Court dance and ballet

Talking about the ballet tradition and formation

French ballet translation, meaning: ① a stage dance form, that is, European classical dance, commonly known as ballet. This is based on folk dance throughout Europe, after centuries of continuous processing, enrichment, development and the formation of a strict norms and structural forms of traditional European dance art. 19th century, an important feature of the technology is that actresses have to wear special pointe shoes with the tip of the toes to dance, so some people call it pointe dance. ②Dance drama, initially refers to the European classical dance as the main means of expression, a combination of music, pantomime, stage art, literature in one, used to express a story or a plot of the theater art, called classical ballet (or classical dance drama), after the emergence of the twentieth century, modern dance combined with the classical dance techniques as the main means of expression to express the story or plot of the ballet called modern ballet. Gradually, the term ballet is also used to refer to a variety of other dances as the main means of expression of the dance theater works, although in the dance style, structural characteristics, methods of expression, etc. are different from the classical ballet or modern ballet. ③ in the modern choreography of dance works, there is no story content, there is no plot, the choreographer uses European classical dance or modern dance, or a combination of the two, used to express a certain mood, mood, or performance of the author of a musical work of understanding, etc., these are also known as ballet.

The word ballet, from the ancient Latin ballo. initially, the word only means dance, or public performance of dance, and does not have the meaning of the theater performance. Ballet as a stage art, bred in the Renaissance Italy grand feast entertainment activities, formed in the 17th century in the French court, this court ballet is in fact in a unified theme, with a loose structure of dance, singing, music, recitation and drama of the integrated performance, designed by professional dance teachers, the king and the nobility as the actors, the role of the female role is also played by the men, the performance venue in the center of the palace hall, the audience is around the palace, and the audience will be able to perform in the theater. In the center of the hall, the audience watched around the hall; the actors wore leather masks to mark the different roles, so it was also called the Ballet of Masks.

In 1661, Louis XIV ordered the establishment of the Royal Academy of Dance in Paris, and in the 1770s, ballet performances began to use the Bishop of Richelieu's court theater. Changes in performance venues and audience viewing angles led to changes in dance technique and aesthetics, with performers standing in increasingly outward-facing postures, thus formalizing the five basic positions of the foot, which became the basis for the development of ballet technique. Professional ballet performers came into being and gradually replaced the noble amateurs, professional female ballet performers also began to perform on stage, and the dance technique was able to develop more rapidly. The ballet performance gradually changed from a basically self-indulgent social activity to a theatrical performance art. The ballet of this period was subordinate to the opera, and the court composer J. B. Lully added ballet scenes to the opera, which was actually a series of dance performances, and the plot was irrelevant, which was then called singing ballet or ballet opera. This situation lasted until the middle of the 18th century, when the 18th-century ballet master J.G. Nowell was the most influential dance innovator in the history of ballet. In his Epistles on Dance and Drama, published in 1760, he first put forward the idea of a "ballet of plot", emphasizing that dance was not only a technique of form, but also a tool for dramatic expression and exchange of ideas. Norvell's theory promoted a wave of innovation in ballet, in which he and many other actors, choreographers and directors continued to work hard to reform the ballet in terms of content, subject matter, music, dance techniques, costumes, etc. These reforms made it possible for the ballet to be separated from the opera and to form an independent theater art.

In the history of the development of ballet, there are two main aesthetic points of view have been playing a role. One view is that ballet is "pure dance", and B. de Beaulieu, a 16th-century Italian dance teacher and choreographer of the Queen's Comedy Ballet, considered ballet to be "a combination of geometric patterns in which several people dance together". This view focused entirely on the formal beauty of the ballet, almost completely disregarding the content or plot of the ballet, often leading to the pure pursuit of skill and splendor, and before the middle of the 18th century, this view ruled the ballet creation. Another viewpoint emphasizes that ballet is a "dramatic dance", and Novell's theory of "plot ballet" represents this viewpoint in the most concentrated way. He believed that in a ballet work, the dance should express dramatic content, "the plot and dance design should be unified, there is a logical, understandable story as the central theme, and the plot has nothing to do with the solo dance and dance fragments have to be canceled", in the dance drama, "not only is the dance technique brilliant, but also through the dramatic performance, from the emotional aspect of the audience". The above two main points of view are still in effect, many choreographers are committed to creating dramatic or plot ballet, and some choreographers are keen on plotless ballet, focusing on the beauty of the form, the two types of works of the excellent repertoire are appreciated by the audience, and as a reserved repertoire is often staged. 20 centuries since the various literary and artistic trends on the ballet creation of the influence of the ballet is becoming more and more obvious, the emergence of a number of different styles of work.

