Classic Chinese story White Snake adapted to dance drama
Shanghai-born ballerina Tan Yuanyuan is joining hands with international stage creators and dancers to present the new dance production "White Snake," which will premiere at the Shanghai Grand Theater next month.
The new work, produced by the Shanghai Grand Theater Creative Center, is partially based on the classic Chinese folk tale "The Legend of the White Snake." The creators have merged ballet, folk dance and contemporary dance into the production and explored a new angle to approach the story.
"The story of the white snake is a beloved classic, and I've seen many adaptations," said 45-year-old Tan, the principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet.
The 45-year-old Tan Yuanyuan at a rehearsal for her performance.
Tan takes the lead role of wife Bai Suzhen in the dance. "Our version borrowed elements from the thousand-year-old story to embody women's self-recognition. It's an encouraging story for women," she said.
In the original story, a white and a green snake transform themselves into two young women called Bai Suzhen and Xiaoqing, respectively. They meet a young man Xu Xian at the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou on a rainy day, and Xu lends them his umbrella.
Xu and Bai fall in love and are eventually married. They operate a medicine shop, but their life is disturbed by Buddhist monk Fahai who plots to break the couple up. Fahai imprisons Xu at the Jinshan Temple. Bai and Xiaoqing attempt to rescue Xu and flood the temple, causing collateral damage.
Bai has been praised for her insistent love and courage in the folk story.
Tan says the new dance is about the awakening of women's self-awareness.
In the new adapted dance production "White Snake," Bai and Xu live a normal life like most couples. But Bai has been disturbed by weird dreams, in which a women dressed in green transforms into a snake.
With the help of Fahai who is a psychiatrist, Bai recalls the thousand-year-old story of the legend of the white snake.
"In our story, Xiaoqing lives in the heart of Bai," Tan explained. "Xiaoqing represents a soul of freedom, enjoying exploration and adventure. But Bai has been living under traditional requirements from a housewife. Under the guide of Fahai, Bai manages to find her true self."
Director Zhou Ke said the crossover of the past and modern eras added up to the challenge of the script.
"It's an oriental story which has been interpreted in a Western way, and presented in a contemporary form," she said. "We used Freud's psychological analysis theories when recreating the story."
Choreographer Edwaard Liang leads a rehearsal.
Taiwan-born American dancer Edwaard Liang, who is also Tan's dance partner, is the choreographer of the new work.
"It's an interesting challenge to work with a drama director and dancers with varied backgrounds, taking a different approach to the classic story", he said. "It's a story about humanity. We tell it through dance."
According to Liang, the dancers will wear fabrics and use the flexibility of their arms to demonstrate the smoothness in snake's movement.
The cast includes Australian Ballet principal dancer Guo Chengwu and former Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Cao Chi, as well as dancers from the Shanghai Opera House's dance troupe. Shanghai Opera House director and pianist Xu Zhong is the composer for the performance.
"White Snake" integrates ballet, Chinese folk dance and contemporary dance.
Performance info:
Dates: November 4-7, 2pm/7:30pm
Tickets: 180-1,080 yuan
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater
Address: 300 People's Ave
