Hu Xinxin

Thank you so much Alexandra for the list!

Jin Yao¡¯s partner Zhang Rao got the silver medal. Guo Yuhao (also from China) , junior silver, Wong Yaosheng, junior bronze. FYI.

I have some information on the Chinese dancers only. After the first round, Zhang Rao, a male dancer from the National Ballet of China, ranked NO. 1, and his partner Jin Yao ranked second(at Senior level). Another Chinese male dancer ranked first at the junior level. Sorry I have only heard about the Chinese dancers. FYI.

Thanks for the information. I enjoy the photos and MSGs very much.

Dear Natalia, Have you read the interview with NBC's Director Ms. Zhao Ruheng at ballet.co? It is at http://www.danze.co.uk/dcforum/training/208.html FYI.

Congratulations to Wu Haiyan and Li Jun. Wu Haiyan is not the most gifted girl among the NBC soloists, but she is the most hard working one. Li Jun used to be Wang Qiming’s partner. Since Wang got a gold medal in Moscow last year, and she is dancing more principal roles, Li Jun dances with Wu Haiyan more. NBC dancers have done very well in recent international competitions. I think one of the most important reasons is that they have a wonderful coach, Feng Ying. Feng Ying herself used to be one of our best dancers in 1980s. She was sent to the Paris Opera and spent there a couple of years after graduation from the Beijing Dancer Academy. She became the Ballet Mistress of NBC in mid-1990s. Almost all girls trained by her got the gold medals in the competitions: Zhang Jian in Moscow 1997, Zhu Yan Varna in 1998, Wang Qiming in Moscow 2001 Meng Ningning in Nagoya 2002 and now Wu Haiyan. I am proud of her.

Dear Jeannie, dear Alexanrda, nice to see both of you here. Yes Jeannie, we take Madam Dai as the mother of Chinese ballet. I agree with Helen that some of our dancers and companies have paid too much attention to the international competitions. I think one of the problems with the Chinese ballet companies is that they cannot get sufficient financial supports. The Chinese companies do not tour very often, they take part in the international competitions instead. I guess the companies and the dancers are trying this way to keep the connection with the international stage. I would like to give you some information on the repertoire of the National Ballet of China. I think the first full length classical ballet ever staged in China was Swan Lake, which was premiered in 1958 with Pytr Gusev as the artistic director. Then Gusev staged Le Corsaire in 1959 and Giselle in 1960 for NBC. Alicia Alonso staged La Fillr mal Gardee for the company in 1961. Then it was production with our own director: the Fountain of Bakhchisarai (1962) choreographied by Wang Xixian (after Zahkarov) and Notre Dame Paris with Jiang Zuhui as the choreographer (after Marius Petipa) in 1963. The Red Detachment of Women, which was premiered in 1964, was the first (so-called) Chinese ballet ever performed by NBC. (Beijing Dance Academy had produced the Maid of the Sea before it, but it was with the Chinese fork dance style). There are more Chinese works in the company¡Çs repertoire, including Ode to the Yimeng Mountains (1973), Sing and Dancing under the Camphor (1977), The New-Yaer Sacrifice (1981),Lin Daiyu (1982), Little Blue Flower (1988) and The Yellow River (1999), among others. After (so-called) the Culture Revolution (as At mentioned above), ballet stage flourished once again and NBC introduced more productions, the major ones were Sylvia (Lous Marante/ Lycette Darsonvai, 1980), Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev after Marius Petipa, 1985), Romeo and Juliet (Norman Walker, 1990), The Sleeping beauty (staged by Monica Parker, 1995)), La Sylphide (Bounonville, staged by Franck Andersen, 1999), and the Chinese Nutcracker (Zhao Min, Feng Ying and Wang Yuanyuan, 2000). Also, new productions of Giselle (Staged by Belinda Wright and Jelko Yuresha in 1984) and Le Corsaire (staged by Marina Kondrateva in 1998). The shorter pieces: Three Preludes (Ben Stevenson, 1979) G. Balancine¡Çs Serenade (1981), Allegro Brilliant (1996), Theme and Variations (1998) , Who Cares (2002) Pas de Quatre (Anton Dollin, 1984)/ Variantions for Four (Anton Dollin, 1983) The Chairman Dance (Wang Xinpeng, 2000), Rite of Spring (Wang Xinpeng 2000) Concerto (Kenneth MacMillan, 1994) Four Last Songs (Rudi van Dantzig, 1999), Among others. The newest ones: Red Lantern (Wang Xinpeng 2001), Coppelia (2002) Also, during last 5 years, we have seen some nice shows by the visiting companies such as Paris Opera, Das Hamburger Ballet, the Royal Ballet(UK), Kirov Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, ABT, Stuttgart Ballet Bejart Ballet Lausonne, Bolshoi, Moscow Musical Theater Ballet , National Ballet of Marseille, National Ballet of Cuba and Compania Nacional de Danca. We have seen Asian companies as well, including the National Ballet of Korea, Tokyo Ballet and others. FYI. Have a cool weekend. PS What I want to say it that if you look at NBC¡Çs repertoire, you would see there are more classical works than contemporary works. Because the Chinese companies usually do not have enough money to buy the copyrights. So unlike most of the European companies, the Chinese companies have to perform more classical pieces. I think this is the reason why the Chinese young dancers can keep a relatively pure classical style than many (so-called) western dancers. We have some very good ballet schools and only the selected children can get professional training at these schools. The Chinese ballet education system is more like Vaganova Academy in Russia. I think this is the reason why the Chinese dancers are strong in the competitions.

