A legendary snake and a ballerina bitten by desire to create a modern storyline
An enduring Chinese prima ballerina and an ageless China legend will come together in a new stage production next month. Ticket sales are no doubt brisk.
Shanghai-born dancer Tan Yuanyuan, often called China's "greatest ballerina," will take the lead role in a new production of the folk tale "Legend of the White Snake," premiering at the Shanghai Grand Theater next Friday.
Tan will not only dazzle audiences with her tour de force on stage, but the 45-year-old is also artistic director of the "White Snake" production. Her reputation has drawn together a renowned ensemble.
"White Snake" is a new dance production based on the folk tale "Legend of the White Snake."
She successfully invited Chinese-American dancer Edwaard Liang as choreographer. The cast features Australian Ballet principal dancer Guo Chengwu, former Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Cao Chi, and top dancers from the Shanghai Opera House dance troupe and Liaoning Ballet. Shanghai Opera House director and pianist Xu Zhong is the composer for the performance.
Tan's rise to fame is a source of pride in Shanghai. As the principal dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, she won worldwide recognition in production of ballet classics like "Swan Lake," "Giselle" and "The Little Mermaid."
As the story goes, her fate was decided by the flip of a coin to decide which of her family's aspirations for her would prevail. Her father wanted her to study medicine; her mother supported her love of ballet.
Tan started formal ballet instruction at the relatively late age of 11, attending the Shanghai Ballet School. At age 17, she was scored a first when she was offered a contract as a full-time soloist with San Francisco Ballet.
Tan Yuanyuan (left) and choreographer Edwaard Liang (right) attend a media briefing in Shanghai.
Her career has been dominated by a commitment to introducing Chinese culture to international audiences through her performances.
The new production offers a perfect vehicle. It is based on a beloved classic that has inspired stage, film, opera and animation interpretations.
The new work integrates ballet, folk dance, contemporary dance and even martial arts. The plot deviates from the original tale as Tan and her creative team explore a new angle to the classic story.
In its original form, the legend is a classic tale of good and evil. It tells the story of a white and a green snake who transform themselves into two young women named Bai Suzhen (white) and Xiaoqing (green). They meet a young man, Xu Xian, at the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou. He lends them his umbrella because it's raining.
Xu and Bai fall in love and are eventually married. They operate an herbal medicine shop, but their life is disrupted by the Buddhist monk Fahai, who plots to break up the couple. Fahai imprisons Xu at the Jinshan Temple. Bai and Xiaoqing attempt to rescue Xu by flooding the temple.
Tan Yuanyuan and Li Jiabo, who plays Xu Xian, rehearse for the new production.
In this new dance version, Bai lives a normal life with her husband, but she is disturbed by unsettling dreams, in which a woman dressed in green is transformed into a snake.
With the help of psychiatrist named Fahai, Bai recalls the thousand-year-old story of the "Legend of the White Snake" and finds her true self.
Tan plays the role of wife Bai. She explained the feminist theme of the new creation in an interview this week.
Q: What is special about this dance adaptation of the famous legend?
A: Our version borrowed elements from the thousand-year-old story to embody women's self-recognition. It's an awakening process of the wife's self-awareness.
It's an encouraging story not only for women in the audience, but also for myself. Xiaoqing lives in the heart of Bai, who represents a soul of freedom that longs for exploration and adventure. But Bai has been living under the traditions required of a housewife. Under the guidance of Fahai, she manages to find her true self and is reborn.
I have a Xiaoqing living inside me, too. Taking part in this recreation of the legend helped me recognize myself better.
Choreographer Edwaard Liang (right) coaches dancer Wang Zhanfeng.
Q: Can you tell us more about your collaboration with choreographer Liang, director Zhou Ke and other dancers?
A: I have known Edwaard (Liang) for 20 years and have worked with him for 15 years. I have taken part in nine performances of his. He has also been one of my dancing partners.
He has thorough trust in me, which is very important. I invited him to join the project at the beginning of the year. When the script was ready by June, we started our four-month rehearsal in Melbourne.
Creation is a learning process. For the audience, the final production is what matters. But for me, the process is very important. I have learned a lot from the talented young dancers. We train and rehearse from 9am to 5pm every day. It's tiring but satisfying, because we make progress every day.
Zhou Ke is a drama director. As dancers, we know how to express with body language. But Zhou can explain and make us fully understand the psychology of the characters, which is very helpful for a dance drama.
The new work integrates ballet, folk dance, contemporary dance and even martial arts.
Q: It's the first time you have taken a role in the creative team. How does it feel?
A: Yes, I have never imagined that I would become the artistic director of a production. I took part in the adaptation of the script and helped design time-travel plots on a dance stage. It's the most complicated work I have ever participated in.
This is also a rebirth for me, and I rate "White Snake" as the fourth milestone in my career. The first one was the full edition of "Swan Lake" which I performed at age 19. I managed to take up "Giselle" at age 23, and then "The Little Mermaid" when I was 35.
As artistic director, I seek for a balance within the group. We know that artists always have different opinions, which is good for creation. My duty is to establish a balance among them. After all, we share the same goal of creating a quality dance.
Q: Do you plan to take "White Snake" to the world stage?
A: It's my first original creation for Shanghai Grand Theater, and it has been my dream to introduce Chinese culture and stories to the world. Dance is an international language. I want to take "White Snake" on a world tour next year and hope it becomes a classic on the world stage.
It's a performance worthy of multiple viewings. The characters are rich and complicated. There are reasons for Xiaoqing and Fahai's obsessiveness. I hope some part of the audience awakens after watching the performance.