The choreographer is the key figure in the creation of a ballet, as he or she conceives the structure of the choreography or dance based on a literary script (or a story, a poem, or a piece of music), which is then embodied by the actors. Choreographers and actors must master the ballet language (or ballet vocabulary) - ballet technical skills, as well as the use of ballet language to express a particular content or emotional ability, choreographers should be well aware of what they are long in the performance of what can not be expressed; and the actors should be well-trained to adapt to and creatively embodied choreographers of the idea, only with these basic conditions, ballet creation can be carried out and completed. Ballet structure form: solo, duo, trio, four, group dance, etc., choreographer using classical dance, character dance (staged folk dance and folk dance), modern dance, etc., according to the above forms can be compiled multi-act ballet (or not divided into scenes, such as "Swan Lake"), one-act ballet (such as the "nymphs"), ballet vignettes (such as the "death of the swan") and so on. Ballet of this structural form in the late 19th century to a high degree of standardization and program, so that the impact and limit the development of ballet. In the 20th century, the choreographer created a large number of ballet works, these norms and programs have been greatly broken, and new explorations and creations continue to appear.

Overview of the development of world ballet

Banquet ballet

Ballet appeared in Italy during the heyday of the Renaissance in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the artists tried hard to imitate the artistic style of ancient Greece. The earliest ballet performances took place at court banquets, with the Orpheus performed in a small Italian town in 1489 to celebrate the wedding of the Duke of Milan and Princess Idabel of Aragon in Spain. The form of the performance at that time was absolutely different from the ballet performances we see today, and each segment of its performance was roughly linked to the serving of food, such as the eating of wild boar after the beginning of the performance of the simulated hunt; the appearance of the gods of the sea and rivers began to eat fish. Then, many mythological figures come on stage to offer many dishes and fruits, and finally the guests all join in the lively and ecstatic performance. This is a kind of song, dance, recitation, theater performances combined performance form, can be said to be the prototype of ballet, later people called it "banquet ballet".

Court Ballet

With the intermarriage of the Italian nobility and the French court, Italian "ballet" performances were brought to France, and in 1581, on the occasion of the wedding celebration of Marguerite, the sister of Queen Henri III, the "Comedy Ballet of the Queen" was performed. The Queen's Comedy Ballet" was performed in 1581 at the wedding celebration of Marguerite, the sister of Queen Henry III. There was no stage and the audience was seated in a two-story gallery with three walls. The king and dignitaries sat on the altar platform and the performance took place on the floor of the hall. The choreographer, Beaujolais, was an Italian employed in France. The content showed how the siren Circe conquered Apollo, but had to submit to His Majesty the King of France. The performance was a mixture of theater, music, dance, recitation, and acrobatics. During the period of Louis XIV (1643-1715), the French ballet developed to its peak, Louis XIV himself loved dancing and was well trained. 15 years old, he took part in the performance of the court ballet "Cassandra", playing the god Apollo.

Plot ballet

European Enlightenment in the 18th century profoundly affected the development of French ballet. Its innovative ideas expressed in the opposition to the ballet as a pastime for the aristocrats as a decorative object, to make the ballet like the theater, the performance of real life, and advocate the ballet to have a social content and educational significance, which is the "plot ballet" produced by the background of the times. Norville represented the mainstream of European ballet innovation, which centrally embodied the democratic spirit of the Enlightenment, and he put forward his innovative ideas on ballet in his Epistles on Dance and Drama. The dance drama "Unprofitable Prudence" created by Jean Dobelwal, a student of Neuville's, is still being performed today and has become the reserved repertoire of major contemporary ballet companies.

Romantic ballet

Romantic ballet is the "golden age" of ballet development, which experienced a brilliant phase in terms of dance technique, choreography and performance form. Nymphs", "Giselle", "Esmeralda", "Pirates" and other dance drama, creating a number of ballet talents, such as Perrault, Bunonville, Tanioni, Elsler and so on. The characteristics of ballet in this period are summarized as follows:

1, changes in content and subject matter. Transcendental fairies, ghosts instead of myths and legends and ancient heroes in the story of the characters. Reflect a kind of dissatisfaction and disappointment with reality, a pursuit of transcendence of the earthly to another world of love, or death to get rid of the disappointment of reality, or an impractical pursuit instead of the desire for life. Representative works include The Nymphs (1832) and Giselle (1841). Giselle" brought together the French style and became the pinnacle of Romantic ballet, and since then there has been a gradual combination of Romanticism and realism.