Dear fendrock You said Does it seem strange to produce strong dancers in an environment lacking the ballet tradition found in other countries? I would like to ask you a question. Do you know where did the legend ballerina Margot Monteyn start her ballet training? In Shanghai, China.Actually, I don¡Çt think China¡Çs ballet tradition is the newest in Asia or in the world. I would like to tell you some stories. Some Russian people came to China after the October Revolution in 1910s, some of them were teaching ballet to make their lives, and Margot Fonteyn was among their students.. In early 1940s a Trinidad-Tobago born and Rambert trained female dancer called Dai Ailian (she is still alive) came back to China to join the Anti-Japanese War, and founded the first company in China (so far as I know). In 1950s, the country was the friend of the Soviet Union. Many professional experts came from the Soviet to help China¡Çs construction; among them were some ballet teachers. A Russian method ballet school was founded in Beijing to train our own dancers and the Central Ballet of China was founded in 1959, which has presented many productions of Chinese and Western ballet ever since. The golden age of China ballet was 1980s. Rudolf Nureyev came to teach his production of Don Quixote without getting any pay, and after some successful performances, he invited some of our best dancers to guest at the Paris Opera. Now there are 5 ballet companies in PRC. They are smaller in number but they are quite good companies. I have seen quite a lot of ballet performances in USA, Japan and European countries, I don't think the Chinese dancers are inferior to the western dancers at all. Look at Tan Yuan Yuan (with SF Ballet) and Chen Yan (of ABT). Aren't they excellent dancers?

Kevin, I saw Bejart's Bolero and Lacine Cubique with Silvie Guillem and Toyko Ballet last week. Will see Giselle with Viviana Durante and Kumakawa Tetsuya tomorrow. Rasta Thomas was also in Toyko this mounth and danced in Gissle with a company came from Nagoya, but I missed it because I was busy with so many concert/opera performances(and my job as well). I saw him last year in Osaka. He was an interesting dancer. Enjoy your stay in St. Petersburg. It's a lovely city.

Hi, Kevin, You were in St. Petersburg! But Bolshoi is visiting Beijing and dancing Swan Lake on Nov.15-18. I heard the casts would be Uvarov/ Gracheva and Antonicheva/ Sergei Filin. It's a pity that I am in Tokyo and not able to go back to see the performances. I also missed Ballet for Life danced by Bejart Company in Beijing. Helen says it was a great success. [ November 14, 2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

Jeannie: You enjoyed your stay in China? Unfortunately we could not see you on TV, but managed to make copies of Shanghai IBC (the final and gala) for you. Please call Helen when you come back to Beijing (if you can read this msg), so that she can pass the videotapes to you (I will be attending a meeting today and tomorrow).

Many thanks, Jeannie. Yao Wei is really an excellent dancer. She is very smart. I think she will be another Tan Yuan Yuan. Have a nice trip and do take care. Kevin, NBC will do Yellow River and La Sylphide in USA.

Many thanks, Jeannie. Our friends in Shanghai report: Jeannie was like an off-stage super star last night. Kevin, sorry that I forgot to answer your question: NBC will tour USA after Giselle. Correction: Giselle will be on September 7,8, 9, and US tour will be from September 25. Canada tour was canceled. BTW, Jeannie, Li Jun is boy friend of Wang Qiming (gold medallist you saw in Moscow) and used to be her partner. But he was injured before the competition. [ 08-17-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

