STORY: Ballet "The Butterfly Lovers" staged in Hong Kong
SHOOTING TIME: Oct. 15/17/18, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 29, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:17
LOCATION: HONG KONG, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of "The Butterfly Lovers" presented at the Grand Theater of Hong Kong Cultural Center
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): RICKY HU, Choreographer-in-residence of Hong Kong Ballet
3. various of the rehearsal
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): MAI JINGWEN, Choreographer
5. various of "The Butterfly Lovers" presented at the Grand Theater of Hong Kong Cultural Center
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): XUAN CHENG, Principal dancer of Hong Kong Ballet
7. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): TIM YIP, Set designer of "The Butterfly Lovers" and Oscar-winning designer

STORYLINE:

Adapted by Hong Kong Ballet, "The Butterfly Lovers," a large-scale ballet, premiered at the Grand Theater of Hong Kong Cultural Center on the evening of Oct. 18 to a full house.

At the end of the performance, the audience greeted the creative team with long applause and cheers.

Known as "the Chinese Romeo and Juliet," "The Butterfly Lovers" is brought to the stage for the first time in the form of ballet in Hong Kong, offering the audience a mesmerizing fusion of the ancient and modern, East and West.

The widely known legendary Chinese tragic romance between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai has inspired countless adaptations in opera, music, film, and other art forms.

Hong Kong Ballet's Artistic Director Septime Webre from the United States was deeply moved the first time when he heard "The Butterfly Lovers" violin concerto and believed it to be a "wonderful subject for a ballet."

Ricky Hu, choreographer-in-residence of Hong Kong Ballet, and his wife, Mai Jingwen, took on the task of creating the adaptation.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): RICKY HU, Choreographer-in-residence of Hong Kong Ballet
"I hope we can preserve the core story of the drama while also bringing innovations and breakthroughs, such as music compositions that combine both Chinese and Western styles. It is not abstract or contemporary. The integration of Chinese dance and ballet is what we want to achieve."

While preserving the core story of the drama, they strove to bring innovation and breakthroughs to the dance presentation.

Hu and Mai both come from a background in traditional Chinese dance. In the production of this ballet, they made a bold attempt to combine traditional Chinese dance elements with ballet. They admitted that this posed a significant challenge for the choreographers and the dancers.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): MAI JINGWEN, Choreographer
"Although Chinese dance and ballet are both forms of physical expression, their points of strength and movement trajectories are quite different. You will notice that the upright posture in ballet is very important, while in Chinese dance, it may involve elements like softness, grounding, and circular movements. There are different body trajectories, making a new experience for performers."

Xuan Cheng, principal dancer of Hong Kong Ballet, played the female leading role in this dance. She has played Juliet at home and abroad. This was the first time she played Zhu Yingtai.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): XUAN CHENG, Principal dancer of Hong Kong Ballet
"Our foot movements are all based on classical ballet dance, while our upper body incorporates many elements of classical Chinese dance. As a performer, I have kept learning continuously. Chinese dance highlights breath. Integrating the characteristics of Chinese dance into ballet helps complement each style and is beneficial overall."

As the highlight of Hong Kong Ballet's 45th anniversary season, "The Butterfly Lovers" brought together a team of artists from Hong Kong, Macao, and the mainland, including Oscar-winning designer Tim Yip who handled the set design.

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): TIM YIP, Set designer of "The Butterfly Lovers" and Oscar-winning designer
"I believe that interpreting Chinese stories through ballet has many possibilities. The most important point is to highlight our own cultural characteristics while being very dynamic. This is crucial, so I believe this drama is an exploration in this regard."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hong Kong, China.
(XHTV)