Ballet West China Tour 2010
Ballet West spent the early part of the summer on tour in China. This memorable trip was the culmination of years of planning by the Taynuilt-based company and promoters in Scotland and China. The company toured with the acclaimed production of The Nutcracker which toured Scotland early in 2010.
The beginning of the tour was affected by the Icelandic volcano ash cloud that grounded flights in April and several planned performance had to be hurriedly rescheduled for later in the tour. Fortunately, there was a brief clearing of the cloud over England and the dancers took a coach to Birmingham, flew to Hong Kong via Dubai, then on to Chongquing in central China, just in time to rehearse and perform.
The theatre in Chongquing, in common with all the others that were visited, was modern, architecturally stunning, well equipped and so much larger than many of the theatres that the company visits in Scotland. Company Director Gillian Barton said "It was a marvellous experience for the young dancers, as well as the seasoned professionals, to perform on vast stages in front of full houses of 1500 excited ballet lovers". The 55-strong company comprised several guest artists, the full-time professional dancers and students of Ballet West.
From Chongquing, the company moved on to Dongguan, Shenzhen then Huizhou in the South, then North to Wenzhou, Wuhan and Changzhou, where the performance was watched by a high ranking Communist Party Official. After Taizhou and Heifei, the dancers had performed the Nutcracker 13 times in 9 theatres over 25 days and travelled all over the South of China by bus, plane, rail and taxi. Shanghai was the next venue, with opportunities for shopping and sightseeing along the famous Bund and the staggering sight of the Shanghai skyline at night.
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The performances in the stunning Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre saw Jonathan Barton dancing once again with his sister, Sara Smith, a partnership which is familiar to Scottish audiences and brings a special sparkle to Ballet West productions. In the final leg of the tour, Ballet West took in Ningbo, the seaside city of Yantai, Tianjin, Beijing and Zhenzhou. Barton said "Beijing was the highlight of the tour for many dancers and all took the opportunities to visit the cultural sights of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall". The dancers visited Tiananmen Square, where Mao proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, and the student uprising took place exactly 21 years earlier. They also saw the Olympic stadia at night, experiencing first hand the some of the most important sites of events that have shaped China's recent history. The company were in China for 43 days, gave 21 performances in 15 venues and travelled several thousand miles from Shenzhen in the South to Beijing in the North. An estimated 20,000 people saw the performances and the people of China warmly welcomed their visitors. The performances were sponsored by leading Western companies growing in China including BMW, who hosted lavish receptions for the dancers.
Ballet West has now developed links with a school in Changsha and so now has a permanent teaching presence in China. With strengthening links with Chinese promoters it is hoped that the Chinese tour will be a regular fixture on the Ballet West calendar so the production of "Romeo and Juliet" that will be seen in Oban in January, will also be seen by audiences in Beijing and Shanghai.
