"I like the performances of the actors who are full of power and expressive, and the story is dramatic and shows the history of China, it's really wonderful!" Marisa, a company employee, told reporters excitedly after the show.
Camila, a history teacher, had seen the movie "Big Red Lanterns Hanging Tall", so she had no difficulty at all in understanding the content of this dance drama. She told the reporter that although many Brazilian audiences had not seen the movie, they were able to understand the whole story and were glad that the Chinese had used ballet to tell a piece of history. "The colors of the whole performance were very bright and gave me a particularly prominent impression, which I liked very much."
Gerardo, a Brazilian power company executive, had previously watched the performance when the Chinese Peking Opera Troupe came to Rio, and was surprised to see that Peking Opera chants were also incorporated into the ballet performance that day. Gerardo said, "When I watched the Peking Opera, I didn't think it was very understandable, but today it's very natural to see Peking Opera incorporated into a ballet that originated in the West."
Brazil's largest television station, Global, made a special report on the local performance of the ballet, commenting that it "expresses the traditional culture of the Orient with precise and skillful dance techniques".
The enthusiasm of the Brazilian audience also left a deep impression on the performing groups. Jiang Shan, Director of the Performance Department of the Central Ballet, said, "We felt the enthusiasm of the local audience from the first day of the performance, and the performers were especially thrilled when the audience cheered loudly after one of the performances for the benefit of local poor students."
Jiang Shan said that the tour in Brazil began with a special performance in Brasilia on the 20th to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Brazil, followed by the performances of "Hanging of the Red Lantern" and "Swan Lake" in Rio de Janeiro, S?o Paulo, Curitiba and Belo Horizonte.
For the choice of repertoire, Jiang Shan said, "High-Red Lantern" is one of the repertoire of the first time in 2010 when the Chinese Ballet toured Brazil, which was very popular at that time, and the Brazilian partners believe that nine years later, this play still has a wide market; and "Swan Lake" is a classic play, which can show the strength of the Chinese Ballet's classical ballet.