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The elegance of？Swan？Lake has been capturing the hearts of audiences worldwide for almost 140 years. Now， the enchanting ballet about the princess who is transformed into a swan by an evil curse takes on a unique collaboration. A gala performance of the ballet jointly presented by Joburg Ballet of South Africa and Liaoning Ballet of China thrilled a full house at the Joburg Theater in Johannesburg on April 17. The sparkling event was the premiere of 21 joint performances the two ballet companies are staging in South Africa till early May.
The joint performance has attracted much attention both in China and in South Africa. Supported by China’s Ministry of Culture and South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture， it is one of the important events to mark the 2015 Year of China in South Africa. It is also a new initiative of the two ballet companies to jointly explore the commercial performance market in South Africa.
New？Swan？Lake
The exchange and cooperation between the two companies began in the Year of South Africa in China last year. This year， they have taken the cooperation further， resulting in the joint performance and production of Swan Lake.
“Swan Lake was chosen because it’s the ultimate classic ballet and a wonderful platform to showcase South African flair alongside Chinese precision，” said Joburg Ballet CEO Dirk Badenhorst.
According to Badenhorst， the new production boasts entirely new sets and more classical tutus. In addition， it is the first time three prima ballerinas- from South Africa， China and Cuba - appeared together on stage. It is also the first time indigenous African dancers donned major roles.
The inaugural performance featured a mix of Joburg Ballet and Liaoning Ballet dancers in the leading roles and ensemble pieces. Later performances saw the roles interchanged.
Liaoning Ballet Director Qu Zijiao said the dancers from different cultures brought their own understanding to the classic ballet.
“Swan Lake played and represented by Easterners is surely different from what is familiar on the international stage，” she said， adding that astern elegance and the strength and techniques of Joburg Ballet made the performances more splendid.
Chinese？dancers
For the performance season， Liaoning Ballet brought 21 dancers， including China’s top male dancer Lu Meng and rising stars such as Yu Chuanya， Zhang Haidong and Ma Ming.
The company， founded in 1980， is one of China’s major ballet companies with a strong classical technique and repertoire， including Swan Lake， The Sleeping Beauty， Le Corsaire， Don Quixote， The Nutcracker， Les Sylphides， Giselle， and La Fille Mal Gardée. It has also produced Chinesethemed ballets， such as The Butterfly Lovers， and a modern ballet， The Last Emperor. The company tours extensively， performing and taking part in professional dance competitions in Europe， Australia， Japan， Cuba， Russia and Canada every year.
“Liaoning Ballet features young and very adaptable dancers who have accumulated rich performing experience from our long-time cooperation with domestic and international ballet artists and who have their own ways of artistic expression，”said Qu.
The company also has a ballet school. Established in 1994， the school with approximately 600 students is one of the largest bases in the world for nurturing talent. More than 95 percent of Liaoning Ballet dancers are graduates of the school.
Market？prospects
The two ballet companies have rich international exchange and cooperation experience. Liaoning Ballet’s joint productions with foreign counterparts include Le Corsaire， The Sleeping Beauty， Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet， all of which have been favorably received internationally， said Qu.
Joburg Ballet has had similar exchanges with the National Ballet and the National School of Ballet of Cuba.
Qu said though she did not know the South African ballet market， based on initial audience reaction - tickets for the opening performance sold out a week before - she believed the joint cultural venture was a win-win for both.
“The South African ballet market is growing and developing as we continue to target young， black audiences along with our established fans，” said Badenhorst.
Overcoming？challenges
Both companies said the cooperation didn’t suffer much from culture and language differences.
Qu said they had hardly met any cultural and language barriers. The whole process had been smooth and highly efficient.
“This is what makes ballet a special art form for cultural interchange，” said Badenhorst. “Language doesn’t have to play a big role as skill and talent speak more clearly.”
The main challenge， he said， was that the two companies had to rehearse separately. To solve that problem， Jorburg Ballet sent two dancers to China to rehearse with Liaoning Ballet.
Future？cooperation
Joburg Ballet hopes its cooperation with Liaoning Ballet would become more substantial. “We hope that we will be able to work more with the Liaoning Ballet at different levels， from development work to stage performances，” said Badenhorst. “We also hope to have a greater impact in the Chinese market in South Africa. Another aspect we look forward to is having access to teachers and trainers in and from China and giving Chinese companies access to our dancers and choreographers.”
