Red Detachment of Women was a revolutionary modern ballet, successfully premiered by the National Ballet of China in 1964.
Set on Hainan Island in the 1930s and grounded in China's revolutionary history, the ballet told the story of Qionghua, a maid who escaped from the estate of the tyrant Southern Tyrant. With the help of Hong Changqing, the Red Army's Party representative, she gradually transformed from a rural girl burdened by suffering and hatred into a woman soldier with firm communist convictions.
Performing at the theater today was the Central Dance Troupe, currently on a new round of touring performances.
Like stage plays, classic ballets were revived for a touring run every so often. This both enriched the people's spiritual and cultural lives and continually trained and honed outstanding young performers.
As the performance unfolded onstage, the audience below was swept along by the plot. Seeing the villains commit every evil imaginable, they were furious; seeing the protagonists oppressed, they resented them for failing to fight back; and when the final reversal came, they finally let out a long breath.
For more than two hours, the audience was completely absorbed. Even Zhou Xiaobai, who had already seen it once, was immersed in it.
Wang Yan, on the other hand, did not feel much. He merely watched, appreciated, and judged it, entirely unaffected by its love and hatred, sorrow and joy, meetings and partings. To some extent, he was a hard-hearted man...
"What did you think?" Zhou Xiaobai turned to ask.
"It was good. A classic," Wang Yan said.
"As if you needed to tell me that. This ballet has been performed for ages, and it draws this many people every time."
"Then why did you ask me?"
Zhou Xiaobai gave a coquettish huff and pulled her hand free. "That's enough,