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Ballet puzzling, but grand
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Song Yingwen
THESE days, with so many ways to get some recreation, Shenzheners are hungry for new options. When businessmen in the city, including the entertainment business of course, wracked their brains trying to please their critical clients with novel ideas, they naturally thought of ballet. For years, Shenzheners have warmly received the few classical ballets like "Swan Lake", "The Nutcracker", and "Cinderella" that have come their way, whether the dancers are from, Germany, Russia or Spain.
But Berta Yampolsky, founder of the famous Israel Ballet, decided to bring something new. During the ballet troupe's visit to Shenzhen on Monday, their presentation, along with the standby classical pieces like the "Ecstasy," "Dvorak Variations," and "Gurrelieder", were some modern ones including "Symphony in C," "Tango Neon" and "Bach Plus.".
"Classical ballets are excellent, but the modern ones are just as wonderful. Shenzhen is such a modern city, and I think you are definitely ready for something new," she said.
In her modern pieces, her dance group introduced Shenzhen to the energetic side of ballet as well as its famous elegance and grace.
Alas, it takes time for people to accept new things. Two young girls at the show with their parents --0 the audience was comprised mostly of parents and children -- complained that the modern dance was not so attractive to them because "the dresses are not beautiful enough". A young couple even suggested that there should be narrator explaining the plot so that people can get a sense of what the dancers are trying to express.
"Frankly, I don't understand it," Wang, a middle-aged man admitted, and his wife added that she would have preferred a selection of entirely classical pieces.
Miss Yampolsky was unfazed by this negative feedback. "People always find modern ballet strange the first time they see it. I didn't really understand modern ballet myself the first time I knew it because I was too young. But as you get to know it more, you will learn to appreciate it more and eventually fall in love with it. The most important thing is that we brought the audience something different," she said.
Despite the mixed reactions, the audience applauded the dance group warmly for their brilliant efforts.
"Their admirable technical skill and shining stage presence was impressive," Li Dang, a dance school student acclaimed. And her classmates expressed their admiration for the dancers' expressive body language. "It was an enjoyable evening," they agreed.
The Israel Ballet is visiting China at the invitation of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, and this is their second visit to Shenzhen. Their last performance in the city was in 1997.
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