2. There was a significant development in both dance technique and performance, with pointe technique emerging as an important factor in the means of expression of female dancers, and men's dance technique further improved.

3. In the form of performance, the lighting of gas lamps and the big curtain were adopted, and the ballet costumes and dancing shoes were reformed to produce a poetic and light style.

The golden age of Romantic ballet was extremely short-lived, from the 1830s to the 1840s, with stagnation and withering occurring in just over 10 years. From the second half of the 19th century, the center of European ballet gradually moved to Russia.

Russian Ballet

In the second half of the 19th century, European Romantic ballet declined, and the mission of reviving ballet historically fell on Russian shoulders. From the 1940s onward, foreign dancers frequently visited Russia. The performing and choreographing activities of the Tallioni father and daughter, Perrault, St. Leon and others, and especially the teaching activities of Bournonville's students Johnson (in St. Petersburg) and Blas (in Moscow), taught the Russian dance world the essence of the two major schools of dance, French and Italian, and gradually formed a new school of thought - the Russian school of dance. In the construction of the repertoire, Mattipa and Ivanov played a decisive role. Tchaikovsky, through Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, realized a revolution in dance music, making music the basis for shaping images and recounting events in dance dramas, which inspired and enriched the choreographer's idea of symphonization of dance. The second act of Swan Lake reached the peak of dance poetry and was regarded as an example of symphonic dance. Later on, Glazunov wrote Raimonda (1898) and The Four Seasons (1900), which embodied the tradition of Russian realism while inheriting the tradition of Romantic ballet.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian ballet had already dominated the world ballet scene, with its own reserved repertoire, performance style and teaching system, as well as a number of choreographers and performers. Since then, a group of young people in the Russian ballet world demanded innovation and explored new performance methods and development paths. Gorsky and Fokine were their leaders. Fokine's innovative ideas could not be realized in the Imperial Theatre, and his major works were rehearsed and staged abroad for the Jagiyev Ballet. Jagiyev organized Russian seasons for three consecutive years from 1909, and in 1913 established the Jagiyev Ballet Russes, a permanent troupe based in Monte Carlo, which toured Europe and the United States, making a huge impact and returning the classical repertoire preserved by Russia to its original form. The company toured Europe and America with great influence, sending the classical repertoire preserved by Russia back to Europe and contributing to the revival of European ballet. After the disbandment of the troupe, its members were dispersed in Europe and the United States, Lifar in France, Dvarova in the United Kingdom, Balanchine and Fokine in the United States, making an important contribution to the revival or creation of ballet in various countries.

Contemporary Ballet

Late in 1929, Lifar became the permanent choreographer and principal dancer of the Paris Opera Ballet, where he remained until his departure in 1958, actually carrying out a reform, such as abolishing the century-old right of patrons to go backstage and chat with the dancers before a ballet performance. There were also weekly opening ceremonies.In the 1932 revival of Giselle, Lifar played Albert, a man of great talent. Two of France's leading choreographers, Laurent Petit, choreographed Notre Dame de Paris to music by Jarre in 1965, with brilliant success. Maurice Béjart's 1970 choreography of The Firebird was a most chic production. The Paris Opera Ballet's repertoire also includes Giselle, Gabrielle, and Sylvia.

British ballet owes much to the life's work of three great women: Madame Adeline Genet, who for many years was principal female ballet dancer at the Theatre Royal; Madame Ninette de Valois, whose monumental work was the Royal Ballet; and Madame Marie Lambert, the founder of the ballet company which bears her name. There are also the Festival Ballet and the Scottish Ballet.

The United States did not have a national ballet; Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein were invited to host the American School of Dance at a meeting in 1933. transformed into the New York City Ballet in 1948, Balanchine was artistic director and principal choreographer, and the associate artistic adviser was Jerome Robbins. A typically American style of dance had developed. Another important ballet company was the American Ballet Theater, which became active in 1940. Successive choreographers have been Fokine, Massing, Anthony Tudor and others. There was also the Joffrey Ballet, Arthur Mitchell's Harlem Dance Theater, the first black classical ballet company.

