英闻天下——392 Raise the Red Lantern on Chinese Ballet

 　　Recently, an amazing performance of "Raise the Red Lantern," put on by the National Ballet of China became a hit in Montreal, Canada in late February.

 

　　A combination of gorgeous colors, breathtaking melodies and close-knit choreography took the show far beyond most foreigners' imaginations. The audience was blown away by this bold Chinese attempt at ballet.

 

　　In fact, Chinese style ballet started "going global" when the National Ballet of China first staged "Red Detachment of Women" in Albania, Romania and Yugoslavia in 1971.

 

　　However, it was not an easy journey. Zhao Ruheng, a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top advisory² body, as well as the former director of the National Ballet of China, recalls the obstacles they experienced.

 

　　"At first, people don't know you. When we were invited to perform in the United States for the first time, they said they wanted to see the "Red Detachment of Women" swinging the red flag. They just wanted to seek novelty, without carefully studying your culture and enjoying your whole production."

 

　　However, as more and more shows were performed abroad, foreign audience started to accept and enjoy the special ballet performances highlighting Chinese culture.

 

　　"I think it is fabulous³. I love the costumes. The costumes become a part of ballet itself. That is extraordinary."

 

　　"I like it very much. The thing that impressed me most was the costumes. The costumes are fabulous, how many changes there are, and the whole look of the production is spectacular."

 

　　An amazing performance of "Raise the Red Lantern," put on by the National Ballet of China became a hit in Montreal, Canada in late February. [Photo: blog.sina.com.cn]

 

　　According to Zhao, the Chinese characteristics of these performances are one of the major reasons that make them stand out in foreign countries.

 

　　"The most important reason is that you have your own creation. If you have something which others don't have, it will attract people's attention. Then they will think it's worthy⁴ to invite you to perform abroad, and give those foreign audiences who are used to classical ballet a chance to see something brand-new and different."

 

　　As a national political advisor¹ as well as the Chairwoman of China Dancers Association, Zhao has done a lot of research concerning the current state of the dance art, and has found some problems, which hinder the development of the art.

 

　　"I think leaders cannot just sit in their offices and think about cultural transmission. They should do some research. There are a lot of excellent dancers raised in local folk dance areas, who don't have a good platform. There's still a lack of studies."

 

　　In spite of those problems, Zhao still holds a positive attitude towards the future of Chinese dance art.

 

　　"With enough studies, we can combine both the Chinese and foreign elements together and China's dance art will be very strong."

 

　　For CRI, I'm Zhou Jingnan.

1 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

2 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

3 fabulous   

adj.极好的；极为巨大的；寓言中的，传说中的

参考例句：

• We had a fabulous time at the party.我们在晚会上玩得很痛快。
• This is a fabulous sum of money.这是一笔巨款。

4 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。