National Ballet of China,
Raise the Red Lantern

Fri, Sept 16, '05, 8 pm

Sat, Sept 17, '05, 2 pm

Sat, Sept 17, '05, 8 pm

Sun, Sept 18, '05, 3 pm

Venue: Zellerbach Hall A

Price: $36/$48/$68

With an unsurpassed repertoire that includes dozens of traditional classics, the National Ballet of China is one of the world's supreme ballet ensembles. Raise the Red Lantern (an adaptation of Zhang Yimou's award-winning film) is among the ensemble's most breathtaking accomplishments, displaying a uniquely Chinese style of ballet theater. This story recounts the fate of a young woman forced to marry an old feudal lord. His other wives, already jealous of each other, receive her unwillingly, and in the end, the tense family structure bloodily crashes down. "Exquisite beauty and impressive discipline.... Visually it is ravishing" (Weekly Telegraph, London).

PATRON INFORMATION

Program Notes: Program notes are available online, click here.

Cal Performances Bay Bridge Construction Bart Shuttle: As work on the Bay Bridge during the weekend of Sept. 16-18 is expected to potentially result in traffic delays in the late evening hours, Cal Performances has arranged for special buses to ferry our patrons directly to and from the performance halls from the downtown Berkeley BART station during these time periods. See the Cal Performances BART Shuttle Schedule for more details on this free service for our patrons.

Education and Community Events:
Film and Colloquium: Raise the Red Lantern
Thu, Sept 15 7:00 pm, Wheeler Auditorium
In 1991, Zhang Yimou launched his career as a major figure in world cinema with the beautifully filmed (and politically explosive) exploration of power in a suffocating world, based on Su Tong's novel Wives and Concubines. Now, Zhang has staged Raise the Red Lantern for the National Ballet of China. The first ballet to blend Peking Opera and Western dance, it has been controversial in China due to its subject matter—the role of women under feudalism—and daring artistic mix. Presented by Cal Performances and the Institute of East Asian Studies, the screening will be followed by discussion with members the National Ballet of China and scholars to be announced.

Artists links:
Official National Ballet of China site (please note that this site is in Chinese)

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