The Royal Danish Ballet is a fine heir to the Danish national tradition, and Bournonville's choreography, created a hundred years ago, is still performed in Copenhagen in pure style. (Old French style, in fact.) A sense of tradition has always been strong in Danish ballet, and Harald Randall's appointment as ballet director of the Royal Theatre in 1932, which lasted until 1952, and his revivals of the Exercises for France and England, were a splendid exhibition of ballet technique.

Influential Russian choreographers of the early 20th century were Gorsky, Puni and Fokine. Anna Pavlova ideally embodied Fokine's conception, with "The Death of the Swan" in 1905.

In Russia, after the October Revolution, Gorsky's insistence on the expressive nature of the theater led its dancers to adopt Stanislavski's way of living in character, and the ballet that had originally arisen at the court did not perish. 1927 saw the performance of The Red Poppies in Moscow, Russia's first heroic, modern-themed choreography, which signaled the triumph of the classical school, pointing to the following of the The classical ballet gained a new reputation. Semyonova and Ulanova made their debut, and the newly created dances focused on dramatic structure and made greater use of folk dances to enrich the vocabulary of the choreography. Russian ballet began a renaissance.

From the French performance of the Queen's Comedy Ballet in 1581 to the present day for more than four hundred years, ballet has spread all over the world, recognized as an important part of the cultural heritage of mankind, and has become a worldwide art, with many countries in the five continents establishing their own professional ballet schools and ballet performance groups. In today's world, the art of ballet is flourishing, classical ballet and modern ballet, theater ballet and symphonic ballet and other different genres of competition, a large number of talents and repertoire, many countries have gradually formed their own style characteristics, in the artistic expression of the ballet continue to appear new exploration and creation.

How to appreciate ballet

There are two ways to appreciate ballet. One is traditional and the other is modern. Generally speaking, it is advocated that the method of appreciation should be unified with the object of appreciation: i.e., to use the meticulous traditional thinking to appreciate the three traditional periods of "early", "romantic" and "classical" ballets, musical ballets, ballets, and ballets with music. ballet, musical ballet and pure ballet.

Traditional appreciation requires the audience to arrive at the theater about half an hour in advance, so that they can leave all the trivialities and worries of daily life outside the door of the theater or in the checkroom in that earthly space, and then calm down and devote themselves to the theater as a very special aesthetic field that has nothing to do with the congestion of the road, the noise of the market, the disputes in the unit, or the trivialities in the family, and enter into the "Nymphs", "Nymphs", "Nymphs" and "Nymphs". Instead, we can enter an artificial fairyland such as The Nymphs, Giselle, and Gabrielle, and a dream world such as The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake, and escape from the hustle and bustle of the city and the pressure of the spirit for a few hours at a time. Next, we can study the program, read the synopsis, reviews, company history, choreographers and dancers, and other related materials, look for recognized ballet stars, imagine the intoxicating musical hits, and look forward to the lavish costumes and magnificent sets. ......

Modern Appreciation p>

Modern appreciation of the idea of the audience does not have any demanding requirements, but to provide them with the philosophy of casual, because the pace of modern life simply does not allow the audience, especially professional audience to arrive at the theater half an hour in advance, but in the process of appreciation to emphasize that the audience does not need to have any preconceived notions, but only with portable, different rational knowledge to understand, with life from the colorful sensory experience to participate in the can be. The audience only needs to understand with the rational knowledge they carry with them, and to participate with the perceptual experience from life, with all its colors.

This way of thinking about appreciation suggests that the program is simply a trap set by the choreographers or a panacea peddled to compensate for the incoherence of the choreographers or the ballet choreographers themselves, and that it can be watched but not seen, or even better, not seen! Plot in the end is how to "write" is insignificant, the success or otherwise can only look at his stage how to "dance". Ballet in the final analysis, or to dance as the main, to play as a supplement, otherwise, it will not be able to explain the ballet in the leading actors in the dance after the pas de deux, and even after jumping in which the variations, they will be to the audience frequently salute the phenomenon. If the play is more important than the dance, this kind of behavior is not out of the "play", and how can Western audiences and critics tolerate it for a whole century?

This appreciation of the idea that the stars can be appreciated, but do not have to worship to the ground, the trend of star worship really seems too classical! Instead of following the opinions of critics, we should follow our own aesthetic standards, and look for the stars in our own eyes and hearts, instead of following the crowd.

