"The White-Haired Girl" was born in the 5th "Shanghai Spring", marking a breakthrough in Chinese ballet from scratch, and is also a "family heirloom" and "family show" of the Shanghai Ballet.
After 60 years, "The White-Haired Girl" appeared in the 39th "Shanghai Spring". On April 13, the 60th anniversary celebration performance of "The White-Haired Girl" was performed at the Shanghai International Dance Center for two consecutive performances.
Xu Jingkun, Feng Zichun, and Guo Wenjin, who play the leading roles on the stage, are already the ninth generation of dance drama heirs. In their early 20s, they took over the baton from the older generation of artists and gave new vitality to classic works.
Before the performance, the 80-year-old dancer Ling Guiming, who played the first generation of Dachun, also came to the rehearsal hall to give personal demonstrations and provide guidance to the new generation of actors.
Xu Jingkun and Feng Zichun, who play the roles of Dachun and Xi'er
Xu Jingkun and Guo Wenjin, who play the roles of Dachun and the white-haired girl
The ninth-generation actor plays the leading role
Feng Zichun plays the role of Xi'er in the play. "In the beginning, she was an innocent and cute little girl. Looking forward to her father coming home, "The North Wind Blowing the Red Head String" is very sweet. Later, Huang Shiren came to press for debts and beat her father to death. The period of crying for her father was very heavy in her heart. , carrying hatred on his back, ran into the deep mountains and old forests. "
Xi'er's emotional change from great joy to great sadness requires precise interpretation, which is the most challenging part for Feng Zichun.
"The spirit of red works is different, requiring more emotions and more tension. Everyone is so familiar with this drama. If the emotions and feelings are not in place, they can all see it."
Feng Zichun said , "The White-Haired Girl" is Shanghai Ballet's favorite show and a touchstone for actors. It has been passed down to their generation and cannot be broken. "We must take over this position, work harder and take the role more seriously."
Xu Jingkun and Feng Zichun, rehearsal scene
"Post-2000" Guo Wenjin plays the white-haired girl. Every time she dances, she is very moved, "It's very cool! The white-haired girl has been depressed in the cave for so many years, and finally ushered in the sun and hope. The great revenge must be avenged. "
" Xi'er is sweet, the white-haired girl is equivalent to Qingyi, and has more technical skills. In the case of physical exertion, on the one hand, she has to complete these skills, and on the other hand, she has to jump out of the look and expression of that era. "Feeling."
The white-haired girl met Dachun. She had a solo dance in which she had to complete 32 difficult single-leg turns on one leg. At that time, the actor was most tired. "I would also practice it when I was a child," she said. But you won’t do so many at one time. The feeling of dancing alone is different from dancing in the whole section. "
Xu Jingkun and Guo Wenjin, the rehearsal scene
"Post-2000" Xu Jingkun plays Dachun. In the second year after joining the troupe, he began to learn this drama, from the group dance to Dachun, step by step.
The most difficult part is how to capture the details of the characters of that era. "The character must be aroused, have a warrior temperament, a revolutionary sense of faith, and a red spirit." In order to get into the role, Xu Jingkun would I got my feelings from the movies and books of that era, and also watched the videos many times. "However, I still can't learn the essence by watching the videos. I still need a teacher to help me from the front."
"Every time you dance, you will have a different feeling. This character , I want to keep jumping," he said.
The first generation of Dachunlai guided
spanning sixty years, "The White-Haired Girl" is still full of vitality, with a total of more than 2,000 performances at home and abroad.
While using foreign ballet vocabulary, the dance drama draws on a large number of national folk dances, operas, martial arts and other materials. Musically, the dance drama retains pieces such as "The North Wind Blows" and "Tie the Red Headband" from the original opera, and also absorbs folk songs from North China such as Hebei Bangzi and Shanxi Bangzi, which are full of distinctive national style and rich sense of life.
Ling Guiming guided Xu Jingkun to rehearse
Before the performance, Ling Guiming came to the rehearsal site. He guided Xu Jingkun to rehearse the scene of Dachun and the white-haired girl more than ten times.
In his opinion, the key to performing this drama well is to create good characters. “You must start from the characters and build them up, rather than just doing a few actions.”
“They are constantly improving technically and are better than us. The level at that time was higher. "The disadvantage is that young people don't know much about the past life and don't have many opportunities to experience life. The countryside has also changed and is completely different from before.
In order to get closer to the character, Ling Guiming also spent a lot of energy when he was young. "I first danced as the prince in "Swan Lake". Later, I played Dachun. The audience didn't feel it. I still looked like a prince. I brought my original habits to the stage." Ling Guiming and other leading actors went to Fengxian Farm Brigade and performed in the reed mat shed. Experience life in the dilapidated house called "Rolling Dragon", pick cotton, cut wheat, and listen to the farmers talk about their own sufferings.
"I began to understand how farmers suffer. I understood the class hatred of poor families towards landlords, which aroused hatred, and I needed to have strength in my hands when taking action, so I used more fists."
However, "from the current perspective, there are some places where You don’t have to use your fists.” Ling Guiming said that Dachun would definitely use his fists when facing Huang Shiren and Mu Renzhi, but in front of Xi’er, he could eliminate it and make his movements more graceful, lyrical and emotional. The dance drama will also be better to watch. "Times are different, aesthetics are different, and the younger generation does not need to be exactly the same as in the past."
Ling Guiming, Xin Lili and Xu Jingkun
""The White-Haired Girl" is the heirloom of the Shanghai Ballet, and the principals and principals of each generation of the dance company The main actors all started their artistic careers playing the roles of Dachun, Xi'er and White-haired Girl," said Xin Lili, director of Shanghai Ballet.
Today, "The White-Haired Girl" has been passed down to the ninth generation. "There will be a bit of a generation gap when they enter, but they accept it quickly." In recent years, the dance troupe has successively rehearsed red-themed dance dramas such as "Shining Red Star", "Pagoda Mountain" and "Lilies", all of which have military roles, as well as Life in the countryside is a great training for actors, and it also helps them enter "The White-Haired Girl" more quickly.
