Dancer inspired by his revolutionary role
Wang Jiajun, Shanghai Dance Theater's principle dancer, has had one of his busiest schedules this month. Playing the lead role of revolutionary martyr Li Xia in the dance theater's "The Eternal Wave," he had 10 performances scheduled in 11 days.
Wang Jiajun (front), Shanghai Dance Theater's principle dancer, portrays Li Xia in "The Eternal Wave."
For the 36-year-old, the tight schedule was a challenge to mind and body.
"I'm glad that the audiences liked this production," said Wang. "I know some audience members made a special effort and flew to Shanghai from other cities to watch the performance. It was probably their first time and only time to watch it, so I had to show my best form."
"The Eternal Wave" is based on the true story of martyr Li Bai and his wife, who risked their lives for 12 years to secretly pass information to forces led by the Communist Party of China. While sending intelligence on the Kuomintang's Yangtze River defenses in 1948, Li was arrested and later executed in Shanghai.
Since the premiere of "The Eternal Wave" in 2019, Wang has played the role in some 160 performances.
"For artists, repetition can be painful sometimes. But I'm always trying to find new possibilities for improvement when playing the role and keep myself refreshed," he said.
Wang started learning dance at the age of 10 in 1995 when he was recruited by Shanghai Theater Academy's dance school.
"I had a relatively weak body in childhood. My parents sent me to learn dancing, hoping that it would help improve my health," Wang recalled. "I still remember I did a set of gymnastic exercises during the entrance interview instead of presenting a piece of dance like a lot of others. The recruitment teacher told me later that they considered me a blank paper with a great potential."
Wang joined Shanghai Dance Theater in 2007 and gradually became a key member. His first lead role was as a zebra in the theater's original production "Wild Zebra."
"That was in 2004 or 2005 when I was still a student," said Wang. "Firstly I completed a pas de deux well in that work, and was therefore given an opportunity to play a solo role. More chances came after that, so 'Wild Zebra' was quite an important work for me."
Today, Wang plays the lead role in both the theater's signature productions – "The Eternal Wave" and "Crested Ibises." But the most meaningful stage experience for him was when he performed as a guest dancer for the Zhengzhou Song and Dance Theater in its production "Goddess of Luo River" in 2010.
"I left my dance troupe and arrived at a strange city, and was pushed to learn and grow quickly," Wang recalled. "I had to study the role and take care of other things myself instead of relying on my own troupe. That experience helped me grow mentally and become a good dancer able to think on his feet."
In "Goddess of Luo River," Wang played the role of Cao Zhi, a prince of Wei in the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280). Cao was also an accomplished poet in his time.
"He was like me, young and handsome," Wang joked. "I read a lot of poems he wrote to understand how he felt about the goddess. When dealing with the role, I thought much about how to present the character for audiences instead of concentrating on techniques like I used to."
Wang Jiajun plays the lead role of Li Xia.
Since then, Wang cultivated the habit of studying the role and character in advance with any material he could find.
"Only when the performer knows the character by heart and even gets touched by the role himself, he can really have the audiences engaged," he said.
Before playing the role of Li Xia in "The Eternal Wave," Wang visited the martyr's former residence.
"I was born in the 1980s. The major challenge for me is to find similarities between myself and my role," said Wang. "I visited Li's former residence and got the feeling that the couple lived a simple but happy life. I imagine that Li wanted to protect the happiness of all families like his own, even at the expense of his own life. The more I play the role, the more my empathy with him grows."
The role also aroused Wang's patriotic passion, and he became a reserve member of the Communist Party of China in May. (It usually takes about a year for a reserve member to become a formal Party member.)
Like most dancers, Wang often encounters physical discomfort. Due to the many lifts he has to do in "The Eternal Wave" and "Crested Ibises," he has been bothered by lumbar muscle degeneration.
"I try to protect myself as much as possible by doing stretching thoroughly before and after each performance," he said. "I will try to increase my career span and meet audience's expectation.
"Physically, a dancer reaches his best form at the age of 25-30, but tends to focus on techniques and ignore the characterization of the role. After 30, a dancer becomes creative and richer in mind. I think 30-40 is the golden age for a dancer."
When Wang has a day off, he attends performances to relax and learn from other stage artists.
"I watch not only dance, but also musical concerts and dramas. I can get inspired and learn from all other performers," he said. "I also hope to do more crossover performances in the future and present new things for audiences. As for dances, I want to try some negative characters which might be a contrast to my appearance."
Wang in the dance drama "The Eternal Wave"