The course of Chinese ballet

Haha

If the staging of the French "Queen's Comedy Ballet" in 1581 has been regarded as the beginning of the ballet - the prototype, the spread and development of ballet in China is almost more than three centuries late. However, although the start is late, it is a leap forward.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there were foreign ballet troupes performing in China, but on a limited scale. Since then, one after another, the Russians came to China to open amateur private ballet schools, Shanghai, Tianjin, Harbin and other places more influential - the Chinese ballet enlightenment education has a positive effect. Undoubtedly, the real rise and development of ballet in China, but also after the establishment of the People's Republic of China **** and the country, which has a close relationship with the Chinese government of all the world significance of excellent culture and art have taken the basic policy of actively absorbing, support.

Initially, it was the Russian school that had an influence on Chinese ballet. From February 54, the first Soviet expert O-A-YEALINA (O-A-YEALINA) was invited to Beijing to open the first "teacher training class", to 58 years China staged the first classic ballet "Swan Lake", China's ballet has realized the initial period of the speed of the "3 jumps During this period, the Chinese ballet realized a rapid "3-level jump" in its infancy. During this period, Dai Ailian, who is familiar with the art of ballet, also played an important role.

The first phase of the "teacher training class" students (most of whom had received some ballet training), in half a year's time, miraculously completed the Soviet Union Dance School 1 - 6 grade syllabus, through a rigorous examination of all qualified. They became the teaching backbone of the Beijing Dance School, which was founded in the same year and specialized in ballet. Since then, they have continued to improve in practice, and have grown into real ballet educators - training one batch of outstanding talents after another. The important step to realize the "3-level jump" is to train and practice performance. During this period, famous Soviet ballet artists often came to China to perform, and the superb performances attracted a large number of audiences, and the Chinese people gradually became familiar with and loved this art.

In 1957, under the guidance of Chaplin, China staged a ballet for the first time in its entirety--"Unprofitable Prudence" (LA FILLE MAL GARDEE), which was a work of Jean Dobelwal at the end of the 18th century, with a realistic style suitable for the actual level of the Chinese ballerinas at that time. The actual level of Chinese ballet dancers at that time, and the team was improved through the performance.

In October 1958, under the guidance of Gusev, the Beijing Dance School concentrated all its efforts and successfully staged the world-famous classic ballet "Swan Lake" (Ojeda played by Pak Shuk-sheung) (SWAN LAKE), which aroused a strong reaction at home and abroad. Through strict rehearsals, a ballet team with multi-faceted talents has been created at a high speed. Today, "Swan Lake" has "settled" in China - becoming the most appealing ballet repertoire to the audience. 59 the end of the year, the Beijing Dance School Experimental Ballet Troupe was established, which was the first professional ballet troupe ever in China. The following year, Shanghai set up a dance school with the same establishment as Beijing, and also assumed the task of training professional ballet talents. From then on, the north and the south echoed each other in their efforts to open up new horizons in the ballet business. Following the "Swan Lake", 59, 60 years, under the guidance of Gusev, and successfully staged one after another, "Man of the Sea" (LECORSAIRE), "Giselle" (GISELLE) young Chinese ballet team to undertake the two different styles of the famous ballet has appeared to be more comfortable.

This period China sent Jiang Zuhui (1934 -), Wang Xixian (1933 -) and other successive to the Moscow State Theatre Institute choreography department for further study, the results are excellent. After returning to China, Jiang Zuhui presented her graduation work, The Daughter of Spain (based on the famous Renaissance poetic drama The Village of Sheep Springs by the famous European writer Lope de Vega, premiered at the Tianjin Song and Dance Theatre in 1961); and Wang Xixian directed and staged his graduation work, The Fountain of Tears in Beijing (BAKHCH I SARAY). BAKHCH I SARAY (based on the famous poem by the Russian poet Pushkin, premiered by the Experimental Ballet Theater of the Beijing Dance School.

In 1963, when the Central Opera and Dance Theater was founded, the ballet troupe attached to the school ended its experimental phase and was returned to the national theater. Soon after, Jiang Zuhui directed another famous ballet, NORTRE-DAME DERARIS (based on the novel of the same name by the famous French writer Victor Hugo, premiered by the Central Opera and Dance Theater. ...... In just 10 years, Chinese choreographers, directors and performers have basically been able to independently manage the creation, rehearsal and stage performance of classic ballets.

