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Zhang Yimou's Cinematic Ballet
Besides classical music, ballet is a traditionally Western art form being reinvigorated by Chinese talent and perspectives. China's National Ballet is winding up its performance of Raise the Red Lantern at the National Center for the Performing Arts, after a triumphant European tour.
The many who pay scant attention to ballet will probably remain unmoved by the assertion that dance, like painting, remains as relevant as ever in its ability to communicate on a level far more primal than even the most lovingly-crafted CGI character. They might want to pay attention to the latter performance, however, not just for the powerful movie on which it is based, but also for the fact that both are directed by Zhang Yimou. The man is enjoying a Spielbergian climb in artistic cache, and both his ballet and movie are greater testament to his artistic range and vision than even, dare we say, the Olympic opening ceremony.
The movie proves that when it comes to intrigue, heartbreak and despair, the domestic arrangements of traditional China provide enough source material to fuel a million soap operas for a thousand years. While the story is fictional, it rings with the authenticity of real experience. Chinese cheesecake cum serious actress Gong Li portrays Songlian, a destitute daughter impressed into the harem of the wealthy Master Chen.
For a brief, shining idyll, Songlian enjoys the status of most adored lapdog. Whomever of his courtesans Master Chen fancies for the night enjoys a custom menu, foot massages, and a lucky red lantern (good fengshui - Yay!). As the latest plaything, Songlian rapidly gets used to the pampering, completely oblivious to the envious plotting powers of Master Chen's two previous mistresses and wife.
Bait and switch, kiss and tell, every mind trick in the Jedi handbook is played with relish and skill by Songlian's predecessors. Compromised by a love affair and a false pregnancy to retain Master Chen's attention, Songlian soon wakes up to the daymare of being a painted slave, imprisoned behind musty if luxurious walls, and as spiritually stifled by hidebound tradition as she is by the capricious whims of her patriarch. If the no-spoiler rule applies to a movie released in 1991, we'll just say the ending is crazy.
Of course, Zhang Yimou crafts a hypnotic mis-en-scene to convey the claustrophobia that defined feudal Chinese womanhood. Rapid-editing-bred ADD types, strung along by an early rape scene, will find their wafer-thin patience crumbling in the face of deliberately dragged out scenes, meant to capture the ennui of the myriad daily rituals that accounted for so many hours of the Chinese well-to-do.
Shot in the ancient city of Pingyao, in the restored Qing era Qiao Compound, Raise the Red Lantern benefits further from Zhang Yimou's opulent eye and Scorsese-like attention to detail. The movie certainly caused a stir in its China release, due to both Gong Li's comely charisma and the perception that the film was a post-Tiananmen protest against authoritarianism. In China, it's not what you do or say so much as how you do or say it; awareness of sub-textual symbolism constitutes roughly eighty percent of the Sino cross-cultural game.*
Symbols must suffice where speech is not allowed. In his Raise the Red Lantern ballet, Zhang Yimou has acquitted himself admirably in the non-verbal components of narrative, creating a striking microcosm which the National Ballet of China sets into orbit. Mirroring the film's most dramatic and integral scenes, the ballet integrates Peking Opera influence, traditional Chinese architecture and costume, plenty of gorgeous silk, and of course the eponymous red lanterns.
Besides a martial turn onstage, the great majority of the ballet is gynocentric, fittingly enough considering the story. The desperate haughtiness and cruelty of elder concubines, Songlian's slow descent from resigned heroine to deranged cast-off, the elemental agony of human property striving to maintain personhood, all are swept up by graceful arms and legs and evinced with ethereal grace. Purists may label the end of the ballet somewhat histrionic, but any reasonably sensitive soul will appreciate its cathartic journey from the bittersweet to the tragic.
To purchase a video of the ballet, click here. For the movie,here.
Here are some snippets of the National Ballet of China performing both Swan Lake and Raise the Red Lantern.
* The other twenty percent is realizing how many more samenesses there are than differences.
