One of the world's top ballerinas, Tan Yuanyuan, will lead a troupe of top ballet dancers form America, Japan, Russia and China in a performance of Magpie Bridge at the Great Hall of the People in November.
The production, which will tour worldwide following its opening in Beijing, is regarded as the Chinese "Romeo and Juliet." It will be the first work of Chinese folklore to be adapted for a worldwide ballet audience, and to ensure the maximum effect of the classical epic, the performers will be backed by a 20-million-yuan (US$2.7 million) high-tech multimedia set.
Still, the spotlight is expected to be on lead ballerina Tan of the San Francisco Ballet.
A native of Shanghai, Tan is one of the world's top ballerinas and the most critically acclaimed dancer ever to emerge from China. After graduating from the Shanghai Dance School at the age of 15, she won three international dancing awards within 18 months. Urannova, the queen of classical ballet, reportedly described Tan as the best young dancer of her generation. Tan travelled to Europe, where ballet originated, and won a scholarship to study in Stuttgart, Germany; she later joined the San Francisco Ballet (SFB), one of three major ballet troupes in the United States.
Despite of her incredible success before she joined SFB, it wasn't all smooth sailing. People were suspicious of her abilities because of her Chinese heritage. "They tend to think ballet is a purely western art and wondered whether Chinese ballerinas were reliable,'' recalls Tan. But her first public performance silenced the critics with its beauty and skill. It took her only three years to become a principal dancer—the first Chinese principal dancer in SFB's 70-year history.
Tan says she is extremely excited about her first ticket-selling performance in Beijing, although she has gave two performances in CCTV's Spring Festival Galas in 1994 and 2006. "This is the fifth time I've returned here, and I've noticed that so many changes have taken place in the city: the air is much fresher," Tan said, but she won't have too much time to tour Beijing, because she still has performances to play in San Francisco. But, she added, "I hope I am able to perform at the National Grand Theatre someday."
Tan played the lead of the premiere of Magpie Bridge in Shanghai in 1998. After nine years, she understands the role better now and is confident she will give a better performance "especially since we'll be working with a strong multinational troupe." She said she wants to take full advantage of her experience of living and dancing in the Americas for 12 years in the play, and to bring more international attention to this Chinese-themed ballet. After the performance in Beijing, Magpie Bridge will tour to Japan, Korea, Singapore, France, Italy and to the United States.
"Weíll take this beautiful Chinese love story to more countries and make the ballet China's Swan Lake," she promised.