Since '64, the practice of creating Chinese ballets has begun. In fact, the first generation of ballet choreographers and directors, mostly from the study of folk dance to ballet professional, his (her) national cultural background, no doubt help the exploration of ballet nationalization. Large-scale Chinese ballet "Red Detachment of Women" (THE RED DEPACHMENT OF WOMEN) staged, although not strictly speaking, "the first record", (before this, there have been different types, different scales, different results of ballet nationalization of the exploration), but can be said to be the first and most successful large-scale Chinese ballet - from the content to the form has a distinctive Chinese style, Chinese style.

The Red Detachment of Women premiered in 1964, choreographed and directed by Li Chengxiang, Wang Xixian and Jiang Zuhui; composed by Wu Zuqiang and Du Mingxin; premiered by the Central Opera and Dance Theatre; heroine: Bai Shuxiang as Qionghua; Wu Jingzhu as Company Commander; hero: Liu Qingtang as Hong Changqing; Li Chengxiang as Nanbatian; main supporting actresses: Zhao Ruhang as Qionghua's comrade-in-arms; and Wan Qimu as Lao Si. It is based on the movie of the same name. It tells the story of China's second revolution: the tortured Qiong Hua, unable to endure the oppression of the landlord Nan Batian, escapes from the tiger's mouth, and coincidentally encounters the Red Army's party representative, Hong Changqing, who guides her to join the Maiden Scouts, where she grows up to become an outstanding revolutionary warrior through trials and tribulations. After Hong Changqing's death, she takes over the red flag and goes forward bravely. This dance drama with shocking tragic plot, magnificent and gorgeous scenes, distinctive characters and the regional flavor of Hainan Island, from its birth, it has won a lot of praise. It is unprecedented in the ballet stage portrayed a valiant "wearing pointe shoes" image of the Chinese Women's Soldiers, the essence of the ballet and the Chinese style into one, for the world ballet world has added a strange flower.

The "White Hair" by Hu Rongrong (1929--), Fu Aidi (1936--), Cheng Daohui (1932--), Lin Yangyang (1939--), was a great success.

The White Haired Girl (THE WHITE HAIR GIRL) premiered in 1965, composed by Yan Jinxuan; premiered by Shanghai Ballet; female lead: Cai Guoying (A), Mao Huifang (B) as Xier; Gu Xiaomei (A), Shi Zhongqin (B) as the White Haired Girl; male lead: Ling Guiming as Dachun; the main supporting male role: Dong Xilin as Yang Bailao. Based on the opera of the same name, it tells the story of Xi'er, the daughter of a poor farmer, who is forced to sell her to the evil landlord Huang Shiren to pay off a debt and, unable to cope with the abuse, flees into the mountains. After years of exposure, her hair turns white, and the uninformed call her a "white-haired fairy goddess" (a ghost). In the end, she was rescued by the Eighth Route Army and reunited with her young lover, Dachun, who was already a soldier in the Eighth Route Army. The opera "White-haired Girl" has touched millions of Chinese people with the true story of "the old society forces people to become ghosts, and the new society turns ghosts into people".

The ballet did not follow the original work - take shortcuts, but according to the characteristics of ballet art, re-creation. It cleverly uses the material of Chinese classical and folk dances, and combines realism and romance to present the drama in a balletic way. The main characters of the play, such as: Xier's innocence, sweetness and tenacity after becoming "White-haired Girl"; Dachun's simplicity, generosity and bravery after joining the army, as well as Huang Shiren's insidiousness and venomousness,......, etc., are all sharply and vividly portrayed.

The Red Detachment of Women and The White-haired Girl are milestones in the development of Chinese ballet. They are the deeper practice of "foreign for Chinese", standing on its own in the world of ballet art with its unique Chinese characteristics. Collective wisdom to make up for the lack of experience, so that the exploration of the Chinese ballet, a higher starting point, started very quickly. Unlike the fate of other dance and dance drama works, these two works were designated as "model plays" during the Cultural Revolution - two of the few dance dramas allowed to be staged at that time. Having stood the test of time and society, The Red Detachment of Women and The White-haired Girl still retain their artistic vitality. Both works have been recognized as "classics of the 20th century". Literary recovery in the field of ballet performance, first of all, the resumption of the classic Western ballet repertoire, so that the long only see 1 "red" 1 "white" of the audience, after a long absence of colorful ballet art, set off a "Swan Lake" fanaticism.

