e-magazine
The Hot Zone
China's newly announced air defense identification zone over the East China Sea aims to shore up national security
Current Issue
· Table of Contents
· Editor's Desk
· Previous Issues
· Subscribe to Mag
Subscribe Now >>
Expert's View
World
Nation
Business
Finance
Market Watch
Legal-Ease
North American Report
Forum
Government Documents
Expat's Eye
Health
Science/Technology
Lifestyle
Books
Movies
Backgrounders
Special
Photo Gallery
Blogs
Reader's Service
Learning with
'Beijing Review'
E-mail us
RSS Feeds
PDF Edition
Web-magazine
Reader's Letters
Make Beijing Review your homepage
Hot Links

cheap eyeglasses
Market Avenue
eBeijing

Repertoire of NBC
Ballet in China> Repertoire of NBC
UPDATED: February 21, 2010 NO. 35 AUGUST 28, 2003
Behind the Scenes
Share

Raise the Red Lantern isn't just Zhang Yimou's project, a whole team of choreographers, composers and artists worked on the ballet's second version.

Choreography: Wang Xinpeng and Wang Yuanyuan are the two top choreographers who interpreted Zhang's ideas in the language of stage performance.

Himself a ballet dancer, Wang Xinpeng has been studying choreography since the 1970s. In the late 1980s he moved to Germany, where he furthered his study and worked in various ballet companies. Some of his more recent works earned him international awards. Since 2000, Wang Xinpeng has been directing choreography for NBC and was director of stage art for the Red Lantern in both its releases.

Wang Yuanyuan graduated from Beijing Academy of Choreography in 1995 before she went to study in the United States. She was not in the Red Lantern's first version, and proved to have played a "highly valuable role" in its second version, according to the NBC performance manager Wang Quanxing. She was the director of the revision of the mahjong dance, which she made more interpretive of the characters. The Chinese press calls her a "good storyteller in abstract language."

Music: Chen Qigang, a Chinese musician but long-time resident of France, divided his compositions into 40 percent modern Western style, 50 percent in distinctive Chinese style-based on either traditional operas or folk music - and the remaining 10 percent a combination of the two. "The ideal music" for the Red Lantern, said Chen, the son of a Chinese calligrapher, should be "a balance between the East and the West."

Costumes: Designed by French stylist Jerome Kaplan, the clothing of the three main ballerinas are in red, yellow and green. Kaplan made the costumes for other dancers in a bluish tone to serve as the background. The special design Kaplan adopted for the silk cheongsams (traditional formal dresses) retains the beauty of this tradition style but also enables dancers to move without any difficulty.

Promotion: The domestic side of Red Lantern's promotion is under leadership of Ye Biye, CEO of the Beijing-based Field-Sun Culture and Art Co. Ltd. Ye joined efforts with partner Li Han, chairman of the company, after he worked in a local TV station and a state-owned art management company. Now the two executives own Field-Sun, and in the last few years, it has grown from promoting fashion shows and watermelon festivals to become a specialized manager of art event. Field-Sun claims to have helped NBC fully book its shows from now to the end of December 2004, with total potential profit between 8-10 million yuan ($0.96-1.2 million).



 
Top Story
-Protecting Ocean Rights
-Partners in Defense
-Fighting HIV+'s Stigma
-HIV: Privacy VS. Protection
-Setting the Tone
Most Popular
 
About BEIJINGREVIEW | About beijingreview.com | Rss Feeds | Contact us | Advertising | Subscribe & Service | Make Beijing Review your homepage
Copyright Beijing Review All right reserved