Beijing dance troupe stages ballet in Athens

ATHENS－Artists from Beijing Dance Theater gave a performance in Athens on Sept 9, introducing Chinese contemporary ballet to an audience of Greek and Chinese expatriates who share a love of art.

The troupe was welcomed onto the stage of the PK Theater as it presented, for first time in Greece, original dance work inspired by poems and novels of renowned Chinese writers.

Founded in 2008 and led by artistic director and choreographer Wang Yuanyuan, BDT is the first contemporary ballet troupe in China and its artists have performed across the globe.

In celebration of its 10th anniversary this month, BDT organized a Chinese Literature and Contemporary Ballet Tour to Sweden, Belgium, Spain and Greece.

A lecture on Chinese literature and contemporary ballet at PK Theater included performances of pieces such as Beyond the Smoke, Walking Alone, December and Farewell Shadow.

Wang Yinan, BDT's associate director, talked about the theater's vision and approach to contemporary ballet, the mingling of classical ballet, traditional repertoire and modern dance, answering many questions about the contemporary dance scene in China before giving the floor to the six dancers and their performance.

With their fluidity of movement, they demonstrated their ability to tell a story just by using their bodies.

Afterward, Wang expressed the troupe's eagerness to return to Greece to present more of their work and collaborate with local artists.

"We actually hope to have more communication with local artists and have another opportunity to work with them," he said.

"This is a good way to show the Greek people a few pieces of the (BDT's) work, but next time we hope to bring a whole production to our Greek friends. Our embassy will do its best to continue introducing Chinese arts and culture to the local people," Wang Qiang, political counselor at the Chinese embassy in Greece, said.

Lefteris Alexandris was one of the Greek audience members who enjoyed the performance and is looking forward to the troupe's next visit.

"Honestly, I was quite amazed, because it was the first time I've watched contemporary ballet. It was weird at first, as I am not very familiar with this type of dancing, but now I think I am able to get the whole picture," he said.

"We are waiting for the Beijing Dance Theater to come back so that we can see the complete performance. It was very, very interesting," he added.