Thank you so much Jeannie and Wa Wa. I would like to talk a little more about the issue LBC. Wa Wa and her friends have posted the list of the dancers who actually danced in the first round. There were surely more dancers from Shanghai than from other places (2 girls and 2 boys in senior section, and 18 girls and 10 boys in Junior). It is easier for the local dancers to attend the IBC, but I think the most important thing is that the Shanghai people take this IBC more seriously. While the National Ballet of China only sent their second ranking dancers to the IBC (Varna Gold medallist Zhu Yan, Moscow Gold Zahng Jian and Wang Qimin, Helsinki Gold and Moscow Bronze Han Bo all missed this IBC), the local Shanghai has sent its best dancers, including the Varna Gold Medallists Fan Xiaofeng and Sun Shenyi. So, I think the local Shanghai is trying their best to keep the level of this IBC. I pay respect to their effort and will never be surprised if the "local" Yao Wei get a gold medal, because she is really an excellent dancer, and has already won Prix de Lausanne and a gold medal in Helsinki. On the other hand, I think the local organizer should pay more attention and efforts to improve their "public service" to make the competition more "IBC" like. [ 08-17-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

Hi, Jeannie, nice to see you in Beijing and many thanks for you report. I think our friends in Shanghai would give you lots of local help. They repot us in Chinese every day. Please call Wa Wa at 64381100 (ext.) 104（daytime) / 62622591(home) / or 1362 1919 749. BTW, National Ballet of China will give 3 performances of Giselle from September 6. It a pity that you Can not see it. Take care in Shanghai.

I saw Jeannie yesterday. I was in Inner Mongolia last week and came back to Beijing on Monday. Since Jeannie had told me she would leave for Shanghai on Tuesday, I went the hotel she stayed and managed to see her and her husband right before their leave. Jeannie looked happy and said they had enjoyed their stay in Beijing very much. Our friends (Helen and I) saw the opening performance (Swan Lake by Shanghai Ballet ) and the first round of the Shanghai IBC. They said a boy from Vietnam looked outstanding. Since I forgot to take the phone numbers of Shanghai friend with me when I met Jeannie. I would like to put them here, just in case Jeannie find an internet cafe and view this msg. We have some ballet friends in Shanghai. I think they can give Jeannie lots of local information or even introduce some dancers to Jeannie. One of our friends is Wa Wa. She majored in English at college and is learning ballet in her spare time now (she even shares the same teacher with Yao Wei, the Helsinki IBC gold medallist). Her phone number is: 64381100*104（daytime) / 62622591(home) / or 1362 1919 749 (mobile). Please call her, Jeannie, whenever you need a help or information related to the IBC. Thanks. [ 08-15-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

Hi, Jeannie,you are still there. More updated information: So far, 103 dancers have been registered, including 27 dancers from foreign countries. The youngest dancer will be a girl called Shangguan Yunting. She is only 14 years old. She is a ballet student at Shanghai Dance Academy. The oldest one will be a girl called Jennifer Owen from USA. She is 27 years old. The local Shanghai Ballet will send 7 dancers to the IBC, and Shanghai Dance Academy, 16 students.FYI. See you in Beijing!

I heard there would be about 120 young dancers at Shanghai IBC. But most of them are the dancers or ballet students from other cities in China such as Beijing, Shenyang (Liaoning Province), Tianjin, Guangzhou and Hong Kong, in addition to the local dancer from Shanghai Ballet. Only 30 (or more) dancers come from foreign countries. The National Ballet of China will send 10 dancers to the competition. But none of them is principal dancer. I think a girl called Meng Ningning is most likely to get a medal. She is already a soloist and has danced some principal roles. Wen Fang is also nice. She was the bronze medallist at Varna in 1997 or 1998(I am not very sure, at Junior section). The problem with her is that she is not tall enough. I also heard that some fine dancers from Shanghai such as Fan Xiao Feng, Sun Yi Shen (Varna Gold Medallists last year) and Yao Wei (Helsinki Gold Medallist this Year) would attend the IBC. FYI.

Dear Jeannie: Thank you so much for your reports. Wang Qiming danced Giselle a few months ago in Beijing and she did Swan Lake on graduation from Beijing Dance Academy. She is a lovely girl. Every body here likes her very much. I heard she had been injured before the competition. Han Po was an excellent Ali a few years ago. He is now one of the most important male dancers in NBC. But actually he is not very tall. He is very thin that why he looks taller. Terry is right. Han Po got a gold medal in Helsinki many years ago, at the junior level though. [ 06-21-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

To Lovebird: I guess the "Pavlova" Chen Yan talked about was Anna Pavlova. I heard Anna was in Shanghai and taught ballet there in the early days. BTW, I don't like Natalia Bessmertnova very much. I saw her many times when Bolshoi toured Tokyo in 1988. I had expected to see Nina Annaniashvili, but it was always Bessmertnova. She was too old, but appeared everywhere in Swan Lake, Giselle and Spartacus. I think Nadezhda Pavlova came to China 1989 or 1990 and danced Spartacut with Muhamedov. Muhamedov did a great job (much better than he did in Japan), but she was not very impressive. FYI. [ 05-29-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

