FOR ITS LAST Hong Kong show in 2002, the mainland's National Ballet presented Zhang Yimou's Chinese-themed ballet Raise the Red Lantern. This was the work that won them international acclaim when it was performed in London and Paris last season. The sold-out London run at Sadler's Wells Theatre was a triumph for the company, which has just been nominated as one of three finalists for the Best Foreign Company in the UK National Dance Awards (another finalist being the Bolshoi Ballet), which will be presented next January at the Royal Opera House. Celebrating its 45th anniversary this year, the 80-strong National Ballet of China will visit Hong Kong again for four performances this week. This time, however, the show will present two programmes featuring masterpieces from the western ballet repertoire. The opening programme will be the full-length 19th-century French ballet, Sylvia, set to Leo Delibes' enchanting score. The Paris Opera Ballet used to have a version close to the original 1876 staging by Louis Merante, until it was replaced in 1997. It's this old authentic version that the National Ballet acquired back in 1980. This version has just been restaged by the company, during a premiere at the end of September in Beijing as part of the current Year in China festival. Several ballet masters from Paris were involved, and the lead roles were danced by two guest dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet. The ballet features a love story between a mortal and a goddess. The shepherd Aminta falls in love with the beautiful Sylvia. But the hunter Orion captures Sylvia. Aminta is prepared to challenge Orion in combat, but Sylvia pleads with the goddess Diana, who intercedes to save Aminta. Finally the couple return to the human world. The second programme, an evening of three works by the late George Balanchine, is even more timely. The Russian-born American who founded the New York City Ballet, is widely considered to be the greatest choreographer of the 20th century. This year marks a world-wide dance celebration of the centenary of his birth and, in this sense, the National Ballet's Balanchine programme at last puts Hong Kong on the map, since the Hong Kong Ballet tends not to perform his works. The local dance public will see three of the choreographer's works which are rarely seen here, the last time being 2002 when the Kirov Ballet danced two sold-out performances of Balanchine's Jewels. This turn towards the west is happening under the direction of Zhao Ruheng, a former dancer of the company, whose contract as artistic director has just been renewed after 10 years of service. 'I've already reached retirement age, in fact, and so this new contract extension has made me aware of a heavier responsibility,' she says. Though the head of a Chinese company, Zhao has certainly paid tribute to western greats such as Balanchine. During the weekend of the centenary this January, Zhao had her company perform Balanchine's works alongside stars from the Paris Opera Ballet, the New York City Ballet, London's Royal Ballet, and Russia's Kirov Ballet. 'We celebrated Balanchine's centennial in Beijing earlier than some other companies in the world,' she says. For Hong Kong, the National Ballet has selected three of the master's early masterpieces from the 1930s and 1940s. Serenade was the first work he created in America. The Four Temperaments is set to Paul Hindemith's music and is divided into four parts: a theme and four variations. The last work in the evening is Theme and Variations (1947) which was intended by Balanchine to pay homage to imperial Russia, and is seen by some US critics as a distillation of the essence of the 19th-century classic The Sleeping Beauty. It contains some beautiful ensemble work, a moving duet, and a demanding piece for the male soloist. Zhao, however, has not lost sight of the National Ballet's uniquely Chinese roots. 'I also need to plan my succession and bring up younger people to take over the leadership of the company,' she says. 'I do place a high priority on nurturing Chinese choreographers and developing their work. In my opinion, a successful choreographer needs to have a thorough understanding of Chinese culture, as well as an awareness of contemporary trends in ballet, besides being well versed in the classical ballet vocabulary. The success of Raise the Red Lantern has boosted our confidence in creating new choreography.' More overseas tours are planned soon. 'We're negotiating to tour the US and Japan in 2005, and maybe Europe again in 2006,' says Zhao. Meanwhile, Zhao is going to London in January for the UK National Dance Awards ceremony. She exudes confidence about the future, and is surprisingly straightforward in talking about problems such as the impact of Sars and a tendency of dancers in the company to move to the west later in their careers. 'Sars has only affected us very temporarily. I'm not afraid of challenges,' she says. 'The loss of our dancers to the west doesn't really bother me. After all, a dancer's career is short, and I don't object to my dancers doing what is best for their career.' National Ballet of China, Sylvia, Wed-Thu, Balanchine Evening, Nov 27-28. All performances 7.30pm, Cultural Centre, TST, $100, $180, $350, $480 Urbtix. Inquiries: 2734 9009
