Ballet seedlings in impoverished countryside: the original intention is employment, and the dream is "to be the leading actor, to dance solo"
Ballet, an extremely elegant art. In many large cities, many middle- and high-income families are willing to invest a lot of money in reporting ballet training classes for their children. The purpose may be just to cultivate elegant temperament and make them more enjoyable.
Dance students who are practicing dance posture. Photo by Luo Yunfei
For children in poverty-stricken areas in Hainan, ballet is an existence that has only been seen and heard on TV, like a dream beyond the reach of the sky. Many people did not expect that ballet would become a reliable way for some of them to change their destiny.
Dancing seedlings from the countryside in the mountains
Two parallel lines began to intersect, due to the birth of a school. The Ballet Dance School affiliated to the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe was established in 2009. It is committed to training local ballet dancers and forming a ballet team belonging to Hainan. Since its inception, the school has set its sights on the children of poor families in Hainan, especially the children of Li and Miao.
Dance students who are practicing dance posture. Photo by Luo Yunfei
"They have obvious advantages in size, and many are born with the standard of "three longs and one small" for ballet dancers-long legs, long arms, long necks, and small heads." Liu Xing, the vice president of the school, introduced the admission team Various cities, counties, towns, and villages are looking for "good seedlings" one after another.
Groups of carefully selected children were selected into the first school in the history of Hainan to specialize in ballet art. "There are many of these children whose families are poor. The school gives them tuition exemption or a small tuition fee. Some students live in remote areas, parents do not have a phone, and the admission letter needs to be sent to several talents.
Students who are practicing dancing. Photo by Luo Yunfei
The reason why many people make choices is very realistic: school tuition is low, which can reduce the burden on the family, after graduation, they can stay in the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe, and employment is guaranteed.
Liu Xing, who has been engaged in dance teaching for 11 years, has been practicing dance since childhood and graduated from the Ballet Department of Beijing Dance Academy. She still remembers the shock and sadness when she first saw a freshman 11 years ago. "Unlike the beautiful children dressed in big cities, the children in front of them are all tanned, dressed casually, and have a kind of'grey face'." When she asked the children what ballet was, she got only a long silence .
Dance makes poor children more exciting
The Ballet Dance School affiliated to the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe is located in Lantian Road, Haikou City. The school is small. At the beginning of its establishment, there was only one rehearsal classroom, but it slowly expanded to seven.
In the old dance classrooms, teachers and students of all grades of the school are sweating in class. The atmosphere of the first grade soft homework was the most tense. A group of twelve-year-old girls practiced leg presses, splits, and lower backs. Some of them were so painful that they gritted their teeth, and some cried when they hurt.
Unlike many children who started learning dance when they were five or six years old, most of the freshmen in the ballet dance school affiliated to the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe are already twelve or thirteen years old. At this age, practicing soft skills requires more hard work than young students.
Hard soft homework. Photo by Luo Yunfei
11-year-old Zhao Xiaohui is practicing leg press with the help of teacher Wu Mingshan. Despite the pain, she still clenched the neckline of her dance clothes and insisted on completing the training.
"It's like a fire." After class, Zhao Xiaohui described the pain in his legs like this, "But if you are bitter, you must persist, like your sister!"
Eleven years ago, as the school’s first student, Zhao Xiaohui’s sister Zhao Xiaolei once had the same hardship in this classroom, but now, the Li girl is already an undergraduate freshman of Beijing Dance Academy and has become the eyes of her parents Her pride has also become a role model for her sister.
Male student practicing dancing. Photo by Luo Yunfei
The first grade of soft homework is a watershed for the pursuit of dance dreams. In order to exercise flexibility, children have to work hard to stretch their bodies and endure the pain of tearing their hearts. Some students who can’t stand the hardship leave the school before the end of the first semester. The remaining students, in order to have a beautiful posture, not only have to face the pain, but also repeat the boring training day after day. The scars on the body are commonplace, only torment and sweat can be exchanged for growth and transformation.
The back view of a small dance student. Photo by Luo Yunfei
"Pick your clothes when you feel bad when you practise. You pull the clothes out of the holes." "The body is blue and purple, and the toenails in pointe shoes have turned over and long, and turned over again." "Too sad to cry After crying, continue to practice." The trainees shared their experiences of practicing.
Students dance in pointe shoes. Photo by Luo Yunfei
Supporting the children is the dream of changing fate. "Many people around me stop studying after they graduated from junior high school and stepped into society." Chen Yuanmei from Daluo Village, Guangcun Town, Danzhou City, Hainan Province is the first graduate of the ballet dance school affiliated to the Hainan Song and Dance Troupe. Teaching at school. She said, "It's dance, let me know that life can have another look."
Chen Silan, the same-year-old teacher who stayed with Chen Yuanmei, said that dancing opened her eyes to a larger world, and allowed many young people from poverty to stop repeating the fate of their predecessors and have more wonderful possibilities.
Watering the flowers of dreams with diligence
Liu Xing told Xiaoxin that the ballet dance school affiliated to the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe recruited a maximum of 45 students each. There are currently 176 students in 6 grades, more than 50 full-time faculty members and more than 30 professional teachers. As a cooperative unit, Beijing Dance Academy sends senior teachers to the school for guidance throughout the year, and accepts students from the school to apply for examination or enter the school for further study.
The teacher is helping the students adjust the dance posture. Photo by Luo Yunfei
There are hardships, growth, setbacks, and sweetness in the study and life of the dance school. "Many children's toe shoes are worn out and they are reluctant to buy them. The teachers will help them to buy new shoes at their own expense." "In the old classroom, when the rain was leaking, the children would help to use the washbasin to get water. There is still a smile on his face." "The children will rebel, but when they are fined, they still don't forget to press their legs and practice basic skills. It's really arrogant!"
During the interview, the school's teachers shared the school's life with Xiaoxin. 18-year-old Wu Mingshan is the class teacher of the 2019 freshman class, responsible for students' homework, diet, daily life, and thought life. This young teacher is the first graduate of the ballet dance school affiliated to the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe. She often talks to her students about her dance practice experience. "Learning to dance is to learn how to be self-disciplined. I want the children to understand how the teacher persevered."
Students who are practicing dancing. Photo by Luo Yunfei
Over the past 11 years, a group of talented and diligent children have poured a lot of dream flowers with sweat, and the ballet dance school affiliated to the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Troupe has become a veritable "Hainan Ballet Cradle".
In 2018, the Hainan Provincial Youth Ballet was established, and all members came from the Ballet Dance School affiliated to the Hainan Song and Dance Troupe. The school and the Hainan Provincial Song and Dance Ensemble co-rehearsed the "Li Story", "Zhuang Dao Po" and "Dongpo Hainan" and other fine art works. All national competitions and awards such as literary and artistic performances received the highest honors.
The students dance gracefully. Photo by Luo Yunfei
Hundreds of graduates trained by the school also danced a wonderful life. Liu Xing introduced that the school cultivates basic performing dance talents for Hainan Provincial Academy of Arts and Arts, municipalities and counties, and major professional training institutions. Some students chose to continue their studies after graduation and were admitted to Beijing Dance Academy and other well-known national Art colleges have 100% student enrollment and employment rates. Their lives extend to a beautiful future.
Dreaming, persevering, giving, this is what the ballet church teaches children. Gao Dongjue, a teenager from a poor family in Sanya, always used the rest time to practice dancing. He said that the most moving thing was dancing on the stage to show his parents and talking about his dreams in the future. He said: "When starring, dancing alone." On every sweaty day, he saw his dreams shining.
Text: Huang Yi Picture: Luo Yunfei