The Chinese ballet in the new period has shown a vigorous development:

First of all, it is more open to the world, widely absorbing and learning from the world, and not only confined to the influence of a single Russian school of thought. From the beginning of the 80s, there have been famous ballet artists from Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Canada and other countries in the form of friendly exchanges to teach skills. There were ballet veteran Anton Dowling, famous ballet choreographer Ben Stevenson (B-STEVENSON), etc. in the Central Ballet guided the rehearsal of their own works: purely classical style of male and female "Four Dancers" (TE-PASDE QUIXOTE), the "Prelude", and the famous ballet master BALANCHINE's "Dance of Four Dancers". BALANCHINE's SERENDE ...... etc., most of which have become a regular part of the Company's repertoire.

In addition, over the past decade, China has staged a number of different styles of Western classic repertoire, such as: in 1980, by the Paris Opera ballet master Lisette Sanvall personally guided, the Central Ballet performed the famous French Romantic ballet "Sylvia" (SYLVIA); in 1984, by the renowned British ballet artists Belinda Wright and Yulissa Tjelkau couple re-rehearsal performance. In 1984, by the famous British ballet artists Belinda Wright and Yurisha Jelkow couple re-rehearsed the performance of Anton Dowling version of the "Giselle"; in 1985, in the world-class ballet artist Rudolf Nureyev (R-NUREYEV) and ballet master Eugene Poliakov personally guided the performance of the "Don Gioconda" (Don Quixote); and the "Zoumio and Juliet" (Romeo and Julliet) (). 1989, directed by Roman Walker) and SLEEPING BEAUTY (1994, Macmillan MAC MILLAN version, directed by Morrico Parker) ...... were both successful. In particular, Nureyev, with his unrivaled virtuosity and deep understanding of the dramatic characters, combined with the reality of the Central Ballet, conducted rigorous training, which greatly contributed to the improvement of the level of the actors - leaving a precious page in the history of Chinese ballet. In the many international exchange activities mentioned above, Dai Ailian played a good role as a bridge. At the same time, the Beijing Dance Academy adhered to the tradition of combining study and practice, staging Gebelia (1979) and Dancing Girl (1981); the Shanghai Ballet staged Napoli (also known as The Fisherman and the Bride), Act 3; the Tianjin Opera and Dance Theater revived Daughter of Spain (1982); and the Liaoning Ballet, which was formed in 1981, presented The Sea Man (1983). Sea Man" (1983) ...... This not only enriches the cultural life of the masses, but also through the world ballet authority to guide the performance of pure classical ballet masterpieces, so that a new generation of ballet talent grows rapidly.

In May 1980, Wang Qifeng (female, Shanghai) took part in the Third World Ballet Competition held in Osaka, Japan, and won 14th place, winning the first ballet medal for China.

In June 1982, Wang Qifeng (female, Shanghai) and Zhang Weiqiang (Beijing) won the third prize for performance in the Jackson International Ballet Competition.

In November 1984 the first Paris International Ballet Dance Competition, Wang Qifeng (Shanghai) and Wang Caijun (Beijing) were awarded the Prize of the Association for the Development of the Paris Opera.

Since then, Chinese contestants have frequently participated in various international ballet competitions, showing strong strength. The more prominent ones are:

1985 - 13th Lausanne International Ballet Dance Competition, Li Ying (female, Beijing) won the first place and Xu Gang (Beijing) won the second place;

1985 - 5th Moscow International Ballet Dance Competition, Tang Min (female) won the Best Performance Technique Award, Zhang Weiqiang and Zhao Minhua won the third place in Male Pair Dance and and Single Dance respectively (both from Beijing).

1992 - The 5th Paris International Ballet Competition Tan Yuanyuan (Shanghai) won the first prize; in the same year, Tan Yuanyuan won the gold medal in the women's juvenile category of the 1st Japan Ballet International Competition in one fell swoop (China's Liaoning's female competitor Yu Xiaonan won the silver medal in the juvenile category of the same competition); Poland's Nijin

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Court Dance

courtdance

Anciently, court dances were performed in the imperial court for entertainment. Most of them come from the folk, but there are also court professional artists processed and created. The content is mostly for the emperor to sing praises or song and dance, the form is more neat and magnificent, the structure is also more rigorous, generally belong to the time of the arts