Marking the 10-year anniversary of the show's first Beijing performance in 2012, the Danish fairy tale ballet The Little Mermaid by National Ballet of China wrapped up in the capital on August 30, 2022, after a five-day run at the Beijing Tianqiao Theater. Photo : Courtesy of National Ballet of China

A modernized, laconic version of the Danish fairy tale ballet The Little Mermaid wrapped up in the capital on Tuesday after a five-day run at the Beijing Tianqiao Theater.

Multi-colored lights and light strips hanging over the top of the stage jointly created an "underwater" atmosphere, while a theremin provided the peculiar sound of the sea. Such a simple but illustrating stage dressing may have been hard for audiences to imagine until they were seated and enjoying the show.

Starring NBC principal dancer Wang Qimin, the performance presented by National Ballet of China (NBC) was an extra special event as it marked the 10-year anniversary of the show's first Beijing performance in 2012.

 "Ten years ago, the show Little Mermaid debuted in China, witnessing an excellent start to the friendship between NBC and [show creator] John Neumeier. The show was one of the NBC's  representative performances in the 'new era,'" said NBC head Feng Ying.

Marking the 10-year anniversary of the show's first Beijing performance in 2012, the Danish fairy tale ballet The Little Mermaid by National Ballet of China wrapped up in the capital on August 30, 2022, after a five-day run at the Beijing Tianqiao Theater. Photo : Courtesy of National Ballet of China

Another interpretation

The ballet drama was created by Neumeier, ballet director of the Hamburg Ballet, in 2005 and was revised in Hamburg in 2007.

In Neumeier's interpretation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, he includes Andersen as the character known as the "Poet," who acts as a guide to the Little Mermaid.

He created the ballet to celebrate the bicentenary of the author's birth.

In Neumeier's version, he doesn't simply retell the fairy tale but also includes his own life philosophy and his attitude toward "self-sacrifice and unconditional love."

He added Andersen's image in the show as a comparison with the Little Mermaid.

The performance starts with a poet on a boat who remembers his good friend Edvard, the prince. Inside the poet's memories, the story of the prince and the young mermaid begins, and so does a contrast between two worlds: the simple, underwater life of the ocean and the flamboyant lifestyle of humans on the boat.

After the mermaid falls in love with Edvard, the bargains with a sea witch to give her human legs so that she can be with him begin. However, the prince marries another woman, breaking the young mermaid's heart.

The sea witch tells the mermaid that she can return to the sea by killing the prince. Unable to bear this thought, the young girl throws herself into the sea and turns into foam.

Over the years, there have been numerous adaptations of the story, some of them giving the couple a happy ending. However, Neumeier said at a press conference in 2012 that he prefers keeping the original plot, including the sad ending.

The NBC version doesn't strictly adhere to the original version that was first performed by the Royal Danish Ballet in 2005. In 2012, the NBC version adapted the ballet to suit the dancers from the NBC with input from Neumeier, who joined rehearsals later on.

Neumeier also gave his input on the choreography, stage design, lighting and costumes.

Marking the 10-year anniversary of the show's first Beijing performance in 2012, the Danish fairy tale ballet The Little Mermaid by National Ballet of China wrapped up in the capital on August 30, 2022, after a five-day run at the Beijing Tianqiao Theater. Photo : Courtesy of National Ballet of China

Befriend 

The relationship between the NBC and Neumeier began in 2012. During the first rehearsals,he also supervised the annual assessment performance of NBC to find the right candidate to play the female lead.

"I had no specific image. I never intended to choose someone that I expected. I'm here just to look more, hoping to find one," he told media at a press conference in 2012.

"The tranquility and serene artistic temperament and the dedicated and concentrated work attitude of the Chinese ballet dancers deeply impressed me. These performers have unique emotional texture and movements while dancing, and their passion in the venue has given me a completely different spiritual connotation of ballet. It is a new version of The Little Mermaid," he said at the 2012 conference. 

The 2012 national performance in Beijing broke many records for the NBC. It was also its most expensive performance and also involved the longest rehearsals for the period 2009 to 2012.

Over the past 10 years, many NBC ballerinas have featured in performances of The Little Mermaid, including Wang Qimin, Ma Xiaodong, Sun Ruichen, Wang Ye and Wang Jiyu. 

"With its profound ideology and high artistry, it [The Little Mermaid] has brought a new vision and inspiration to the Chinese audience," added Feng.

Global Times