts that there have been from the Russian companies. Some of the Soviet ballets have been overtly political, while others have been influenced by the political powers, like happy endings for "Swan Lake."

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Please don't stop: ballet on China is part of ballet history, but less known to us because there have been far fewer tours, and not the wealth of DVD's, YouTube clips, and HD broadcasts that there have been from the Russian companies. Some of the Soviet ballets have been overtly political, while others have been influenced by the political powers, like happy endings for "Swan Lake."

Helen, thank you for your encouraging!

flowers.gif

Last year I met the Artistic Director of NBC, Feng Ying, by chance. I talked to her about releasing videos of their ballet works, either on DVD or YouTube, if not complete ballet, short clips would be good. She briefly explained to me about the difficulties because of the technical and copyright issues. I don't see the problems could be resolved in near future.

dunno.gif

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In the evening of September 23, 2014, the National Ballet of China performed The Red Detachment of Women in Beijing's Great Hall of People to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Ballet's premiere of the Red ballet.


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More than 500 artistic professionals and amateurs participated this special show, which included 150 ballet dancers, some famous movie stars, drama actors, opera singers and students chorus from Tsinghua and other universities. Thousands of audiences, as well as the choreographer, ballet music composer, ballerinas with the NB of China as heroine Qionghua of last 50 years, also some representatives of descendants of the soldiers in the historical Red Detachment of Women from HaiNan island attended the show.


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After this commemorative performance the NB of China would continue their nationwide tour to complete 50 shows for 50th anniversary to dance the Red ballet in Beijing, XinJiang and JiangSu provinces.



Photographer: Wang Chongwei, Shi Ren








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