Dance veteran leads new initiative for Chinese ballet

Zhao Ruheng with dancers of the National Ballet of China. Zou Hong / China Daily

She says growing numbers of Chinese parents are beginning to value arts education, and dance classes for young children are becoming more popular. Zhao also enjoys watching children learning and performing ballet, who are, she says, "dynamic, noisy and passionate".

"I believe that there are no bad students, only bad teachers. The wrong teaching methods can damage children's health. I hope that more people in China will learn the joy of dancing like I did with RAD," she says.

In 2020, RAD will celebrate its 100 years of operation. The organization has more than 16,000 members in 80 countries.

"We've seen that the dance training market in China has hugely increased in the past few years. RAD has a long tradition of offering quality dance classes in an inspirational and nurturing environment, where students are inspired to develop their skills, which will give them a fresh experience of learning dance," Luke Rittne, chief executive of RAD, says.

For Zhao, who joined National Ballet of China on its founding in 1959, her determination to introduce RAD to the mainland is related to her passion for developing original Chinese ballet.

She notes that the classic Chinese ballet, The Red Detachment of Women, has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and toured around the country. She says the anniversary celebrates a creative peak of original Chinese ballet but also serves as a reminder of the need to create new original Chinese ballet.

"China's own ballet works were developed with influences from different ballet styles, especially early training from Russian ballet teachers in the 1950s. When I was young, I was eager to learn more from different choreographers and teachers," Zhao says. "Today, we talk a lot about using ballet language, the Western art form, to tell Chinese stories. A crucial thing is to broaden the vision of our ballet dancers with new knowledge and different perspectives."

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