18 YOUTH | Art Wednesday, November 14, 2018 CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION SHAPE SHIFTERS The closing gala of the Beijing Dance Academy’s ballet competition featured guest performers from some of the world’s leading ballet companies, Cheng Yuezhu reports.
s ballet dancers not only performing in the technique. These words, put breeze across the National Ballet of China, but together, spell ‘artistry’. They stage and fling their on the global stage in cities as are just the tools for the danc lithe figures into a diverse as Hamburg, New ers to attain artistry.” tour A en l’air, the audience York and Helsinki. It shows The competition has been cheers at each entrechat, alle that the teaching standards of held biennially since 2006. gro and pirouette, awed by Chinese ballet are recognized Entering its seventh year, the their ultimate demonstration around the world,” says Zou competition has attracted of elegance, strength and con Zhirui, dean of the ballet more than 800 young dancers reserved movements.” “I have made progress in my trol. department at the Beijing from 70 institutions and dance Creating a Chinese ballet overall ability and technique This was the scene at the Dance Academy. companies from more than 50 and the Chinese method of over the course of this compe theater of the Beijing Dance Zou is one of nine judges countries and regions. ballet instruction is what the tition.” Academy on Oct 23, where the taking part in the competition. This year’s competition Beijing Dance Academy However, this year’s top awards ceremony and closing The jury is composed of received 147 applications from aspires to achieve, apart from award, the Prix de BDA, fell gala performance took place renowned dance performers 20 countries. Aged between 14 researching and rehearsing vacant. for the 2018 Beijing Interna and educators from China, and 25, the applicants are classical and modern ballet According to Anderson, it is tional Ballet Invitational for Denmark, Russia, France, Aus either students or professional pieces, Zou says. fundamental to master the Dance Schools. tralia, the Netherlands and the dancers who have been work “Although it originated in techniques, but not every The gala featured a series of United States, covering ballet ing for less than two years. Europe, ballet has been con dancer has acquired artistry. classic and contemporary bal styles from every corner of the Among the applicants, 62 of stantly transformed in differ This year marks the 40th let excerpts from the award world. them passed their initial ent regions. China now has anniversary of dance being winners and guest performers Chairman of the jury, Frank screenings via video submis strengths in a variety of incorporated into China’s from worldleading ballet Anderson, is a former director sion and were later invited to aspects. It’s time for us to higher education system, companies, including the of the Royal Danish Ballet and Beijing to take part in the con develop a ballet style with a when the Beijing Dance Finnish National Ballet, Bos the Royal Swedish Ballet. He test. Chinese temperament,” Zou School turned into the Beijing ton Ballet and Hamburg Bal first visited China in 1985 and Since the competition says. Dance Academy in 1978. In let. then again in 1995, where he encompasses both classical At the awards ceremony, tandem with the competition, The soloist ballerina from soon recognized China’s ballet ballet and contemporary bal Anderson described the over a series of academic events on the Hamburg Ballet, Lin Xue, education system as a hidden let works, the dancers are all standards of the competi dance education were held to is a graduate from the Affiliat treasure and he has paid close tested not only on notable tion as remarkable, adding promote international dis ed Secondary School of Beijing attention to its cause ever ballet pieces, such as pas de that the competitors were cussion about dance educa Dance Academy and a former since. deux from Tchaikovsky’s The well prepared for the compe tion. winner of the silver medal of “The jury here has around Nutcracker and Swan Lake, tition. “As China’s only specialized the junior group in the 2008 300 years of cumulative expe but also a series of modern The competition named five higher institute in dance edu International Ballet Invita rience. We will use our hearts, dance works by three Above: Tianjin Ballet’s Sun Fuze dances at the Beijing International firstprize winners, six second cation, the Beijing Dance tional. Arriving in Germany to our brains and our experience renowned contemporary cho Ballet Invitational for Dance Schools, a contest for both students prize winners, 11 thirdprize Academy has the responsibili further her studies in 2009, to guide ourselves to find the reographers. and young professionals. Top: Ballerina Zhou Yue of the Affiliated winners, and offered two spe ty and duty to lead the devel she has been part of the Ham best dancers,” Anderson says. One of the modern pieces, Secondary School of Beijing Dance Academy on stage at the event. cial jury prizes. opment of dance education, burg Ballet since 2011. “We are looking for talent, Beyond Mist, was created by PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Han Yufei, one of the first promote educational “Dancers who participated potential, presentation, body, the director of Beijing Dance prize