Singapore

Red lanterns, candied haws, firecrackers, kites, fans painted with Chinese landscape paintings, a lively scene of the Chinese New Year temple fair on the stage... The Chinese ballet "New Year", known as the Chinese version of "The Nutcracker", was held at Singapore's Marina Art on the evening of the 18th. As soon as the curtain of the center opened, a strong Chinese New Year flavor came to your face.

    This is a New Year's Eve drama presented by the Chinese Ballet Company to Singapore audiences on the eve of the Chinese New Year. The combination of Chinese and Western dance styles gives the audience a rich spiritual enjoyment.

    "New Year" tells the story of a foreign friend coming to a Chinese family to celebrate the New Year. Through gifts from foreign friends, the elements of the classical Russian ballet classic "The Nutcracker" are subtly integrated into the play. The story is a combination of reality and fiction. Under the accompaniment of Tchaikovsky’s music, through the little girl’s dreams, the crane dance, silk dance, candied haws dance, kite dance, top dance, porcelain dance, firecracker dance, 12 zodiac dance, etc. are filled with China. The dance of cultural elements fits seamlessly into the play, and warm applause erupts from time to time in the audience.

    Audience Ms. Liu said that the whole performance left her a very good impression, and the Crane Dance before the end of the first show was particularly brilliant. As a Chinese, she is very happy to see the various elements of the New Year in the dance drama, creating a festive and auspicious atmosphere for the Spring Festival.

    Wang Haiqing, principal of Singapore's Extraordinary Dance School, believes that this combination of Chinese and Western artistic style is a very good attempt. The choreography, styling, costumes, etc. are refreshing. The slightly western-style silk dance in the play makes her love belly dancing. A little excited.

    Gonjan, an Indian-Singaporean, brought his young daughter to the show. She told reporters that she has watched many ballet versions of The Nutcracker in the United States and Singapore, and this is her favorite one. Because of living in Singapore, she was able to understand Chinese New Year customs. For example, the scenes with "fish" patterns in the play made her feel very cordial.

    China National Ballet Executive Director Wang Quanxing told reporters that the ballet "The Nutcracker", which premiered in 1892, is a classic Russian ballet. In February 2001, the Chinese Ballet Company created the Chinese version of "The Nutcracker" for the first time, and it was revised and renamed in 2010. For "New Year". From October to November last year, China and Brazil played 11 games of "New Year" in France, which was full.

    Wang Quanxing said that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China National Ballet, and China National Ballet has become one of the world's leading ballet companies. "New Year" is the first overseas performance of China National Ballet at the beginning of this year. It is hoped that through the help of the western art form of ballet, the Chinese story can be told well and the mutual understanding and friendship between Chinese and foreign people can be enhanced.

    It is understood that with the assistance of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Center, 39 Singaporean children took to the stage and played the "little gold ingots" in "New Year", which became another vivid embodiment of the cultural exchanges between China and Singapore.

    It is reported that "New Year" will also be staged at the Esplanade Singapore on the 19th and 20th. In order to cooperate with the performance, Xu Gang, assistant to the art director of China National Ballet, gave a lecture on the theme of "Ballet in China" on the 16th. Que Xiaohua, Cultural Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore, and Xiao Jianghua, director of the Singapore Chinese Cultural Center attended the event.