[Dixielandjazz] THE NEW SWAN LAKE

[Steve barbone]

CAVEAT - NOT OKOM . . . BUT

An indication, of how the visual arts may adapt to gain new audience. The
pictures with this article in the Times were stunning. If they visit a venue
near me, I will definitely attend, though I haven't been to a ballet since
the 1970's. (saw Maya Plisetskaya do Swan Lake)

Wouldn't it be wonderful if there were more jazz bands out there that could
similarly affect the audience. (I hear GWB liked them)

Cheers,
Steve Barbone


China's Bold 'Swan,' Ready for Export (SNIPPED FOR BREVITY)

Shanghai City Dance Company
The Guangdong Military Acrobatic Troupe's "Swan Lake."

NY TIMES - DAVID BARBOZA - February 2, 2006

BEIJING ‹ In November, a performance of a sensationally popular acrobatic
version of "Swan Lake" in Shanghai was abruptly canceled. Refunds were
issued to more than 3,000 ticketholders. And the show's two lead performers
were summoned here to the nation's capital.

"We flew to Beijing and arrived on Saturday," said Wu Zhengdan, the female
lead. "We knew we were going to perform for someone special. We just didn't
know who it was."

That Sunday evening, Ms. Wu and her partner, Wei Baohua, performed at a
banquet in the Great Hall of the People, one of China's landmark government
buildings, for dignitaries who included President Bush and China's
president, Hu Jintao.

Demonstrating the unconventional blend of classical ballet and traditional
Chinese acrobatics they perfected for the new "Swan Lake," the delicate Ms.
Wu, 24, did a pirouette, aloft on the shoulder and outstretched arm of the
muscular Mr. Wei, 34, who is also her husband. She also rose up, stunningly,
on pointe on Mr. Wei's head. There followed a gymnastic pas de deux.

Such bravura moves have delighted crowds in China over the past year,
helping turn this radical reworking of "Swan Lake" by the Guangdong Military
Acrobatic Troupe into a box office hit and transforming the couple into
stars. 

Now, the acrobatic "Swan Lake" featuring Ms. Wu and Mr. Wei is preparing for
a world tour that will include Russia, Japan, Germany and the United States,
where the couple already won high praise last October when they took part in
the "Festival of China" at the Kennedy Center in Washington. . . . .