National Ballet of China’s Red Detachment
The National Ballet of China has not toured Hong Kong since 2017, and its performances have been eagerly awaited by local audiences. This week it showed its signature ballet “The Red Detachment of Women” at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
Premiered exactly 60 years ago in 1964, this is one of the Eight Model Operas created during the Cultural Revolution. (Shanghai Ballet’s “The White-Haired Girl” is another one.) Though it looks slightly dated, it is still fascinating as a historical curiosity.
It tells the story of a poor peasant girl Qinghua who narrowly escapes being sold as a slave by an evil landowner, Nan Batian, thanks to the help of Hong Changqing, the Commissar of the Red Detachment of Women. She then joins this Red Detachment and helps it to defeat the landowner.
The two-act ballet lasting over two hours consists of a prologue and six scenes. Scene 2, celebrating the founding of the Red Detachment of Women, includes a lot of joyful dancing. The various sections with dancers waving flags, pointing machine guns, and brandishing knives, have a folksy vivaciousness and charm that is delightful.
Scene 4 set in the Red Detachment’s camp has a lively dance with village girls waving their bamboo hats. In the ensuing battle scene, episodes of sword fighting, cannon shots, and machine gun warfare have a surging momentum that is theatrically exciting. And later, the sight of the Red Detachment members leaping across the stage provides a triumphant climax to the panache of the choreography.
Most impressive of all was the sheer commitment of the whole cast. Despite the formulaic choreography (a team effort by three choreographers – Li Chengxiang, Jiang Zuhui, and Wang Xixian), the dancers’ faith in the drama made the characters they portrayed look larger than life. Wu Siming, as Hong Changqing, was impressive as an actor. His signature pose – upraised arms with clenched fists – emphasised his heroic stance. As Qinghua, Ning Long danced with strength.
The performances were danced to a taped recording by the National Ballet Symphony Orchestra. This weekend the National Ballet of China will also perform “Swan Lake’, the most famous ballet classic.
-- Contact us at [email protected]
-
How should leaders govern the people? Michael Chugani
A senior Mainland official once advised Donald Tsang Yam-kuen when he was the chief executive to think like the people do. It was good advice. Leaders who want to effectively serve the people need to
-
Hong Kong Tourism Board Unveils ‘Only in Hong Kong’
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) launched ‘Only in Hong Kong’, a new global campaign that redefines how the city is experienced and differentiating Hong Kong as Asia’s World City. Moving beyond a
-
Zhang Daqian, China's Best Painter for 500 Years Mark O'Neill
At Sotheby’s art auction in Hong Kong in April this year, it put on sale three works by Zhang Daqian ( 張大千). One of them, Sunshine after Rain (雨後斜陽), sold for HK$15.36 million. It was evidence that,
-
Government celebrates success of Kai Tak Sports Park Mark O'Neill
The Hong Kong government is celebrating the success of the Kai Tak Sports Park which opened in March last year – nearly 600,000 people have attended major sports events there. In a written reply in
-
Government rewrites history of Hong Kong Mark O'Neill
The government has rewritten the history of Hong Kong, saying that it was never a colony because British rule was illegal and was never democratic and downplaying the events of 1989. “The Hong Kong
