The Red Detachment of Women, The White-haired Girl, Butterfly Lovers and Raise the Red Lantern Chinese ballet has been on the road for about 50 years, a time that began with the founding of the Beijing Dance Academy in 1954 and the Central Ballet Troupe of China in 1959.
During this half-century exploration of grace, Chinese people have come to a great understanding of what was previously an exclusively Western art form. Presently, a great number of ballet dancers and choreographers are trying to bring the world an understanding of Chinese ballet, and to use this western art to tell Chinese stories.
The Red Detachment of Women and The White-haired Girl, although written and performed at a time when revolution was the prevailing and somewhat distorting theme of Chinese art, these two works are still regarded as classics of Chinese Ballet, and remain part of the standard repertoire for practitioners of Chinese ballet.
These classics are now used as a foundation for Chinese ballet dancers and directors, who are attempting to combine this Western dance style with Chinese cultural elements, and finally create "Chinese ballet". The results can be found in the likes of Raise the Red Lantern, which was produced by the Central Ballet Troupe, and marked a new step forward for Chinese ballet in 2001.
Huang Minxuan, the Vice President of the China Central Ballet Troupe, gives his definition of Chinese ballet.
"Chinese ballet' means that we should use the performing style of this western art form to express the emotions of Chinese culture, and the feelings of Chinese people."
For 50 years, Chinese ballet artists have been dedicating themselves to the development of Chinese ballet, and they finally have something to show for their efforts. Young ballet dancers have won gold medals at every major world ballet Competition, including Moscow, Verna, and Helsinki.
Li Chunhua is the Dean of the Ballet Department at Beijing Dance Academy, the largest professional dance educational institute in China. She gives her opinion as to the balance of western assimilation and Chinese originality in current ballet.
"Ballet is a foreign art. As ballet educators, we have so far persisted in learning from the West. We invite foreign experts to teach the students, and send our ballet teachers to study abroad where they can pick up more advanced education principles and methods."
Learning from the West is the first step; the next step should be to produce Chinese works which can honestly be judged as classics. But the nagging doubt remains as to whether western art can really be used to effectively express Chinese culture. Huang Minxuan actually sees this problem as an opportunity for Chinese ballet performers and directors.
"Ballet is distant from Chinese culture, so it is difficult to use it in a Chinese context. But on the other hand, because of this distance, it offers the opportunity to do something truly innovative. This is why The Red Detachment of Women and Raise the Red Lantern are so popular with western audiences."
As an experienced professor of ballet, Li Chunhua also appreciates the ongoing experimentation of Chinese choreographers, but she feels that there is still a gap between China and the West in this area.
"The Chinese directors of choreography are working very hard to produce works of Chinese ballet. However, compared with western countries, the ideals and methods of Chinese choreography still have a long way to go. Nowadays, young choreographers need greater time to mature and to discover a way to make Chinese choreographers world class."
(CRI.com January 18, 2005)
