Why has dance drama developed so much in recent years? What do good works have in common?

Various types, frequent explosions, rapid development

The creative code of dance drama "out of the circle" (promoting cultural self-confidence and self-improvement)

Our reporters: Cao Xuemeng, Wang Yunna, Jiang Xiaodan, Chang Biluo

Not long ago, the results of the 4th Chinese Dance "Lotus Award" dance drama award were announced, and 2022 works "Blood as Song", "Flag", "Absolute Test" and "Dream of Red Mansions" won awards. According to the annual report of the 5 China Performance Market released by the China Performance Industry Association, the box office revenue of national dance performances is 31 million yuan, and the number of dance drama projects in Chinese dance and ethnic dance genres accounts for 56%, becoming the most popular dance genre in the performance market. Why has dance drama developed so much in recent years? What do good works have in common? Let's get closer to the main creators and experts and scholars of the winning works of this year's "Lotus Award" Dance Drama Award, and analyze the creation code of dance drama "out of the circle".

—Editor

Dig deep into the subject matter

Red stories and excellent traditional culture have become creative bonanzas

The lights under the veil illuminate the path of faith, the Sichuan opera percussion drums are dotted, and the heroic smile before righteousness... At the performance site of the dance drama "Absolute Test", the delicate emotional output and dance presentation of the protagonist "Ping" made many audiences red-eyed.

The dance drama "Absolute Test" produced and performed by the Chongqing Song and Dance Troupe is based on the heroic Zhang Luping of Hongyan, creating a stage art image that shines with the brilliance of human nature and the power of faith in a desperate situation.

In addition to "Absolute Test", among the winning works of the 13th "Lotus Award" Dance Drama Award, the national dance drama "Blood as Song" created by Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theater and the original ballet "Banner" of Guangzhou Ballet Theater are both red theme works.

How to tell a good red story in dance language? How can red-themed works attract more young people's attention?

"In the face of many tests, what is supporting Zhang Luping? By answering this question, we can find out how young people overcome challenges when facing difficulties, which can resonate with more people. Gou Xiaoyan, secretary of the general party branch and general manager of the Chongqing Song and Dance Troupe, said.

At the beginning of the rehearsal, the leading actors went to the Zhazi Cave to feel the living environment of the heroic martyrs of Hongyan. "The real experience allowed us to break through the imagination of the characters and integrate ourselves into the emotions of the characters." Zhang Yin, the actor of "Ping" in "Absolute Test", said.

In the view of Yang Xia, artistic director of "Blood as Song" and chairman of Hunan Provincial Song and Dance Theater Co., Ltd., the innovative expression of revolutionary historical themes should grasp the characteristics of characters and the main events of the times, and present them with modern and contemporary dance vocabulary and narrative structure that conform to the aesthetics of contemporary people.

"Blood as a Song" tells the story of hot-blooded young people Tian Han and Nie Er who resolutely joined the Communist Party of China and used literary and artistic works to awaken the people to unite and rise up and embark on the road of salvation. Chief director Ma Bo said that the play mostly uses life-oriented scenes, allowing the audience to see how Tian Han and Nie Er integrated their personal destinies into the rolling revolutionary wave, and finally created "March of the Volunteers".

The curtain opened, and a gray-haired old man walked to the front of the stage. As soon as I turned around, I returned to the scene of the Guangzhou Uprising in 1927, when the old man was still a little girl... Based on the 1927 Guangzhou Uprising, the ballet "Banner" uses ballet dance vocabulary to express the hot revolutionary feelings, and uses the narrative techniques interspersed with time and space to reproduce the lofty ideals and feelings of the revolutionary martyrs.

""Flag" tells the story of a group of young people, and in character shaping, we pay more attention to the emotional performance of ordinary people, and use spatial narrative performance techniques to make the characters more thoughtful, convincing and infectious, so as to move the audience." Zou Gang, director of the Guangzhou Ballet, said.

In addition to the red theme, another award-winning work of this year's "Lotus Award" dance drama award, Jiangsu Grand Theatre's original national dance drama "Dream of Red Mansions", is one of the representatives of excellent traditional Chinese cultural dance dramas in recent years.

The national dance drama "Dream of Red Mansions" is based on the original work, and on this basis, it is refined and adapted, taking the fate of Jinling Twelve Dynasties as the main content, adopting the characteristics of traditional chapter hui novels in narrative, and using 12 chapters that are independent and can be connected into a series to structure the whole drama, and conduct in-depth exploration and contemporary interpretation of the core of China's excellent traditional culture.

Director Li Xing believes that the excellent traditional Chinese culture, including "Dream of Red Mansions", is a rich mine of creation, "Classics have the power to travel through time and space, and we creators are standing on the shoulders of giants, hoping to use contemporary interpretation and modern aesthetic expression to make more people willing to enter the theater, and then willing to approach classic works and Chinese excellent traditional culture." Li Xing said.

