National Ballet of China at Paris from Sept. 25 to Oct. 3, 2013

[yudi]

NATIONAL BALLET OF CHINA at Théâtre du Châtelet

Swan Lake / The Red Detachment of Women

Founded in 1959, the company has long borne the imprint of Russian Ballet. The National Ballet of China will present the "Swan Lake" by Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa andLev Ivanov, a jewel of classical ballet. Since 1964, the company proposes a unique Chinese repertory such as the seminal work "The Red Detachment of Women" that you can see as second program in Paris.

http://www.dlbdance.com/en/news/detail/items/bnc2013.html

NATIONAL BALLET OF CHINA

http://www.dlbdance.com/en/companies/detail/items/24.html

[yudi]

As Feng Ying, its director, rather nicely puts it, “the strength of the National ballet of China is that it is a kind of ‘three-legged duck’: classical ballet, contemporary dance and Chinese dance”.

Open the following link for details:

http://www.kulturkompasset.com/2013/09/national-ballet-of-china-with-swan-lake-and-the-red-detachment-of-women-in-paris/

National ballet of China with Swan Lake and The Red Detachment of Women in Paris

By Henning Høholt on 9/18/13 • Categorized as Ballet

[yudi]

China's Central Ballet Troupe rehearse Swan Lake in Paris

Ballet dancer of China's Central Ballet Troupe rehearse classic Swan Lake in Paris, France, Sept. 24, 2013. China's Central Ballet Troupe will give performances of the classic Swan Lake and Chinese ballet Red Detachment of Women here from Sept. 25 to Oct.3. (Xinhua/Chen Xiaowei)

Open the following link to see more pictures:

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2013-09/25/c_132747924.htm

[yudi]

The opening night performance of Swan Lake by the National Ballet of China,

Time: 8:00pm, September 25, 2013
Casts:
Odette/Odile - Zhang Jian
Prince Siegfried - Sheng Shidong
Evil Rothbart - Cui Kai
Benno - Zheng Yu
Friends of Prince - Wang Qi, Wang Ye
Three Swans - Lu Na, Li Jie, Lu Di
Four Swans - Wang Qi, Zhan Xinlu, Xie Lijun, Sun Xiaoqiàn

Conductor - Zhang Yi

Swan Lake, Opening night at Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France, September 25 of 2013.

Odette/Odile - Zhang Jian, Prince Siegfried - Sheng Shidong.

Photographer: Liu Yang (摄影：刘阳)
Copyright: The National Ballet of China. 2013.

[yudi]

The second night performance of Swan Lake by the National Ballet of China,

Casts:
Odette/Odile - Cao Shuci
Prince Siegfried - Ma Xiaodong
Evil Rothbart - Cui Kai
Benno - Zhang Xi
Friends of Prince - Wang Qi, Wang Ye





Swan Lake,
at Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France,
September 26 of 2013.
Odette/Odile - Cao Shuci,
Prince Siegfried - Ma Xiaodong.
Photographer: Liu Yang (摄影：刘阳)
Copyright: The National Ballet of China. 2013.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Brigitte Lefevre, the artistic director of the Paris Opera Ballet watched the performance of ballet Swan Lake at Théâtre du Châtelet in the evening of September 26, 2013.

After the performance she congratulated Feng Ying, the head of NB of China, and spoke to the dancers: "Your performances in Paris has once again succeeded. All of you are very good dancers, including the principals, soloists and the corp dancers, which is proved by your dancing. The exchange programs between the NB of China and POB has been very good and effective. I hope such programs would continue. Best wishes for your success in following performances of next few days."

The friendship and culture exchange between the NB of China and Paris Opera Ballet have started from the beginning of 80s of last century. In 1980 for the first time the NB of China invited French artists to direct the ballet Sylvia, the version choreographed by former prima ballerina Lycette Darsonval for POB. Their performance of Sylvia received high praise. In 2009 the NB of China took Sylvia back to Paris and presented it at the Palais Garnier. In 1985 the NB of China performed Don Quixote that was taught, staged and directed by Master Nureyev. Some dancers of NB of China, Bai Shuxiang, Feng Ying and few others, had been invited to practice or take one-year training classes with POB. In the new century contacts and exchanges between the two ballet companies have become more common. Roland Petit had stayed in Beijing for months to teach and train Chinese dancers. Manuel Legris becomes a frequent visitor to the NB of China.

The NB of China has made significant progress through the exchanging and interconnecting with top ballet theaters in the world. By opening its door, the NB of China is improving her programs, gaining more creative achievements, as well as continuing artistic exploration and innovation.

The outstanding Chinese ballet talents are constantly trained and promoted in the NB of China generation by generation. For example, the leading roles of Swan Lake on the night of Sept 26 are played by the youngest principles Cao Shuci and Ma Xiaodong. Their excellent performance won enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audiences. After the show, the dancers bow again and again, the audiences won't leave. The audiences in Paris may be very "demanding & critical", as the Chinese dancers were told, but the young dancers of NB of China have won the praise of audiences, earned peer acclaim.