The CEO hoped the cooperation with Liaoning Ballet would help achieve growth and development in their outreach component - discovering young black South African talent.
“We might have exchange programs in teachers’ training and guest dancers as the next step of cooperation，” added Qu.
The joint performance has attracted much attention both in China and in South Africa. Supported by China’s Ministry of Culture and South Africa’s Department of Arts and Culture， it is one of the important events to mark the 2015 Year of China in South Africa. It is also a new initiative of the two ballet companies to jointly explore the commercial performance market in South Africa.
New？Swan？Lake
The exchange and cooperation between the two companies began in the Year of South Africa in China last year. This year， they have taken the cooperation further， resulting in the joint performance and production of Swan Lake.
“Swan Lake was chosen because it’s the ultimate classic ballet and a wonderful platform to showcase South African flair alongside Chinese precision，” said Joburg Ballet CEO Dirk Badenhorst.
According to Badenhorst， the new production boasts entirely new sets and more classical tutus. In addition， it is the first time three prima ballerinas- from South Africa， China and Cuba - appeared together on stage. It is also the first time indigenous African dancers donned major roles.
The inaugural performance featured a mix of Joburg Ballet and Liaoning Ballet dancers in the leading roles and ensemble pieces. Later performances saw the roles interchanged.
Liaoning Ballet Director Qu Zijiao said the dancers from different cultures brought their own understanding to the classic ballet.
“Swan Lake played and represented by Easterners is surely different from what is familiar on the international stage，” she said， adding that astern elegance and the strength and techniques of Joburg Ballet made the performances more splendid.
Chinese？dancers
For the performance season， Liaoning Ballet brought 21 dancers， including China’s top male dancer Lu Meng and rising stars such as Yu Chuanya， Zhang Haidong and Ma Ming.
The company， founded in 1980， is one of China’s major ballet companies with a strong classical technique and repertoire， including Swan Lake， The Sleeping Beauty， Le Corsaire， Don Quixote， The Nutcracker， Les Sylphides， Giselle， and La Fille Mal Gardée. It has also produced Chinesethemed ballets， such as The Butterfly Lovers， and a modern ballet， The Last Emperor. The company tours extensively， performing and taking part in professional dance competitions in Europe， Australia， Japan， Cuba， Russia and Canada every year.
“Liaoning Ballet features young and very adaptable dancers who have accumulated rich performing experience from our long-time cooperation with domestic and international ballet artists and who have their own ways of artistic expression，”said Qu.
The company also has a ballet school. Established in 1994， the school with approximately 600 students is one of the largest bases in the world for nurturing talent. More than 95 percent of Liaoning Ballet dancers are graduates of the school.
Market？prospects
The two ballet companies have rich international exchange and cooperation experience. Liaoning Ballet’s joint productions with foreign counterparts include Le Corsaire， The Sleeping Beauty， Don Quixote and Romeo and Juliet， all of which have been favorably received internationally， said Qu.
Joburg Ballet has had similar exchanges with the National Ballet and the National School of Ballet of Cuba.
Qu said though she did not know the South African ballet market， based on initial audience reaction - tickets for the opening performance sold out a week before - she believed the joint cultural venture was a win-win for both.
“The South African ballet market is growing and developing as we continue to target young， black audiences along with our established fans，” said Badenhorst.
Overcoming？challenges
Both companies said the cooperation didn’t suffer much from culture and language differences.
Qu said they had hardly met any cultural and language barriers. The whole process had been smooth and highly efficient.
“This is what makes ballet a special art form for cultural interchange，” said Badenhorst. “Language doesn’t have to play a big role as skill and talent speak more clearly.”
The main challenge， he said， was that the two companies had to rehearse separately. To solve that problem， Jorburg Ballet sent two dancers to China to rehearse with Liaoning Ballet.
Future？cooperation
Joburg Ballet hopes its cooperation with Liaoning Ballet would become more substantial. “We hope that we will be able to work more with the Liaoning Ballet at different levels， from development work to stage performances，” said Badenhorst. “We also hope to have a greater impact in the Chinese market in South Africa. Another aspect we look forward to is having access to teachers and trainers in and from China and giving Chinese companies access to our dancers and choreographers.”
The CEO hoped the cooperation with Liaoning Ballet would help achieve growth and development in their outreach component - discovering young black South African talent.
“We might have exchange programs in teachers’ training and guest dancers as the next step of cooperation，” added Qu.