Nearly half of the ballet stars in this GALA "took off" from Shanghai, and they bloomed "Chinese light" on overseas stages

Wed Jul 24 10:09:57 CST 2024

"Chinese Light · Ballet Star GALA" will make an appearance at the Grand Theater of Shanghai International Dance Center. For the first time, 11 young Chinese dancers from 8 overseas international ballet troupes will come together to show the Shanghai audience the charm of Chinese ballet stars active on the world stage with a classical and modern ballet GALA. This ballet GALA performance is only one stop in Shanghai in the country.

The performance invited 11 young dancers, including Yu Hang, Wang Mingxuan, Shi Yue, Bai Dingkai, Liu Sirui, Liu Chenxin, Sun Jiayong, Chen Zhiyao, Xia Jun, Liang Zecheng and Peng Huiwen, from eight of the world's top dance companies in the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Finland. Producer Ao Dingwen said: "This performance is to hope that the world can see the future power of Chinese ballet and show the unique charm and profound heritage of Chinese ballet."

They have all won gold and silver in major ballet competitions at home and abroad, stood out, and then went overseas to study and grow up. At a young age, they have played important roles in their respective dance companies, such as chief and lead soloists, showing the world the unique charm of Chinese ballet dancers. Young ballet stars have emerged frequently, which has also refreshed people's impression of Chinese ballet.

                                                                             

This performance has a variety of styles, including classic duet clips from classical repertoires such as "Pirates", "Don Quixote", "Gisele" and "Swan Lake", as well as highly creative and contemplative modern ballet works. In the intersection of classical and modern, ballet art showcases the dual charm of technology and aesthetics, and jointly interprets a star-studded tiptoe art feast.

It is worth mentioning that nearly half of the 11 Chinese ballet stars who came to Shanghai to perform this time grew up in Shanghai. Their overseas success has continued the glory of Shanghai dancers on the world ballet stage, not only highlighting the achievements of Shanghai ballet talent training, but also showing the world Shanghai's urban artistic character.

Yu Hang, who is currently the lead dancer of the Royal Ballet, graduated from the Shanghai Dance School in 2016 and was the only gold medal winner in China in the nearly 30 years of participating in the "Lausanne International Ballet Competition". Her classmate and partner at the dance school, Bai Dingkai, is currently the lead dancer of the Dutch National Ballet and a rising ballet star. The two friends have collaborated again after many years to perform a segment of the dance drama "Pirates".

Also graduating from the Shanghai Dance School are Xia Jun, the principal dancer of the Finnish National Ballet, and Wang Mingxuan, an American dancer with the San Francisco Ballet. Xia Jun will perform the "Swan Lake" segment and the modern ballet "You Before Me" with Chen Zhiyao, the first soloist of the Finnish National Ballet. Wang Mingxuan will partner with Peng Huiwen of the San Francisco Ballet to perform the "Giselle" segment and the modern ballet "Boundary".

                                                                             

Liu Sirui, the principal performer of the Cincinnati Ballet in the United States, graduated from the Dance Academy of the Shanghai Theater Academy and was named by the American Dance Magazine as one of the 25 most worthy dancers in the United States with the most star potential. In this performance, she cooperated with Liang Zecheng, the principal performer of the Philadelphia Ballet in the United States, and Sun Jiayong, the main performer of the Lausanne Bega Ballet in Switzerland, and dedicated the wonderful performances of "Don Quixote" and the modern ballet duet "Memories".

Ao Dingwen, the producer of the ballet GALA, and Shi Yue, the lead performer of the Boston Ballet in the United States, also have a lot of ties to Shanghai. The two won gold medals in the adult and male categories at the 6th Shanghai International Ballet Competition. This time, Shi Yue will join hands with his wife, Liu Chenxin, a soloist of the Boston Ballet in the United States, to perform a classic clip of the dance drama "Diana and Acton".

Before and after the performance of Ballet GALA, the National Dance Theater also organizes a series of artistic public welfare activities. On July 17, about 200 ballet enthusiasts walked into the Shanghai International Dance Center to visit the class and observe the ballet master class brought by Xin Lili, the artistic director of the Shanghai Ballet Company, for young dancers. The artistic sparks created by the meeting of two generations of ballet stars made the dance lovers on the scene shout wonderful. After the premiere on the 19th, the ballet dancers signed and interacted with the audience.