In memory of a march

Dancers of the National Ballet of China rehearse for the Beijing shows in April, as a tribute to the 80th anniversary of the Red Army's Long March.[Photo by Jiang Dong/ China Daily]

The National Ballet of China will pay homage to the Red Army in April, as the 80th anniversary of the end of the Long March draws near. Chen Jie reports.

The National Ballet of China holds shows every April, when young choreographers present their works.

As this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the Long March, the performances - in the first week of April - will pay homage to the Red Army.

Six pieces will interpret the Long March, including one by a choreographer from the Hamburg Ballet.

In the early 1930s, the Kuomintang, the then-ruling party of China, launched a series of attacks against the Communist Party's Red Army in central and eastern China. After losing the fifth round of attacks in October 1934, and to save its troops, the Red Army had to start a two-year "strategic retreat", now known as the Long March.

Thousands of Red Army soldiers died during the march, not only in battle but also because of such hardships as climbing snowy mountains or walking through wetlands.

What do today's people think of the soldiers' spirit back then? How does modern Chinese society interpret the civil war? Choreographer Li Min has put his thoughts into a piece, titled The Other Side. For this, he uses solo dances duets, ballets of three people and other group dances to portray the soldiers' struggles and sacrifices.

A former dancer with the National Ballet of China, Li went to the United States in 2003 to learn contemporary dance and choreography. He joined Scapino Ballet Rotterdam in 2008.

Choreographer Wang Qi has created a piece inspired by Hua Mulan, a famous female army commander in ancient China, to echo the overall war theme of the April performances. Walt Disney adapted the Chinese tale into an animated movie called Mulan in 1998.