2008 is coming, the Beijing Olympics is coming, a nation's century-old dream will blossom at that moment.
We have always been curious about the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics for a long time. Which is the theme song? Whose lyrics? Who will sing it? What kind of Chinese elements will be used? Will there be Peking Opera face painting? Will Chinese Tai Chi be used? It seems that everything about the Beijing Olympics is a mystery. A lot of mystery is so hidden in the heart, although we all know, perhaps because of these expectations of the mystery, there will be August 8, 2008 at 8:00 p.m. the opening of the moment when the mystery of the surprise unveiled, there will be in the crowd of people watching curiously unveiled the discovery of the joy of the wonderful. But inside, I still expect someone to give us a small explanation and demystify a little bit before it all starts.
The opportunity has come. Zhang Jigang, the guest of honor on Artist's Life, has two identities: one is the deputy minister of the propaganda department of the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army, and the other is the deputy director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games. Since he is the deputy director, the topic naturally starts from the Olympics.
Zhu Jun asked how many times have been opened? Zhang Jigang replied: there should be thousands of meetings. As deputy director of the Olympic Games, Zhang Jigang these two years and nearly three hundred work colleagues together, every morning at eight o'clock to the Olympic Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies operations center to go to work, the evening around two o'clock back home, back home, but also restlessness, more than 18 hours a day of work time. In addition to eating is work. Even eating is thinking, even dreaming of ideas, still thinking about the Olympic Games.
Zhou Jun asked Zhang Jigang: Failure in life more or less or big or small will encounter, you now have fear inside? Let's listen to Zhang Jigang's answer: frankly speaking, the heart is still full of fear, although I created the dance works never afraid of failure, but next year is the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, I am afraid that there is any detail did not think of, will be done imperfectly, this fear and fear of this creative failure in the heart is extremely strong, which is the past has never had. From last year to now, every day can be said to be like a year, I am the main director in charge of the first half of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, but also the Paralympic Games opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games, the executive director, in charge of the choreographers of the three conference rooms, every time I go to a conference room, all the choreographers look at me in the eyes, believe that I have a way. When I saw such a trusting gaze, I really panicked inside because I had no idea.
It's been two years of days like this. When the main national stadium, the Bird's Nest, was actually completed and handed over, it was also the time when Zhang Jigang and his colleagues in the operation center finished the creative production of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. Zhang Jigang has been living in anxiety all the time. When Zhu Jun heard this, his reaction remained sharp: "If the phoenix does not reach nirvana, it cannot be regenerated."
Kung-fu is rewarded for its efforts. Now the idea of the Olympic Games opening ceremony, closing ceremony, Paralympics opening and closing ceremonies, have all been completed.
In the work of the Olympic organizing committee, the most let Zhang Jigang feel uncomfortable is that every day there are so many new ideas, new ideas, simply endless, Zhang Jigang often and creative staff said, the Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies of the creation of the organization is like a long march, when can we go to the end of the line, there are new ideas everywhere, new ideas, but in the end to what, it must be in mind to be very clear. And Zhu Jun's follow-up question is not over: if to the opening day, there are new, good ideas, what will happen? Zhang Jigang's answer is very simple, but also very dry: if that's the case, even if you think of a higher creative ideas can not be moved, no one can not use the temporary motions, feel free to face that kind of a major celebration. When the time comes, stability, maturity and quality are everything.
Barcelona is pulling the arrow ignition, Doha Asian Games is riding the horse ignition. Beijing Olympic Games main torch, who in the end to point? How to point? Zhang Jigang's answer is very clever, he used his own way to answer about the Beijing Olympic Games lighting the main torch and so on people have been looking forward to the question, won the scene a burst of applause.
Award-winning expert
One month ago, on Sept. 7, the 10th "Five One Project Award" was presented at a grand ceremony in Beijing. Among the award-winning works, Zhang Jigang's "A Handful of Sour Jujubes" won the Grand Prize for its rich local flavor and wonderful dance performance, which won the audience's favor. Zhang Jigang said that "A Handful of Sour Jujubes" was scripted together with some companions. At that time, the script of the light molding, has overturned more than twenty drafts. A handful of sour jujube" dance drama script is not the usual sense of modification, but completely different, about twenty-seven drafts, the feeling is particularly difficult, the creation of time spent more than three years. A work experienced more than three years time, can be seen with good intentions.
Chinese acrobatics has won nine Golden Clown awards, and Zhang Jigang has won three of them. The first Golden Clown is the Guangzhou Warrior Acrobatic Troupe's women's big springboard "Daughter Red", "Oriental Swan" won the second Golden Clown Award, and the third is the Chinese acrobatic troupe's performance of "Thirteen People Top Bowls", which was aired at the Spring Festival Gala.
Zhang Jigang had been under the care of the leadership of the General Administration of the army, no military experience, he was ordered to take the risk, hard in two months, compiled a won forty-two gold medals of the "military spirit" program. For Zhang Jigang, it is still "Thousand Hands of Goddess of Mercy" that is familiar and loved by the majority of the audience. On the night of the Spring Festival in 2005, the national audience was moved by Zhang Jigang's creativity for an unforgettable time. The performance of "Thousand Hands of Guanyin" on the set of "Artistic Life" was similarly met with a tidal wave of applause from the audience.
In an interview with Zhu Jun, Zhang Jigang unveiled the rehearsal method of "Thousand-handed Goddess of Mercy," disclosing how the performers reached a tacit understanding of communication during the performance of Thousand-handed Goddess of Mercy.
