China News Service, Beijing, May 24 (Reporter Ying Ni) The Central Ballet's first large-scale original symphonic ballet "Century" premiered at the Tianqiao Theater in Beijing on the evening of the 23rd, with a toe and affectionate interpretation of the story of five thousand years of Chinese civilization.
Feng Ying, the director and artistic director of the Central Ballet, who served as the chief planner and producer of the play, introduced that as a gift for the centuries since the founding of the party, "Century" uses the unique artistic expression of symphonic ballet to integrate magnificent and majestic symphony The joy of love expresses the contemporary inheritance of the Chinese national spirit.
"The play runs through the profound thoughts of'Question of a Thousand Years, Answer of a Hundred Years', through the refining of classic Chinese myths such as'Nuwa repairing the sky','Foolish father moving mountains','Jingwei reclaiming the sea','Kwafu chasing the sun' The moral spirit in the legend, digging deep into the national spiritual power contained in it, the artistry presents the century-old history of the Chinese nation’s national advancement under the leadership of the party for a century."
Still photo by Shi Ren
As a symphony ballet, music is the soul of "Century" dance. Based on the four symphonies of the famous composer Guan Xia, the music of the play constitutes four chapters: "Sky", "Moving Mountains", "Dancing the Sea" and "Chasing the Sun".
Guan Xia said: "Symphony is an art that is good at expressing people's inner emotions. It is undoubtedly the best way to express this emotion through the most pure and beautiful ballet. Symphony and ballet together tell the story of China and convey the spirit of the Chinese people on the stage. A chemical reaction of 1+1=n was produced on the show.” The first performance was directed by Zhang Yi, the music director of the Central Ballet, and Liu Xiaohuan, principal of the orchestra, led the Central Ballet Symphony Orchestra. The famous pianist Tan Xiaotang was specially invited to perform as a solo. The live performance allows the audience to "hear the dance and see the music".
When the audience walked into the theater, they were greeted by the huge image of the universe and celestial bodies on the stage, which immediately led people into the vast starry sky, as if about to open a dialogue with the universe and time and space.
The whole work opens the stage with lights that symbolize the first rays of dawn on the horizon, revealing a new vast world, and constantly interpreting the infinite imagination of mountains, seas, sun and moon.
The stage design designer Liu Xinglin said: "On the stage of "Century", we specially set up a flowing mechanical device and a giant circular backdrop, which enlarges the stage space infinitely, so that in terms of temperament, the work wants to convey the question of the millennium. The psychic core of "A Hundred Years Answer" fits with each other."
Still photo by Shi Ren
"Century" was created by four young editors, Fei Bo, Zhang Zhenxin, Wang Sizheng, and Ma Cong.
Symphonic ballet does not use narrative stories to express themes, but uses more abstract metaphors to express images, which brings greater difficulty and higher requirements to creators and actors.
The editors said, "The four chapters each represent a powerful spiritual force and vitality. Each protagonist faces an extremely difficult task. Just like our century of party history, the Chinese have accomplished one brilliant achievement after another. Each of our creators has an open mind. In this work, everyone will experience the vicissitudes of life. Everyone will look back on the past and may also see their own future..."
It is reported that the play will continue to be staged in the Tianqiao Theater until May 30.
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