Ballet superstar Oshipova: "Gisele is me, I was born this way"

Natalia Oshipova, the Royal Ballet's principal dancer, wrapped up her solo performance at the Shanghai Grand Theatre last night. The dancer, hailed as "the face of 21st century ballet", made her debut in Shanghai from July 11 to 14, bringing the Chinese mainland premiere of two sets of ballet essences, "Born Crazy" and "Toes".

Blending the tragic story of 1930s ballerina Olga Spassvecheva with the choreographer Meryl Tankard's own experience in a double narrative thread, "Toes" presents comic elements and tragic themes in a symmetrical form. It is an ode to the tortured ballet dancer. Olga, the dancer who set the near-perfect standard for all "Giselle" in the future, went to a mental hospital to observe patients, and she began to suffer from a mental breakdown during her Australian tour in 1934, and spent 23 years in the mental hospital. "The more I got to know the story of Oshibova, the more I became obsessed with her," Meryl said. "The dancers I worked with in the ballet company were also crazy about being thin, controlling their diet, overmoving their legs, and I'm going to tell the story of ballet dancers." From the 1988 World's Fair to its remake in 2019, the baton of "Toes" passed from Meryl to Oshibova. Meryl said, "The new version includes images of Oshibova as a child, and life details like tying her legs to the bedpost while sleeping. She has an incredible vulnerable side on stage, but also amazing strength and strength. You know, the most honest thing that flows from the heart."

Previously, the pianist Wang Yujia mentioned in an interview that "if you think about it carefully, the classics are actually not far from the contemporary era," and that is the case with "Toes" - the interpretation and transmission of multiple female dancers, the continuous superposition of "autobiography", the integrity of ballet art and the rich individuality of dancers coexist.

Previously, the first performance of "Born to Be Crazy" opened with a duet clip from the second act of "Giselle". Meryl believes that the second act fuses elements of technique, narrative and other elements, and the girl ghost who dies of hatred in the first act becomes more vivid and complex. Giselle, one of Oshipova's most popular classical ballet characters, has been "dancing the play in an unconventional way since her debut at the Bolshoi Theater at the age of 21. I think my teacher will scold me badly, but I have an inner confidence that comes from the deep feelings I have with the character, and my calm and firm conviction that she should be." "The second act of'Giselle 'was so close to me, as if it was part of me, Giselle was me, I was born that way," Ms. Oshipova said.

In addition, "Born to Be Crazy" also presents a series of wonderful modern dance works. The modern dance work "Ashes" co-edited by Oshipova and her boyfriend Jason Kittelberg was performed for the first time in the Chinese mainland. Inspired by the painting "Ashes" by the expressionist painter Edvard Munch, it tells the loss of what was once cherished. In addition, "Legacy" "Back to Bach" "Joan of Arc" "Five Brahms Waltz - Duncan Style" "Passing By" and other works are also performed by Oshipova together with Jason Kittelberg, the principal dancer of the Dutch National Ballet, George Potskishvili, and the dancer Joseph Kudra. Anna, the dancer, believes that "we have all been released on the stage in Shanghai."

Zhang Xiaoding, general manager of the Shanghai Grand Theater, said in an interview with the media recently that for the performance market in Shanghai and many audiences, "ballet" is the buzzword for the first half of 2024. "Oshipova and the dancers specially customized the dance code for Shanghai performances, especially for local dance fans who know the scriptures to taste richer dance charm."