In addition to the famous "Thousand-Handed Goddess of Mercy" and "A Handful of Sour Jujubes", which has just returned from an award-winning performance, there are also "The Oriental Swan", "Yellow Earth Yellow", "Ashore with Dreams"... the work that has taken the longest time to create, the earliest, the one that has become the most famous, the most creative, the most popular, and the most satisfying...
Zhang Jigang, faced with the question board prepared by the Art Life team, picked up a pen and did a serious multiple choice question, connecting the two with a line, also connecting the line while giving additional explanation to the audience at the scene, Zhang Jigang also talked about his mother's favorite work and his wife's least favorite work.
From the ordinary to the extraordinary
In 1987, Zhang Jigang and his Shanxi colleagues created a large-scale folk song and dance, "Yellow River Children's Love", which became a sensation in Beijing when it was performed. In the early fall of 1991, Zhang Jigang held a graduation party for "Dedicated to My Father and Mother" in the Department of Chinese Folk Dance at the Beijing Dance Academy. The rich regional characteristics, distinctive ethnic style, exquisite artistic conception and passionate artistic performance y impressed the audience, which also brought Zhang Jigang another fateful opportunity.
In the scene of "Artistic Life", Zhang Jigang did not shy away from the past artistic immaturity because of today's fame, he recalled the experience of the most unsatisfactory works at that time, talked about the faults of the debut of the dance creation. His frankness made the atmosphere much more lively. Twenty years on, Zhang Jigang has finally gone from being an ordinary choreographer to a renowned choreographer. From ordinary to extraordinary metamorphosis, Zhang Jigang frankly and frankly, all the way to say, and we have Zhang Jigang this person's life, also have a vivid intuitive feeling.
Zhang Jigang was born in 1958, Zhang Jigang's father before the liberation of the Pingding Middle School is a principal, after the liberation of the Jinzhong local committee work, the whole Jinzhong teaching is his father responsible for. Zhang Jigang's mother did not go to school for a few days, but she was very smart and had a very cheerful personality. She could recite Chinese operas backwards and forwards, such as "Playing the Golden Branch", "Down to the East of the River" and "The Empty City", and she could sing many Shanxi folk songs. The simple and hard life in the countryside as a child had a great influence on Zhang Jigang's personality. Zhang Jigang grew up in such a family environment.
Pursuits in the Years of Uncertainty
Dance is a physical art, and the physical modeling of dance has a great influence on the shaping and expression of characters. Zhang Jigang said on the spot, using a girl and a boy in love as an example, and gave a live performance to the audience, choosing different postures to show the main character's upbringing. The interesting and vivid contrasting performance won applause from the audience.
Confucius said, "Thirty years old, forty years old, fifty years old knows the fate of heaven." At the age of forty-nine, a man reaches this age, his value orientation, life attitude, and aesthetic interests are becoming more and more stable, deepening, and showing more and more inherent knowledge and wisdom.
Zhu Jun asked Zhang Jigang what kind of feelings and insights he had in his heart as he approached the end of his life.
Zhang Jigang's attitude is still dry: on the road of artistic creation will be more demanding than in the past, must start from the details, to make every detail perfect.
There are times when the pursuit of a perfect life and working condition puts pressure on oneself as well as those around him, but it is precisely because of this pursuit of his own that Zhang Jigang has received unexpected attention and love. "When I was a bouncing little girl, I used to look up to you and read the expectations and encouragement from your face, when you were no longer vague and distant, you towered over me and became an omnipotent hero." The daughter's heartfelt words about her father give a highly generalized score, making it the best footnote in Zhang Jigang's pursuit of perfection. This footnote has naturally become a breakthrough for "Life of Art", which is called the kill index by the young writer-director.
Killing Index
The commentary on Zhang Jigang was then designed from the personality killing index, career killing index, leadership killing index, charisma killing index, as well as the husband index, father index, a man's several points, the topic gradually expanded.
When it comes to the personality kill index, Zhang Jigang gave us an example, in the creation of the dance drama A Handful of Sour Jujubes, the design of the choreography drawings lasted for two years, and was not passed. When the show was about to be staged, if the choreography was not approved, it would be too late to produce the show, and the show would be delayed. The tickets were already sold out. Just the day before, at four o'clock in the morning, many school leaders and choreographers were together, Zhang Jigang said the choreography still can not be produced today. The words just fell, the whole staff stood up, tense face glaring, that is Zhang Jigang never felt cross-eyed, until then, Zhang Jigang just realized that if you do not compromise, will cause trouble. Zhang Jigang said at that time: "This way, tonight is your forced, I will admit two pictures, but other still did not pass." A month later, the choreography passed muster in Beijing.
Maybe there are a lot of people who have worked with Zhang Jigang, all more or less feel that he is not good to work with, often in a problem is very difficult to let pass. In this regard, Zhang Jigang also had to admit: "There are times too insist on their own opinions, if you can listen more to other people's opinions, give others space. Would be better."
About Perfection and Imperfection
From Shanxi to Beijing, from the theater to go to the dance academy without examination, from the local to the army, from the domestic to the international, more than twenty years, Zhang Jigang walked what kind of road? In front of many confusions and obstacles, how did he accomplish so much accumulation? And how did he correct himself? How did he find his position? How did he find the cut of success? What happened after he came to the army? And what kind of mysterious guest came to the scene of "Artistic Life"? What answers does Zhang Jigang have about men, about career, about family, about perfection and imperfection?
On October 10th, at 22:21 on CCTV's Variety Channel, Zhang Jigang will be a guest on Artist's Life, exclusively revealing the story behind the Olympics and the inner workings of his life, so please tune in. Jiang Chuan / text Li Shaolin / picture