The Shanghai Ballet will perform at Shanghai Grand Theatre La
Sylphide and George Balanchine's Serenade on 27th,
28th March; Coppelia on 22nd& 23rd April. Following
the welcomed performance of Swan Lake in this Spring Festival,
the Shanghai Ballet will present under the theme of ROMANCE romantic
ballets La Sylphide, Coppelia, and neo-classical
ballet George Balanchine's Serenade. For the first time,
the Shanghai Ballet’s five international award-winning dancers
will jointly be present in the performances. It is a rare good chance
for ballet lovers to enjoy these wonderful romantic classics in
spring 2006.
La Sylphide, Coppelia, and George Balanchine's
Serenade are three important works in the ballet history,
and also belong to the Shanghai Ballet's repertoire. SHB introduced
La Sylphide in 2002 and Serenade in 2005. Under
the theme of Romance, the three ballets will be recombined and performed
with favorable ticket prices to attract a wider audience to ‘see’
ballet and more friends to know ballet and love ballet.
La Sylphide has started the Romantic Period in ballet in
19th Century, and caused a revolution in the ballet world. The white
tutu that the ballerinas wear also took the led in the European
fashion at that time. The two-act La Sylphide that Shanghai
Ballet introduced in 2002 has a combination of Danish school and
French style, requires good technique on feet and is especially
demanding for ballerinas' skills and energies. Coppelia
is one of the works in the late Romantic Period, and a light humorous
comic ballet. Pierre Lacotte's version has perfect stage production
and luxurious dance scenes, showing the French school's elegance,
rigor and stretchiness. The great neo-classical ballet choreographer
George Balanchine's representative works Serenade is a
milestone in the dance history and was introduced in 2005 by the
Shanghai Ballet. It absorbs modern elements into classical ballet,
telling love and sadness in the blue backgrounds with light steps.
These three works manifest three different styles. Such highly intensive
and difficult works require and also test the dancers’ sound
skills and performing technique. All the dancers and staff are trying
their best. Dancers work longer till 5 o'clock in the afternoon.
Hard work is quite consuming for dancer's energy but also stirs
their improvement. The Artistic Director Xin Lili says "There
will be no quality improvement without works done in quantities.
We put La Sylphide and George Balanchine's Serenade
together for one performance to show our dancers' skills and technique.
We believe our audience will spend an unforgettable night with us."
At present, the Shanghai Ballet dancers are rehearsing La Sylphide
and Serenade. On 25th March, Friends of the Shanghai Ballet
will be invited to watch part of the La Sylphide's rehearsal
in the studio. Coppelia has also started rehearsing this
week.
These performances will present all the best dancers of the Shanghai Ballet, including Fan Xiaofeng and Sun Shenyi who won the Gold Medal in the Verna International Ballet Competition which is also regarded as the Ballet Olympics; Ji Pingping who won the Gold Medal in the Paris Ballet Competition and Yu Xiaowei who won the Gold Medal in the 3rd Shanghai International Competition, and the veteran dancer Chen Zhenrong and arising stars Chen Yan and Wu Husheng. Starring dancers performing in classic ballets will give you a real treat for eyes.
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