[ NOTE: The original report is published in Chinese on the blog page of the National Ballet of China.
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_473f97a00102es43.html
撰稿•Writer：蒋山, 审稿•Editor：孙元娜, 摄影•Photographer：刘阳
I did the translation into English. I am a cross-disciplinary ballet enthusiast. If my translation confuses you, the ballet experts in Ballet Alert's forums, please let me know! I will try my best to correct it. ]

[mussel]

The friendship and culture exchange between the NB of China and Paris Opera Ballet have started from the beginning of 80s of last century. In 1980 for the first time the NB of China invited French artists to direct the ballet Sylvia, and their performance of Sylvia received high praise. In 2009 the NB of China took Sylvia back to Paris and presented it at the Palais Garnier.

I'd love to see their Sylvia. Do you know who staged it? The only Sylvias I've seen are Mark Morris and Ashton. Ashton's is far more superior.

[yudi]

I'd love to see their Sylvia. Do you know who staged it? The only Sylvias I've seen are Mark Morris and Ashton. Ashton's is far more superior.

There was a report "Sylvia dances for China" published on Shanghai Daily in 2004, which said：

In 1979, former prima ballerina Lycette Darsonval choreographed a version for Opera de Paris and one year later the same version was staged by the National Ballet of China in a collaboration between the two companies.

More detailed information can be found in the following link:

http://english.eastday.com/eastday/englishedition/node20665/node20667/node22808/node36685/node36686/userobject1ai646490.html

"Even POB does not dance this version of Sylvia any more," that is what I read from some Chinese new paper.

Did I answer your question? I wish I knew more about their work since the NB of China has really done marvelous job to achieve artistic success.

[yudi]

The world famous ballet star Natalia Makarova and her husband traveled from London to Paris to watch the Swan Lake performed by the National Ballet of China at Théâtre du Châtelet in the evening of September 28, 2013.

In 2007 Natalia Makarova went to Beijing to stage her own version of Swan Lake for the NB of China. The young dancers in NB of China admire her and call her "Grandma Makarova". She is very happy to see that the NB of China has impressively danced her Swan Lake for last six years. When Makarova heard that one of her trained dancers, Qiming Wang, was injured and couldn't perform this time in Paris, she concerned about her and asked to meet her at once.

During the breaks and after the show Natalia Makarova praised highly the performance of NB of China, made commends on principles and corp dancers dancing. She also made some suggestions on stage lighting, costumes and etc. Makarova genially asked the young ballerina Cao Shuci when and whom she learned to dance Odette/Odile from, and coached her to express character and emotion through dancers' feet.

Natalia Makarova & Chinese dancers

at Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, France,

September 28 of 2013.

Odette/Odile - Cao Shuci,

Prince Siegfried - Ma Xiaodong.

Photographer: Liu Yang (摄影：刘阳)

Copyright: The National Ballet of China. 2013.

[ NOTE: This an abstract of the story published in Chinese on the blog page of the National Ballet of China. More pictures are posted on

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_473f97a00102es7y.html

I did the translation into English. Hope this helps.]

[Jayne]

Are there any reviews in the French press of these performances?

[yudi]

Are there any reviews in the French press of these performances?

Few days ago I asked the same question in a Chinese ballet forum. Someone, who can speak, read & write French, replied and gave some links:

We might have to wait for few days to find out how the French critics say about the performances of the NB of China. At this moment, there is an overview of ballet in Asia, a preview of the show, and some discussions in a French ballet forum.

L'Asie, nouvel eldorado de la danse by Le Figaro, Sept. 24, 2013.

Des cygnes en col Mao au théâtre du Châtelet on L'Express, Sept. 25, 2013.

Dansomanie Forum discussion on Chinese Ballet, from Sept. 24, 2013.

I read the French ballet forum using Google translation into English. The traffic of French ballet forum is not as high as here. But, there have been some discussions and reviews posted about the performance of NB of China. Some of the forum members made interviews with Feng Ying, the head of the NB of China, prima principles Zhang Jian and Qiming Wang, when the NB of China visited Paris last time in 2009. You may find links to the interviews listed in Dansomanie Forum discussion on Chinese Ballet.

[yudi]

The opening night performance of Red Detachment of Women
by the National Ballet of China,

Time: 8:00pm, October 1st, 2013
Casts:
Wu Qionghua: Zhang Jian
Hong Changquin: Zhou Zhaohui
Xiao Pang: Wang Hao
Commander: Li Jie
Nan Batian - Li Ke
Music is from recorded soundtrack.

---

Premiered in 1964, the ballet "The Red Detachment of Women" is a miracle in the history of the world ballet, a landmark of blending Western and Chinese culture, in which chinese character dance is integral to the classical ballet.

Same as the classical ballet Swan Lake performed by the NB of China, Red Detachment of Women was received by Paris audiences with full enthusiasm. At the end of the show, the curtain calls and applauses lasted for 20 minutes.






Photographer: Liu Yang (摄影：刘阳)
Copyright: The National Ballet of China. 2013.


The Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Festival Jonathan Mills, who is an old friend of the NB of China, said: "The NB of China has made big progress since we met two years ago, we can see that from your performances, dancers' attitude and mindset. The NB of China is a troupe with her own history. Different time should have different work, but it is also important to continue your tradition."

Jean-luc Choplin, the general manager of Théâtre du Châtelet, was very happy to see the packed house of audiences. One of his friends is a veteran frequent show-goer. He mentioned that "in 2009 I watched Red Detachment of Women at the Palais Garnier. I watched again tonight and you performed better. The whole troupe is in very good shape. Your dancing was passionate, energetic and expressive."

Marc Piton is the general coordinator of the 50 anniversary celebration for establishing diplomatic relations between France and China. He said:"Your performance was full of passion. The audiences were deeply impressed. Thank you very much, the NB of China."


[ NOTE: This an abstract of the story published in Chinese on the blog page of the National Ballet of China. More pictures are posted on
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_473f97a00102esa7.html
I did the translation into English. I hope the words and sentences from original English/French -> translated into Chinese -> my translating into English could make sense to you. ]

[yudi]

BTW, I think this ballet, Red Detachment of Women, deserves a spot in ballet history. Hundreds of millions of Chinese people for the first time in their life learned the word BALLET (芭蕾 in Chinese) and saw dancers wearing pointe shoes to dance from THIS ballet in 60s - 70s of last century.

[Jayne]

Are there any reviews in the French press of these performances?

Few days ago I asked the same question in a Chinese ballet forum. Someone, who can speak, read & write French, replied and gave some links:

We might have to wait for few days to find out how the French critics say about the performances of the NB of China. At this moment, there is an overview of ballet in Asia, a preview of the show, and some discussions in a French ballet forum.

L'Asie, nouvel eldorado de la danse by Le Figaro, Sept. 24, 2013.

Des cygnes en col Mao au théâtre du Châtelet on L'Express, Sept. 25, 2013.

Dansomanie Forum discussion on Chinese Ballet, from Sept. 24, 2013.

I read the French ballet forum using Google translation into English. The traffic of French ballet forum is not as high as here. But, there have been some discussions and reviews posted about the performance of NB of China. Some of the forum members made interviews with Feng Ying, the head of the NB of China, prima principles Zhang Jian and Qiming Wang, when the NB of China visited Paris last time in 2009. You may find links to the interviews listed in Dansomanie Forum discussion on Chinese Ballet.

Thank you, that was very interesting.

[yudi]

Last Tuesday a group of school kids visited Théâtre du Châtelet. They met and chat with some Chinese dancers.

I found a video ballet national de Chine on YouTube.

[yudi]

There is an article about the Chinese ballet The Red Detachment of Women on French Les Echos .

Fusil au poing, ballerines aux pieds

Par Marc-Antoine Hartemann | 01/10 | 13:00 | mis à jour à 16:51

[yudi]

A Story Behind the Event (in French) on Planet.fr

Rencontre avec la papesse du soft power chinois

Publié par Atlantico le Dimanche 29 Septembre 2013 à 09h44

http://www.planet.fr/revue-du-web-rencontre-avec-la-papesse-du-soft-power-chinois.464057.1912.html

[yudi]

Comment & Review by La Loge d'Aymeric:

Le Détachement féminin rouge

Théâtre du Châtelet

1^er octobre 2013

Ballet National de Chine

Zhang Jian, Zhou Zhaohui, Li Jie, Wang Qi, Wang Hao

http://lalogedaymeric.over-blog.com/le-d%C3%A9tachement-f%C3%A9minin-rouge

la Loge d'Aymeric seems to be a ballet goer and has written quite a few ballet reviews：

http://lalogedaymeric.over-blog.com/tag/Danse/

[cubanmiamiboy]

I think the times are very right for a ballet like "Red D..." I would say there could be a mix of nostalgia on the air for many watchers who might long for pre 1989 times, I also perceive a more benevolent approach to such times within society-(generally speaking, not only that of those countries affected by the changes). Also, it is interesting to note that, due to young age, many of the dancers dancing that ballet didn't get to know the world when it was "white and red". Even the China of the times when the work was produced is not the same as that of today.

[yudi]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/083075c2-2b48-11e3-a1b7-00144feab7de.html#ixzz2h0TRe6y1

Financial Times

October 2, 2013 5:05 pm

The Red Detachment of Women, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris – review

By Laura Cappelle

The National Ballet of China performs a Mao-era classic with a strongly feminist slant

Credited to three choreographers (Li Shengxiang, Jiang Zuhui and Wang Xixian), The Red Detachment is a Chinese cross between Spartacus and The Flames of Paris , complete with a replica of the latter’s “Ca ira” march. The choreography grows repetitive but relies on solid motifs and features accomplished corps scenes; the integration of Chinese dance and culture, including a cinematic score, is seamless. The storytelling is so earnest and naive, however, that it flirts dangerously with kitsch, and will leave many wondering what to make of its rose-tinted vision of revolution.