Good News
18:30 UTC, May 29 (1:30 UTC+8, May 30), “Yan-Shang”, a Latin formation dance composed by the Department of Ballroom Dance of General Branch Committee of the CPC BDA Foreign Dances Committee won the first place in British Latin Formation Dancing Championship at the 98th Blackpool Dance Festival! It is a gift to the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA) for its 70th birthday from students of the Department of Ballroom Dancing who achieved great results on the world-class stage of ballroom dancing!
Video: announcement of the championship
Snapshots of “Yan-Shang” performance
Ba Tu, Secretary of the CPC BDA Committee, sent his congratulations to the team promptly: Congratulations to students and teachers of the BDA Department of Ballroom Dancing for your victory! Your talent has been proven. The championship and the world of dance belong to you, my students. It is the time of the BDA and the time of China! Upon hearing the news, we are all excited and the whole BDA is thrilled. This is a valuable gift to BDA’s 70th birthday, your best interpretation of Chinese dance culture! You have made your debut at the peak of the international hall of fame for ballroom dancing and will hence take off!
Preparation & Encouragement
The Latin formation dance “Yan-Shang” adopts the dramatic art of “face changing”, an intangible cultural heritage, of the Sichuan opera. Matching the character personalities reflected by the facial makeup in the traditional opera and the emotional features of the five branches of Latin dancing, the performance abstracts Chinese and Western cultural symbols and bridges them with emotions, making it a dance of communication and integration. Meanwhile, elements chosen from the postures of traditional Chinese operations and the movements of classic Chinese dances are added to the body language of Latin dancing, which makes it a great integration of artistic beauty and competitiveness. In this way, traditional Chinese cultures and aesthetics, as well as the international expression of China are conveyed through this dance performance.
The work was composed jointly by Zheng Zihao, an excellent young choreographer, and Ye Wei, Director of Latin Dance Teaching Research. After nearly half a year’s active preparation, it was reviewed by the Academy on May 21. Ba Tu, Secretary of the CPC BDA Committee, Xu Rui, Deputy Secretary of the CPC DBA Committee and President of the BDA, Hui Tong, Vice President of the BDA, Cheng Yu, Director of Teaching Affairs Office, Zhang Haijun, Director of Art Practices Center and Director of BDA Youth Dance Company, Qin Yanxi, Director of International Office, Yuan Jia, Vice Director of BDA Youth Dance Company, Zhang Lijun, Secretary of General Committee of the CPC BDA Foreign Dances Committee, as well as major leaders and teachers of the Department of Ballroom Dance participated the review.
The leaders acknowledged the innovation of the work and the performance of the students after the review, instructing that more efforts should be made in the details to compete at the Blackpool Dance Festival in their best conditions.
Zhang Lijun, Secretary of the General Committee of the CPC BDA Foreign Dances Committee, introduced how the work was developed from an idea and extended his gratitude to all departments for their support. Ye Wei, Director of Latin Dance Teaching Research, and Zheng Zihao, an excellent young choreographer, also briefed the team’s progress respectively.
Start Off & Final Rehearsal
The team left for the UK at 8 pm UTC+8 on May 23 led by Zhang Lijun, Secretary of the General Committee of the CPC BDA Foreign Dances Committee, joining the British Latin Formation Dancing Championship at the 98th Blackpool Dance Festival, the master lectures, and the exchanges that followed up.
Upon arriving in Blackpool, the teachers and students bolted down some food and hurried to their rehearsal without unpacking their belongings.After the rehearsal, Zhang Junli, Secretary of the General Committee of the CPC BDA Foreign Dances Committee, stressed the key points and requirements relating to the team’s schedule, regulations, and competition timetable. Meanwhile, Ye Wei made arrangements for the life and competitions of the students and how they watched the competitions.
Teachers helping to double-check the props
Three Latin dance couples and one modern dance couple, both enrolled in 2023, participated in the British Amateur Under 21 Years Latin Championship and the British Amateur Under 21 Years Ballroom Championship respectively.
The Final Preparations
About the Blackpool Dance Festival
Held every May in Blackpool, a small town in North UK, the Blackpool Dance Festival is more than a seven-day championship of ballroom dancing but an opportunity for events like master seminars, international ballroom dance conferences, and exhibitions for dance costumes and facilities. The annual championship, also known as the “Olympic of ballroom dance”, is a hall of fame in the hearts of ballroom dance artists all over the world and a crucial stage for countries to display their ballroom dance progress.
The victory of “Yan-Shang” is a result of the Department of Ballroom Dance of General Branch Committee of the CPC BDA Foreign Dances Committee implementing the principle of the “Five Centers” under the leadership of the CPC BDA Committee. The opportunity to compete on the international stage enhances the capability to train performance talents and improves the pattern of training internationalized ballroom dance talents, instructing their growth with the pursuit of excellence and a global perspective.
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8Mp59hgYkYOHmwEo76tJjg
