After its sensational performances at the Fourth Shanghai International Arts Festival, the Cape Town City Ballet from South Africa is bringing its dance show to Beijing on Friday.
The program at the Beizhan Theater will reflect the diverse nature of the company's repertoire and the flexibility of its dancers.
The highlight is Fire Bird choreographed by Christopher Kindo, one of the most promising young choreographers in South Africa.
Set to music by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), one of the greatest Russian composers whose works encompass styles as diverse as Romanticism, Neoclassicism and Serialism, Fire Bird, which was first staged by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russe in 1910 in Paris with choreography by Michael Fokine, is one of the landmarks of the early 20th century in both dance and music.
The story of Fire Bird draws upon two Russian fairy tales, Prince Ivan Tsarevich and The Bird of Light and the Grey Wolf, incorporating the story of the evil enchanter Kastchei, whose soul was contained in an egg.
Prince Ivan captures the fire bird, a creature of spectacular plumage and magical powers. She persuades him to release her by giving him one of her plumes, which he can use to call upon her if he finds himself in danger.
Later, Ivan meets and falls in love with the pretty Princess Tsarevna, but she is imprisoned by the monster Kastchei. The fire bird appears when summoned, and forces the monster to dance to exhaustion and death, thus enabling Ivan to find and smash the egg containing Kastchei's soul. Tsarevna finally gets free to marry Ivan.
It was perhaps the music, Stravinsky's first of the three great ballet scores commissioned by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes (the two others being The Rite of Spring in 1911 and Petrushka in 1913) that made the greatest initial impact in Paris at the work's premiere.
The colorful, sweeping orchestral suite Stravinsky developed from the ballet score has become one of the most popular works of 20th century composition -- an often performed showpiece immediately recognizable to both classical and popular audiences.
Over the years, the score has inspired many of the 20th century's greatest choreographers to stage their own versions of Fire Bird: George Balanchine for New York City Ballet in 1949, Serge Lifar for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1954, Maurice Bejart for the Ballet of the Twentieth Century in Brussels in 1964, John Cranko for the German Opera Ballet in Stuttgart in 1964, Glen Tetley for the Royal Danish Ballet in Copenhagen in 1981, and John Taras for the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1982.
However, as the original choreographer Fokine states presciently in his memoirs, "The longer a ballet exists in the repertoire the further it departs from its original version." And all the current versions differ in some way from the original.
The Cape Town City Ballet's production adds novelty to its version and is very different from all earlier versions, although Fokine's version is the one that the Kirov, Bolshoi, Boston Ballet and American Ballet Theater still perform today.
Christopher Kindo, representative of the new generation of South African dancers, who once learned jazz and modern dance, feels new inspiration from the African jungle and body movements and steps of contemporary dances.
In his version, you get no sense of Russia -- it is an abstract story taking place in the African jungle.
Also, Stravinsky's music has been rearranged to incorporate some electronic music and African drum beats, while the dancers will dance in colorful close-fitting costumes.
"South African dance is beginning to make a major impression on the world, and the country is reaping the benefits of local dancers," said Veronica Paeper, artistic director of the company.
"Like Christopher Kindo, many young dancers and choreographers get training and experience abroad and return to start new companies in the country and impart their skills and creativity to their compatriots, redefining contemporary dance in Africa, and attaining worldwide recognition."
Other pieces on the program include Les Nuits d'Ete (Summer Nights) by Jean Paul Comelin and a work commissioned by the organizers of the Shanghai Festival, Isicathulo, which is a Gumboot and Pantsula dance (traditional African urban dances) choreographed by Maxwell Xolani Rani.
French choreographer Jean Paul Comelin is another star in the company, set to the music of Berlioz, Comelin's enchanting Les Nuits d'Ete consists of five sections, each part inspired by a poem by Theophile Gautier.
The Cape Town City Ballet has a long and illustrious history, starting with the establishment of Dulcie Howes' UCT Ballet Company in 1934, consisting of students of the UCT Ballet School and professional dancers.
Later, the company merged with some other dance companies under the direction of the Performing Arts Council in South Africa, such as the 60-member CAPAB Ballet and finally became known as the Cape Town City Ballet in 1997.
(China Daily November 11, 2002)