I woulld like to answer your question about the Chinese ballet. Pyoty Gusev was surely a great man in China's ballet history, but we don't think he was the founder of NBC. The first director of the company is Dai Ai Lian, known as the mother of the Chinese ballet. She was born in Trinidad-Tobago born and trained at the Rambert and came back to China around 1940 to join the war against the Japanese. Actually it was some Russian people who brought us classical ballet much earlier. They came to China after the October Revolution (in 1918?),some of them were teaching ballet to make their lives. In 1954, after the founding of the Peoples Republic of China, the first ever official dance school (known now as Beijing Dance Academy) was established in Beijing. This dance school at that time had invited 6 Russian ballet experts to teach at the school, among them was Pyoty Gusev, who has made great contribution to ballet development in China. The Russian experts trained the first generation of teachers, dancers and choreographers of ballet in China, who successfully performed the first classical full-length ballet--SWAN LAKE in Beijing in 1958. In 1959, a company was found at the Academy. Dai Ai Lian was the first director. Later the company separated from the academy and was named the Central Ballet of China by the government. The English name of the company changed in late 1990s to 'the National Ballet of China'. But we usually call it its Chinese name 'the Central Ballet'. Sorry for my late reply. Thanks. [ 05-29-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ] [ 05-29-2001: Message edited by: Hu Xinxin ]

Thanks, Marc, I enjoy reading your report. I think Samodorov is a very good dancer. I enjoyed very much his dancing when he came to Beijing with a small group a few years ago. But I guess he does not appear with the Kirov very often because he did not come to China and Japan when the company toured here. Am I right?

Dear TATSU San: UENO Mizuka. She has much more reputation than she deserves. Exactly. Dear Kevin San: Unfortunately, I am planning to fly back to Beijing on April 2 after seeing Zhang Yimo`s opera production of Turandot (Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with Zubin Mehta conducting) on March 30 and another opera performance on April 1. So I can not attend ENB performances. I think ENB will give 3 performances at the international Forum A Hall. It is a very large hall with 5000 seats. Tickets are quite expensive, for the performances with Kuwakawa (on April 21 and 22) will range between 6000-17000 Yen, and 3500-13000 Yen without Kuwakawa (22 matinee). [This message has been edited by Hu Xinxin (edited March 15, 2001).] [This message has been edited by Hu Xinxin (edited March 15, 2001).]

I attended this 4 company show too, on March 2. To tell the truth, I did not enjoy it very much. The new star Ueno Mizuka was just a disappointment for me. She has long limbs and high leg extension and pretty strong body ability, but danced in a way rather athletic than artistic for me. I went to NHK Hall to see K ballet on March4 too. The performance was quite enjoyable but I did not know why the Japanese fans prefer Tetsuya Kumakawa to Adam Cooper. Yes, Kuwakawa has wonderful technique, but itfs not sports. I think Adam Cooper (in "Afternoon of a Faun" ) was much better in artistic presentation. I do not like the way the company set the ticket price (the cheapest ticket was nearly $90 and even the program pamphlet cost nearly $30!) either. I guess Tetsuya is taken in Japan more as an (so called) idol than a dancer. BTW, I saw New Swan Lake by Matsuyama Ballet on March 10. Morishita Yoko was still very nice in her age of 53. I like her very much and take her as Asian Ulanova. [This message has been edited by Hu Xinxin (edited March 14, 2001).]

Kevin, I am sorry to say this, but I think people in Shanghai are quite snobbish. They go to the theater to show their dresses and social status than enjoy performances. Placido Domingo will give a concert (not recital) at the Shanghai Grand Theater on Jan. 5. Do you know how much a single ticket costs? The most expensive one is 3000 RMB, much higher than China's average monthly income, but I heard all tickets had been sold out in a few days. (When I saw Kirov Swan Lake there, the most expensive ticket was 500RMB). It is reported that the arts agency in Shanghai had paid more than $400000 for Domingo's concert. If they paid this much to Kirov, I think Kirov would do an excellent Sleeping Beauty for us and then would be able to feed thousands of its employees at least for one month. Cindy has reported on our Chinese ballet board that when ABT performed La Bayadere in Shanghai, the reaction of the audience had been rather cold. But there was an exception: in the matinee performance on the last day, ABT got great BRAVI and applauds there. Do you know the reason? Dancers of National Ballet of China went to see that show. They were NOT Shanghainese at all. As for Kirov dancers in Japan. I think Farukh Ruzimatov still remains super star there. And Igor Zelensky has gained great popularity through his frequent appearances in recent years with Kirov, RB and his own pick up group. Among the young female dancers, Diana Vishneva and Svetlana Zakhorova have earned a lot of fans in Japan. But Loptkina had not been as well-known as her colleagues had, because she had not danced a lot there. I think the Japanese people like to follow so-called super stars. That's why some excellent young dancers like Igor Kolb and Pavlenko can not earn much popularity there.