Shanghai Ballet: Five original pieces staged by young choreographers

World
Europe

02:16

Three young choreographers from the Shanghai Ballet have staged an original new show at the city's international dance center. Among them is Wu Husheng, who put together a performance detailing professional and personal struggles. Huang Yuanqing reports.

Wu Husheng who is a principal dancer as well as choreographer put together two works for the show. One called Blackthorn was inspired by his co-star Fan Xiaofeng, who ruptured her Achilles tendon while dancing last year. The work was an interpretation of Fan's attempt to overcome the injury and return to the stage.

WU HUSHENG PRINCIPAL DANCER & CHOREOGRAPHER, SHANGHAI BALLET "I also got injured before, so I totally understand how Fan felt. I wanted to present those kinds of feelings on stage, so the audience can feel the same way too. Also besides the injury part, I put more emphasis on how she recovered and got back on stage. It's not only for Fan but also for all the ballerinas."

FAN XIAOFENG PRINCIPAL DANCER, SHANGHAI BALLET "Although it's a few minutes show, it's the first time that I felt both nervous and happy at the same time in my 30-year ballet career. After the injury, I never thought I would put on the shoes and dance on stage again. I feel I'm so lucky to have today. Thank you all the people who've been around me and love me!"

This is the second year the ballet has held a showcase called "Inspire" for young choreographers, although last year's show took place in Beijing.

XIN LILI, DIRECTOR SHANGHAI BALLET "It's a necessity to cultivate our young choreographers since they are a key to our ballet development. So I see 'Inspire' as a starting point for our young artists to develop their skills and ability. I hope we will cultivate more and more talents each year. This was the second year for us to present 'Inspire' and it will be better next year."

The other two choreographers taking part were Chen Qi and Wang Hao.