The "Shangba version" of "Camellia Woman" premiered in Macau, with "Margaret" dancing and a Shanghai style ballet with toe jumping atmosphere. Shanghai | Margaret | Toe

As soon as you get close to the Macau Cultural Center · Comprehensive Theater, you can vaguely smell the scent of the waves. Inside this coastal theater, Shanghai style ballet is dancing gracefully, performing the art of toes. At 8 o'clock that evening, the theater was fully booked. The music started, the lights dimmed, and the curtain opened. The previous version of the ballet "Camellia Woman" was staged on time, with gorgeous and elegant stage beauty and watercolor style setting that caught the eye.

At the invitation of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao Special Administrative Region Government, on the evening of June 9th and 10th, "The Lady of Camellia" performed twice in Macau. This is Shangba's first overseas performance since her US tour in January 2020, and also her first appearance in Macau with the entire drama. "The premiere of 'The Lady of Camellia' in Macau was an important moment. The Shanghai Ballet is highly acclaimed for its artistic achievements and extensive and rich repertoire, which combines classic works with unique Chinese stories." Zheng Jiming, Deputy Director of the Macao Cultural Bureau, said, "The Lady of Camellia perfectly presents the artistic strength of the Shanghai Ballet, presenting this well-known story in an elegant and dramatic way, which is the unique charm of the work."

"Everything has been adjusted to its best state"

In June, Macau was humid, hot, and rainy. From the moment they arrived in Macau from the south, 71 members of the Shanghai Ballet were engaged in intense rehearsals. In order to welcome the premiere in Macau, the night before, the behind the scenes technicians were busy until 11pm. Actors are no exception, taking advantage of the gap between stage setting and attending basic training classes without landing for a day. At 17:00 on the same day, the dancers finished rehearsing the second act of the dance drama, which was only a few hours before the official performance.

The main actress of the Shanghai Ballet, Qi Bingxue, has a habit of searching for previous movies or dance dramas before each performance of "Camellia Woman" and pondering the interpretations of the role of "Margaret" by different actors. "Every time I rehearse, I watch," she said. The classic novel "The Lady of the Camellia" by French author Alexandre Dumas is well-known and has been adapted into various art forms such as movies, operas, and ballet worldwide. The protagonist Margaret is one of the most coveted roles for many dancers.

In 2019, Derek Dean, the invited artistic director and British ballet master of the Shanghai Ballet, tailored a ballet with the same name based on Alexandre Dumas Jr.'s "La Traviata". He starts the dance drama from the perspective of the female protagonist, using the moment of Margaret's death as the beginning, and recounts her life through reverse narration; I hope to integrate the personality of the characters into every dance segment, in order to highlight the tragic color and dramatic conflict of the work. In Qi Bingxue's view, Margaret's many choices or behaviors are forced by life, and she also has her fragile side. It has been half a year since the last performance of "Camellia Woman", and Qi Bingxue said, "After experiencing more characters, I will put more life oriented things into it, and put myself into that era. It's not about 'acting', but about making the characters more life oriented."

"The Camellia Woman" does not have a fairy tale like ending, and the luxurious background on stage highlights the tragic color of the love between Margaret and Armand. During the creative process, Adam Ni used up to 60 categories and hundreds of hard scenery props to recreate the style of upper class society and rural areas in France at that time.

For Wu Husheng, the deputy director and chief actor of the Shanghai Ballet, who plays the male protagonist "Armand", "The Lady of Camellia" is also an impressive play. In November 2019, "The Camellia Woman" premiered in Shanghai, and Wu Husheng performed the entire performance due to a lumbar dislocation during training and injury. After a 4-year hiatus, "The Camellia Woman" has appeared in over 40 shows, and his familiarity with the characters is deeply ingrained in his body. "This time performing in Macau, there were no problems with life, language, and diet. Everything has been adjusted to the best state." Wu Husheng, 37, is at the best age as a ballet dancer, both in terms of stage experience and personal growth. "Looking back, that waist injury was not a bad thing. Since then, I have strengthened my auxiliary training and strength training to avoid such situations from happening again."

After dancing "Camellia Woman" so many times, Wu Husheng can better understand the contrast and versatility of "Armand"'s personality. He said that he has been working with director Derek Dean since entering the upper bar, almost throughout his career. "In a dance drama, music is very important. When I dance and listen to music repeatedly, I will better understand the idea of composition and experience more details." The music of "Camellia Woman" is commendable. The composer is Carol Davis, who composed the music for the British BBC 95 version of Pride and Prejudice. His music is rich in the texture of movie music, reproducing the gorgeous and elegant characteristics of the era, combining romantic temperament and dramatic tension.

Macau audience is looking forward to the performance of the ballet

The enthusiasm of Macau audiences towards the Shanghai Ballet can be seen from the details. A street caf é not far from the theater, the program album of "Camellia Woman" is placed among numerous magazines, and the exquisite stills on the cover attract the attention of diners. The performance venue, Macau Cultural Center · Comprehensive Theater, has approximately 1200 seats, and over 2000 tickets for two performances have long been sold out. "From the box office and occupancy rate, it can be seen that Macau audiences are very excited," Zheng Jiming sighed.

"According to feedback, there are also some viewers from Hong Kong, China and Southeast Asia who want to come and see, but they have run out of tickets." Shanghai Ballet Troupe Leader Xin Lili has a point of view that ballet art is imported, "and we need to compete on the world stage."

There are various ways to compete in the arena, such as international exchanges, business models, or on-site performances. "In the past 15 years, Shangba has developed a suitable model for ballet troupes, including operational models and channels for going global." She said that Shangba has always been "walking on two legs", creating domestic original plays and introducing internationally renowned directors to perform world-renowned works with Shanghai style ballet. Just last month, Shangba's original ballet "The Phantom of the Opera" performed six consecutive times at the Shanghai International Dance Center Theater, receiving rave reviews. "The construction of ballet should be like the construction of technology, reflecting the world's level. Bringing 'Camellia Woman' to Macau is a full reflection of the professionalism, internationalization, and marketization of Shanghai Ballet."

In Xin Lili's view, the audience in Macau has a high vision because the city always has first-class teams and artists to perform. "Shangba has formed an elegant, elegant, and fashionable style of Shanghai style ballet art. If we were to 'borrow a boat to go abroad' in the past, after so many years of hard work, we are now 'building' ourselves and building an international creative team."

In just over two months, Shangba will also bring the classic version of Swan Lake abroad and perform dozens of shows in many parts of the Netherlands. At the same time, "another flower" outside of "The Camellia Woman" will also be launched for promotion. Shangba will promote the creation of the original ballet "Lilies" commissioned by the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee's Propaganda Department. This work is adapted from the novel of the same name by renowned writer Ru Zhijuan and portrays the noble and pure human beauty of the war era. It is expected to meet with the audience next spring.