Monday, January 21, 2019

[Review] The Nutcracker (Chinese Version) by The National Ballet of China 中国版 - 胡桃夹子

20.19 Jan 18, a rare and privileged mummy and daughter date on a Friday evening watching our first ever ballet performance together. Excitedly, Vera chose to wear a ballerina outfit when she got to know that she was going to watch a ballet performance - The Nutcracker (Chinese Version) by The National Ballet of China!


The National Ballet of China celebrated its 60th anniversary by bringing this top-class performance with its 65 dancers to Singapore! I read that this performance was highly raved and very well received in Paris! This mersmerizing ballet performance weaved in a mixed element of western ballet and Chinese culture, tells an intriguing story of a Chinese family celebrating Chinese New Year, an adaptation of the Christmas classic, accompanied with the music of Tchaikovsky.

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

The opening scene was a bustling scene of a temple fair in Beijing of Children running around and adults buying Chinese New Year goods, preparing for the coming Chinese New Year. There was a pair of cousins, Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, playing with a mask of a fairy-tale monster named 'Nian' (年) and their grandfather shared with them the origin of the festival. As the twelve zodiac animals appeared as part of the dancers' costume, Vera started to name them one by one!

On Chinese New Year Eve, Yuan Yuan was gifted a Nutcracker by a foreign friend who visited her grandfather. However, feeling jealous, Tuan Tuan and his friends ganged up and grabbed the nutcracker away from Yuan Yuan.

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

After the reunion dinnner, Yuan Yuan fell asleep in her bedroom, holding onto the Nutcracker. She entered the world of dreams where this little surpise came! The Nutcracker came alive and tried to save Yuan Yuan by fighting off the 'Nian monsters with the troop of sword-bearing tigers.

The scene where the ballerinas went en pointe, wearing the feathery white costumes coupled with their elegant and graceful movements in unison, as if a flock of cranes were dancing, was my favourite scene! With the falling of white confetti, it made the scene the most captivating of all!

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Yuan Yuan then requested to the Queen Crane and got herself transformed into a crane and flew off to the Porcelain Kingdom to be with her beloved nutcracker.

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Spectacular sets, asthetically pleasant gorgeous costumes were used with each different scene! In the Porcelain Kingdom filled with amazing things all around!

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Symbolizing wealth, the Giant Gold Ingot made its appearance together with the adorable dancers from Singapore!

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Nearing the end, Yuan Yuan woke with the Nutcracker tightly hugged in her arms and realised that it was just a dream and decided to share the Nutcracker with Tuan Tuan. The ballet performance ended with a scene a glowing sky with sound effect of fireworks and lited fire crackers as they welcome another beautiful year! 

Photo credit: MyChinaChannel

Overall, it was a spectacular evening and we thoroughly enjoyed the whole performance! I was sure it did spark some interest in Vera, inspiring her to be a ballerina when she told me she would want to dance on stage like the dancers! Thank you for having us, it was a great exposure for Vera! 


About The National Ballet of China

The National Ballet of China was founded in December of 1959 comprising China’s outstanding professional artistes.  A world-renowned ballet company helmed by Feng Ying, a well-known ballerina who is also the Executive & Artistic Director,  The National Ballet of China has performed other world-class classics such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Giselle, Carmen, Onegin, The Little Mermaid, and La Bayadère as well as original creations like The Red Detachment of Women, The New Year Sacrifice, Yellow River, Raise the Red Lantern, The Peony Pavilion, The Crane Calling and The Light of Heart.


The company has made great achievements in talent training and stage productions, as well as in ballet promotion and education. Its cohort of ballet dancers, choreographers, musicians and stage artists have also won major international awards, and have collaborated with international stars in their respective fields. The company has a repertoire of more than 200 ballets, several of which are now known as classic Chinese works of art, and have become famous internationally.

About MyChinaChannel
MyChinaChannel (MCC) is a local media company that began operations in 2010, with the express aim of bringing quality Chinese content to the global audience. MCC has established close relationships with state and private media companies in China, including powerhouses CCTV, SMG, and Xiamen Broadcast, in order to seek out the best that the Chinese media market has to offer. Over the next few years, MCC will embark on an expansion of business, including content creation and bringing live shows from China to Southeast Asian countries.

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Disclaimer: We were invited by AT Marketing Consultancy to The Nutcracker for review purpose. 

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