The "Red Detachment of Women," in the permanent repertoire of the NBC, has been considered one of the most successful Chinese ballets since its debut in 1964.

The women soldiers dancing on their toes left Chinese and international audiences with a new image of ballet.

Now the first Qionghua (the heroine of the ballet) Bai Shuxiang is in her 60s and Li Ning and Meng Ningning have become the pillars of the NBC, portraying the fifth generation of Qionghua.

"I felt interested to see the dancers clench their fists with their eyes wide open when I saw the ballet at a very young age. It was very different from what I was learning at ballet class," said Meng Ningning, who is 22.

"It was a little difficult for me to get inside Qionghua when I started to rehearse as I did not live in that era and could not share her experience." Both of the two young ballerinas felt upset at the beginning.

Li Ning, 24, said: "When I portrayed Qionghua for the first time, I was not only excited but nervous, for it is such a well-known repertoire and Qionghua is such an eye-catching role in Chinese modern ballet.

"Audiences over the years have been impressed by the role portrayed by some renowned ballerinas. Could they accept me?"

A triple bill of "The Yellow River," "Butterfly Lovers" and "The Rite of Spring" will also be staged.

In 1939, the renowned Chinese composer Xian Xinghai (1905-45) wrote the "Yellow River Cantata" extolling the great national spirit of China.

Since then many choreographers have tried to interpret the chorus in dance but all ended in failure until 1999.

Then Chen Zemei, a Chinese folk dance choreographer, navigated the famous chorus into a brand new field, a dance work combining ballet and folk dance.

Zhang Jian, the leading dancer in "The Yellow River" is a familiar face to most ballet-lovers. She won the gold medal in the 1997 Moscow International Ballet Competition.

"Today's dancers have both perfect physique and technique. So in 'The Yellow River,' they dance with great power and vigor to express Chinese people's struggle against invaders," said Zhao Ruheng, the president of the NBC.

Swedish dancer and choreographer Per Isberg's dance "Butterfly Lovers" is based on a popular Chinese violin solo of the same name composed by musicians Chen Gang and He Zhanhao.

Isberg considers the tragic love story on everybody's lips has a permanent and universal influence. "I emphasize the two souls' loneliness and thirst for love," he said.

Zhao said the NBC wanted to invite a foreigner to choreograph a traditional Chinese story.

Besides the ballet itself, the NBC is also paying much attention to the stage design and costumes.

The stage is kept dark for most of the drama to symbolize the constraint of old society.

On the background curtain are orange and black stripes.

The striking contrast highlights the leading characters' struggle for free love and marriage against life-destroying feudal codes.

"The Rite of Spring" was composed by renowned Russian musician Igor Stravinsky in Switzerland in 1912-13.

By today's standards it might be considered a conservative piece, but at the time it was music worthy of a riot - a bold step into dissonant sounds and new musical devices that slapped concert-goers in the face - these were obviously sounds people had never heard before.

Stravinsky was stepping on the toes of the traditionalists.

Last November, the NBC invited Wang Xinpeng, who has lived in Germany for many years and gained a fast-growing reputation in European modern dance, to choreograph a Chinese version of "The Rite of Spring."

"Wang adds his own conception of modern dance to the ballet. The style is very different from the original one," said Zhao.

Just before its public debut, "The Rite of Spring" was staged at Peking University last week.

"The NBC likes to stage its new repertoire there before the public debut because professors and students in Peking University accept new things easily. Most of the NBC's works are appreciated by them," Zhao said.

During the past four decades, the NBC has amazed audiences with their classic beauty and technical virtuosity in demanding performances like "Swan Lake," "Giselle" and "Sleeping Beauty," but now they wish to impress with different styles.

"In the coming season, the NBC will stage some different styles. On the one hand it is a way to improve dancers' technique but on the other hand it can broaden people's view of ballet," said Zhao.

(China Daily 03/06/2001)