It’s Swan Lake – but not as we know it. The classic ballet has been performed in China for decades – but 10 years ago, the nation turned Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece inside out.
In 2005, the Guangdong Military Acrobatic Troupe of China debuted a distinctly East-meets-West production in Shanghai.
A sensational sell-out mixing ballet and acrobatics, much of the hype centred on the moment the lead ballerina performed a pas de deux balanced atop the male lead’s head. One night, Wu Zhengdan and Wei Baohua, the husband-and-wife team behind this instant YouTube hit, were summoned at short notice to Beijing to perform for American president George W Bush and China’s leader Hu Jintao, leaving 3,000 ticket holders disappointed and offered refunds.
In 2008, the show went on the road, with a production that was internationally branded as the Great Chinese State Circus. It has since visited more than 100 cities around the globe, playing to about 1.5 million people.
It makes its regional debut on Thursday, kicking off a three-night, six-show run at Dubai World Trade Centre.
To say this show is a hit would be an understatement. A YouTube clip of one climatic scene has gathered more than 28 million views.
Exploiting exotic interest in China’s distinct performance traditions, the touring production has evolved into a more family-focused spectacle.
Man Lingling and Li Yan now take the lead roles, although they still perform the kind of dramatic twirls-on-head sequences that made the show famous from the start. Fresh choreography, new costumes and more circus elements have also been added.
Not that there is anything less than steely seriousness about the company, who are technically employees of the Ministry of National Defence of the People’s Republic of China. As a result, promoters DreamScape told The National that no interviews with any members of the cast or crew are allowed.
Journalists who have been given permission to visit the company’s base in Guangdong, in the south-east of China, describe it as a military barracks with carefully enforced rules and curfews. And, of course, a relentless and rigorous training schedule and selection process.
One might think that ballet and the military make for strange bedfellows. But in China, army-inspired discipline and regiment is the key, creating the conditions necessary for the dancers to reach the art form’s most profound peaks of technical precision.
You can find out for yourself how well this approach pays off this weekend.
• The Great Chinese State Circus perform Swan Lake at Dubai World Trade Centre, from Thursday to Saturday. For performance times and tickets, from Dh195, visit platinumlist.ae
rgarratt@thenational.ae
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
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Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
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- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani