Barbie doll ‘honour’ for China’s top ballerina, Tan Yuanyuan
Nation’s greatest ever ballet dancer among 17 women role models chosen for new Barbie doll series
China’s top ballerina, Tan Yuanyuan, can add another honour to her long list of achievements – a Barbie doll in her image. The doll features Tan wearing a white swan tutu from the ballet Swan Lake.
“It’s exciting to be recognised by Barbie along with other inspirational women from around the world who are breaking boundaries in different areas to make the world a better place for the next generation of girls,” Tan, prima ballerina of the San Francisco Ballet and a guest principal dancer with the Hong Kong Ballet for the past decade, said by email.
Tan, considered the greatest Chinese ballet dancer of all time, was among women honoured with dolls in their image last week to mark International Women’s Day. Toymaker Mattel last week issued 17 new Barbies representing female role models around the world.
Among the other women are Chinese volleyball champion Hui Ruoqi, a former national team captain (she led her team to gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics) and Chinese actress Guan Xiaotong, ambassador for World Life Day, a joint campaign by the United Nations Environment Programme, International Fund for Animal Welfare and The Nature Conservancy.
Barbie wears a hijab as Mattel pays tribute to champion US fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad
Also given the Barbie treatment were women including US Olympic snowboarding champion Chloe Kim, British boxing champion Nicola Adams, Wonder Woman film director Patty Jenkins, French chef Hélène Darroze, Spanish fashion designer Vicky Martin Berrocal, Australian conservationist Bindi Irwin, and Italian soccer player Sara Gama, as well as some figures from history.