Innovative vocabulary

Incorporate a variety of elements to interpret a living story

Telling the red story in ballet is no small challenge.

Fang Afang, the heroine of "The Flag", believes that most of the characters in classical ballet works are subtle and elegant, and the sense of action framework is more obvious, but for the red theme, such a interpretation is not tense enough to make the audience empathize. ""The Banner innovatively integrates Chinese dance elements on the basis of ballet, and the actors' interpretation method is also different from classical ballet, and the dance posture is more outward, breaking the requirement that classical ballet cannot bow its head, showing the rhythmic beauty of Chinese dance, and the characters are more vivid." Fang Afang said.

In "Absolute Test", the creators incorporated a variety of elements and made full use of the film's performance techniques. For example, as the first dance segment in the second half, "Three Hundred Steps" adds Sichuan Opera instrumental music performance elements and dance movement projection presentation, skillfully integrating dance silhouettes, screen sets and Sichuan Opera percussion, and in the interlacing of light and shadow, music dot array, and dance dynamic competition, the tension and intensity of the confrontation between the enemy and us, and the protagonist's decisive choice of heart towards the light are vividly interpreted.

Excellent works are inseparable from meticulous polishing. Li Xing said that in the choreography, they insist on "only accuracy", do not make up unnecessary movements, do not give any actors extra expressions, and every movement and every eye has precise requirements. "The number of pas de deux pieces that people see now is only about 1/3 of our initial choreography, and if it is not good enough, it will be discarded." Li Xing said that every performance will have minor adjustments. In his opinion, it is necessary to be consistent and strive for excellence in every performance, "through continuous polishing, make good content better".

Striving for excellence is also Zou Gang's requirements for himself and the actors. He said that in order to let the actors find their own character story line, they went to the Guangzhou Uprising Memorial Hall many times, and also read many relevant historical records, biographies, etc., "Every time after the performance, we will listen to the advice of the audience and experts, and so far four or five drafts have been revised." ”

Zhang Zihao, a young dancer who played Tian Han in "Songs of Blood", said that after receiving the role, he read a lot of historical materials to increase his understanding of the role. In the performance, Zhang Zihao added some small details of Tian Han's life, such as crossing his waist with his hands and pulling the corners of his clothes, and the character image was more vivid.

Diverse styles

Create a stage mood with characteristic aesthetic expressions

The unique artistic style is an important factor in attracting the audience. With the concept of "multi-dimensional space, emotional truth, and echoing the times", "Banner" integrates Lingnan's humanistic style with contemporary stage technology. In the stage design, the creator takes multiple triangular stage scenes as an important element to divide the space, project the image, and shape the scene, so as to enrich the layering and dislocation of the picture.

In "Absolute Test", the geomorphological characteristics of Chongqing Mountain City are also cleverly presented. On the huge stage, the combination of high platform, stairs, ice screen projection, etc. breaks the flat performance of traditional dance drama, restores the feeling of mountain city, and the metal stage installation makes the whole stage performance more tense. The actors sometimes dance in mid-air, sometimes face off in the air, sometimes crawl the ladder, and the addition of street dance, tango and other elements makes the performance more diverse.

The use of color is also an important element of stage expression. Ma Bo introduced that the whole play of "Blood as a Song" uses a lot of gray to show the turmoil at that time, and the actors' clothing adopts jumping colors. For example, in the opening "Carmen" dance segment, the actress is dressed in bright and full red, and then in the "Four Seasons Song" dance segment, the actress's costume is a fresh green. "The colors on the actors are brighter against the background of a lot of gray, which also suggests that they are the dawn of confusion." Mabo said.

Gently pulling the drapery, pushing the screen, the actors dressed and dancing slowly on the stage, spreading out the description in the novel "Dream of Red Mansions" like a picture scroll. If the contrast and contrast of colors in "Blood as Songs" is particularly prominent, then the national dance drama "Dream of Red Mansions" conveys the traditional aesthetic color of romance and beauty. On the stage, the curtain that can not only distinguish the stage space but also create an artistic conception, the screen with both practical and intentional effects, and the long strip table rich in Chinese beauty, folding fan, palace lamp, palanquin, etc. all reflect the classical elegance. The costume design refers to paintings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, Beijing-Kunming opera and picture books drawn by predecessors, taking "cloud shoulder" as the main element of the design, extracting plants and flowers from the original works to reflect the characteristics of the fate and character of the characters, and at the same time combining modern minimalist aesthetics to innovate. "I hope to present the audience with contemporary tribute and expression based on classical aesthetics, arouse people's resonance, and let more people feel the beauty of tradition in the theater." Li Xing said. (People's Daily)