China

Cross-culture art marks UK National Day at Expo

By Matt Hodges and Yu Ran (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-09 08:01

Dancers from the English National Ballet and Shanghai Ballet present The Weight of Love during the United Kingdom National Pavilion Day at the Expo 2010 Shanghai on Wednesday. Liu Ying / Xinhua

SHANGHAI - The United Kingdom has made an effort to promote creative Sino-British partnerships at the Expo 2010 Shanghai and its National Pavilion Day on Wednesday was no exception.

Expo visitors feasted their eyes on the world premiere of The Weight of Love, a ballet commissioned by Hanoi-born choreographer Van Le Ngoc, which was especially created for the festive day and marks a new collaboration between dancers from the English National Ballet and Shanghai Ballet.

"The focus today is on collaboration in arts and culture," said David Martin, deputy director of the UK Pavilion, which, as of Wednesday, had received more than 5.5 million visitors.

Wayne Eagling, artistic director of the English National Ballet, said the show "exemplifies the excellence of cross-cultural work at the highest level".

"(Van le Ngoc) has worked with two groups of dancers, pulling from both dance traditions and seeing the synergies and celebrating the differences in the dancers' strengths," he said.

The ballet came after a flag-raising ceremony, picking up the thread of cultural and scientific cooperation between the two countries.

"The Expo is not just about attracting visitors and trade promotion but also about working together. We have this beautifully designed pavilion, and this serves as a platform for us to promote the UK in terms of arts, culture and education," said Martin.

Also known as the "Seed Cathedral", the Thomas Heatherwick-designed cubic structure, which recently won the prestigious RIBA Lubetkin award for international architecture, features 60,000 seed-bearing acrylic rods that bend with the wind to create a moving optical illusion of the Union Jack flag.

The seeds represent an ongoing conservation project involving the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, London, and its partners, including China's Kunming Institute of Botany.

On the occasion, Li Dezhu, director of the institute, was awarded an honorary Order of the British Empire by Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, for his contribution toward strengthening the botanical relationship between the UK and China, making him the first Chinese national to get the prestigious award.

"This is the day to mark the strong and strengthening ties between the UK and China in many different areas including trade and investment, culture, science and innovation, sport, low carbon development and education," Prince Andrew said.

Visitors also got a chance to witness a performance by the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO), which kicked off its 2010 China Tour with a gala show at the Expo Center.

On its third visit to China, the LSO is working with local conservatoires, helping Shanghai schoolchildren compose their own music, and performing at venues in Shanghai, Wuhan and Beijing.

"We look forward to extending our work with young people during this visit," said Kathryn McDowell, the orchestra's managing director.

China Daily