Shanghai Ballet to Perform Camellias for Australian Audiences

Shanghai Ballet's Camellias will make its overseas debut in Brisbane, Australia, next month, staging five performances over four days at the Queensland Performing Arts Center.

For anyone wondering if Australian audiences would pay to watch Chinese dancers perform a Western story, the box office has the answer.

The Shanghai Ballet performs its two-act Camellias production.

"The three shows we originally planned were all sold out, so we added two more shows," said Shanghai Ballet artistic director Xin Lili. "The Lady of the Camellias is a story that is loved by both Chinese and Australian audiences. We will show our best form there."

Adapted from Alexandre Dumas' classic novel, Shanghai Ballet's two-act production was choreographed by British dancer Derek Deane to the music of Carl Davis. It debuted in Shanghai in 2019.

The ballet debuted in Shanghai in 2019.

"The choreography is the same," Deane said of this round of performances. "We rehearsed for two weeks, during which I tried to draw out more emotion from the dancers. "I think the Australian audiences will be curious and keen to see Chinese dancers perform a ballet about a Western story," he said.

In 2018, Queensland Ballet was invited by Shanghai Ballet to perform A Midsummer Night's Dream in Shanghai, during which the two parties signed communication agreements.

Shanghai Ballet principal dancers Wu Husheng and Qi Bingxue play the lead roles of Armand and Marguerite.

Shanghai Ballet's visit to Brisbane is a follow-up to that agreement, and also a tribute to 35th anniversary of sisterhood between Shanghai and Queensland."Camellias is one of our most mature productions," said Shanghai Ballet director Ji Pingping. "We look forward to presenting the elegant and delicate artistic style of the Shanghai Ballet on the world stage."

Source: SHINE   Editor: Yang Meiping