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Comments
I LOVE THE BALLET. I CANT
I LOVE THE BALLET. I CANT WAIT TO ENJOY THE SHOW. OW DIDN'T KNOW THAT SPEECH ISN'T ALLOWED.
I love to watch ballet dance
I love to watch ballet dance and I think Chinese ballet would be the best in the world as China is full of cultures and the people of China are very cultural.
Love the clothing
I love the clothing. I hope that China does not become to westernised and lose its identity.
It makes me a little sad when business men in Japan where suits. It makes the world so small when we are all the same.
Anyway, love their clothing and style.
Claire
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Director Zhang Yimou
Prestigious Chinese director Zhang Yimou is adding the final touches to a ballet of Raise the Red Lantern, which is expected to debut in Europe in October. The ballet, adapted from a popular Chinese film directed by Zhang Yimou, was originally staged in May 2001 and drew wide attention in Chinese-speaking regions worldwide. Raise the Red Lantern is set in a feudal Chinese wealthy household in the 1920s, and details struggles of a beautiful, charming and defiant concubine Songlian against the traditional female role of subservience and the feudal traditions governing Chinese society at the time. testking 1z0-042 The tragic ending of the heroine proves that the burden of centuries is too powerful a force to beat. The ballet, echoing the dramatic cinematic scenes of the film, features a integration of tradition Peking opera music and scenes, traditional Chinese architecture and costume, and richand effective lighting effects. Zhang and his colleagues have made some minor revisions in the ballet during the last two years and the most recent overhaul focuses mainly on choreography, music and plots. "The altered story-line is more distinct and choreography more animated and life-like than the previous version," said Zhang Yimou. China Central Ballet Troupe would perform the dance with an all-star cast and expected to turn Raise the Red Lantern into a Chinese ballet classic, said Zhao Ruheng, director of China Central Ballet Troupe. In addition to directing a series of award-winning films including Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Keep Cool, The Story of Qiu Ju and last year's martial arts epic Hero, Zhang Yimou also directed an extravagant, resounding 15-million-dollar production of Puccini's opera Turandot in 1998.
see a ballet performance
see a ballet performance china is my favorite. I happy with the movement of his lithe, clothing that is good and attractive. full feeling, it seems to be the center attraction ballet china
I never seen chinese ballet.
I never seen chinese ballet. I have to watch it if I go to china, a country with a many miracle
China has been always my
China has been always my favorite country because of its wonderful nature and culture.I have heard quite a lot of times about this ballet dance but never got an opportunity to witness that.
the girls in ballet are
the girls in ballet are dressed very well.they are good to show the chinese culture
The Chinese National Ballet
The Chinese National Ballet production of Zhang Yimou's Raise the Red Lantern is nice to look at. The question is, what is it not telling us?
Today, the dancers are full
Today, the dancers are full of vigor and vitality and they are maturing artistically. The new generation of outstanding dancers led by Sun Jie, are catching the attention of the ballet world.
Great Ballets
I love Ballet Dance, Chinese is one of the best ballet dance performance. Great Job and Keep up!
I love too
I love this ballet dance really, and the design of the auditorium is very good really, for our own needs of Home design plan and architecture needs we can get skilled persons from Freelancer.com, we get best results by using planview word as a code...
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou is China's most famous directors. He was good at from a different perspective reveals the characteristics of Chinese culture.Raise The Red Lantern is undoubtedly the best works of Zhang Yimou, one of the most successful, and it helped popularize the Gong Li. Gong Li who embodies the East .
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It was amazing!
I was so happy to have the privilege of watching the show. It was amazing. I was speechless.
this is a great blog. I just
this is a great blog. I just love this story and all the other
stories on your blog.Well-known to the world, China has a great cultural heritage, which attracts so many people from all over the world.History is a subject that I found boring as a youngster. Before watching this movie I felt decidedly ignorant of twentieth century Chinese history.
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I want to watch Chinese Ballets
Though i have never watched the Chinese Ballet,but i think it is great.chanel bags i will watch the moive immediately.
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