winners and a student of exchanges and the interna in our competition and gradu beauty, musicality, honesty, Theater, Wang Yuanyuan, who the Beijing Dance Academy, tional development of dance ates from our school are now passion, heart, quality and took inspiration from the eponymous poem by the language of ballet, the piece talked about his experience of education,” said Guo Lei, pres renowned poet Luo Fu. With tells a Chinese story,” Zou says. participating in the competi ident of the Beijing Dance its obscure metaphors and “Chinese choreographers tion. “I performed a duet in the Academy, during a dance edu melancholic imagery, the often draw inspiration from competition, which belongs to cation symposium after the poem about unrequited love China’s folk tales or classical the Danish Bournonville competition. has been given new life literature, but on the other style,” says Han. “Mr Anderson through the form of a modern hand, the dance style itself gave us a few detailed sugges Contact the writer at ballet duo. could tell a Chinese story with tions on ways to improve our chengyuezhu@ “Using the universal body its exquisite expression and performance. chinadaily.com.cn Holding the key for art education
By CHEN NAN [email protected]
The Exchange and Coopera tion Forum for International New Era Art Education was held at the Central Conserva tory of Music in Beijing late last month, bringing together the heads of music schools, educators, musicians and stu dents from countries includ ing France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Ukraine, in an effort to share the collective experience of art education and promote future exchange programs. The forum opened with a gala concert featuring the The awardwinning Amber Quartet performs at the opening concert for an art education forum, held awardwinning Amber Quartet late last month at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY performing Bela Bartok’s Romanian Folk Dances rear ranged by cellist and quartet ture,” Helene Rasquier, a pro Zheng is widely credited the age of 7, is widely credited member Yang Yichen, followed fessor at the Music College of with training most of China’s with reviving the fortunes of by The Beautiful Nalati Grass Paris Normal University and a top talent in the field. So far, the traditional Mongolian eth land composed by Liu Chang pianist and composer, told the more than 200 students have nic musical instrument. When and performed by the Plucked forum. “Those Chinese stu graduated with a major in vio he was 16, Chiborag was sent Instruments Ensemble of the dents returned to China and linmaking from the Beijing to study at the Central Con Central Conservatory of Music, became teachers. The educa conservatory, and many of his servatory of Music, where he and The Desert composed by tion they gained in France was students have won top prizes at learned violin and erhu. Wei Jun and performed by guz different to the one they would prestigious international com Inspired by the techniques heng player Hu Xuyuan and have received in China. The petitions for violinmaking. of playing violin and erhu, Chi percussionist Bai Kai. different influences provided “When I studied in Italy, my borag tried to play the two The forum led to the foun them with a broader vision.” teacher told me that the tech stringed morin khuur dation of the SinoEuropean A keynote speech was given niques behind making violins differently and composed Alliance for Educational Coop by Zheng Quan, a committee could be learned in the class some of his bestknown pieces, eration in the Humanities and member of the International room, but he asked me to go including Thousands of Hors the Arts, a platform for inter Violin Masters Association, and observe ordinary Italian es Galloping, in which the fid national art education cooper who was sent to study the craft people, at church, in restau dle players use a variety of ation, and the creation of an of violinmaking in Italy rants or just going about their performance skills to describe international youth art and between 1983 and 1988 before daily lives,” Zheng recalls. the magnificent scene of thou education center in Hainan returning to China in 1989 to “Chinese people are smart sands of horses galloping province, according to Dong head the first violinmaking and good with their hands. across the steppes. Songtao, vicepresident and research center launched by What we need is to under “The morin khuur was left secretarygeneral of the Inter the Central Conservatory of stand the connection between to us by Genghis Khan, so it is national Education Commit Music. the violin, a Western musical an instrument blessed by our tee of the Chinese Society of “Violins made in China used instrument, and the culture ancestors. It keeps evolving Educational Development to be seen as just toys,” the where it was born.” because it absorbs new sounds Strategy. 68yearold said in his speech, Chiborag, a 75yearold from around the world,” says “We’ve been having Chinese “but after 30 years of effort, master of the morin khuur, or Chiborag, whose students students to study at our school nowadays people look at us horsehead fiddle, from Inner come from China, Mongolia, for 20 years, and they have Chinese violin makers with Mongolia autonomous region, the United States, France and introduced us to Chinese cul respect.” who began learning music at Japan.