With passion, joy & spring in her step
A ballerina’s reality role gives way to a gala occasion.
Tan Yuanyuan, San Francisco Ballet’s first Chinese principal dancer, impressed audiences with her performance in the CCTV Spring Festival gala, the show broadcast on Chinese New Year Eve on Feb 11, ushering in the Year of the Ox.
Teaming up with the celebrated pianist Li Yundi and the contemporary dancer Zhang Aoyue, Shanghai-born Tan danced to Wo Ai Ni Zhongguo (I Love You, China), one of the most popular songs among Chinese audiences, sending a message of hope and love in the special time of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was no music when we first met, just a theme for the performance,” Tan said, adding that it was her first collaboration with the pianist Li and dancer Zhang.
“It took days in the studio for both of us to adjust to each other’s tempo and movement.”
The essential section and the highlight in the full-length ballet is the pas de deux. The three artists worked together to come up with some basic postures and steps, because ballet and contemporary dance require different styles and skills. They worked on building mutual trust and harmony, two elements that are usually the fruit of years of practice.
“Luckily there was tacit agreement between us, and we had a common understanding on what we should dance to and about,” Tan said. “Things were going better and proceeding more quickly than we had expected. Professionalism is the key. We tried each movement again and again until we were all satisfied.”
After watching Tan’s performance in the gala, one of her fans commented on the social media platform Sina Weibo: “Whether she is twirling, leaping or bending, she makes her graceful moves look effortless.”
Another wrote: “She’s so beautiful, and she inspired me to learn ballet. I wish she would she return to perform in her home country more often.”
It was the third time that Tan has performed in the CCTV Spring Festival gala, said to have attracted 1.14 billion viewers this year.
In 1994 Tan, then 18, made her debut performance with the violinist Lyu Siqing and the pianist Kong Xiangdong. In 2006 she returned to perform with the dancers Yang Liping and Liu Yan.
Last December Tan appeared in Hunan TV’s popular reality show Dance Smash, which came as a surprise for Chinese audiences as well as garnering her a new fan base. Gathering top Chinese dancers, the reality show features the technology to capture diverse dance styles in motion.
“It is the first time that I have appeared in a Chinese reality TV show,” Tan said. “I guess I must have surprised a lot of people around the world — including myself.”
She decided to join in the reality show when San Francisco Ballet had to shut down its theater because of the coronavirus pandemic last March, and she missed the stage so much.
“The moment I returned to the stage was the time I felt I was back where I belong. This is a stage full of magic and potential. I wanted to challenge my past, break through my presence and try something more future.”
Many Chinese dancers impressed and inspired her during the show, and that made the experience rewarding, she said.
Before the coronavirus broke out early last year, Tan’s last performance on stage was on March 6, 2020. It was the opening night of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, choreographed by George Balanchine. Tan danced on the opening night.
After the curtain call, Helgi Tomasson, the artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet, gathered all the dancers, musicians and staff to the stage, she said, which Tan could not recall ever having happened before.
“He announced that the city had been ordered to shut down the theater because of the pandemic,” said Tan, who kept training six days a week during the lockdown.
“I was numb with shock, and the next moment I noticed some dancers tearful and crying.
“The pandemic has changed a lot, including the way people enjoy performing art. However, I guess at the end of the day one of the most enjoyable moments is still being in the opera house and watching the performances on site. There is nothing like live performances, where the audience are also communicating with the performers in a way rather than just audiovisual appreciation.”
Tan’s relationship with ballet began at the age of 5 when she was impressed by the beauty of a performance of Swan Lake on TV.
Her father wanted her to become a doctor, but her mother loved ballet and supported her wish to enter dance school. She began ballet training at Shanghai Dance School and graduated four years later.
In 1992 Tan won a scholarship and went to Stuttgart, Germany, to further her ballet training. During her time in Germany, Tomasson, the artistic director and principal choreographer of the San Francisco Ballet, got in touch with her. He told her she would become the company’s youngest solo dancer, and in 1995 Tan joined the company as a soloist. In 1997 she was promoted to be principal dancer of the company.
2020 marks Tan’s 25th anniversary with the company, and she said she never envisaged she would be with one company for such a long time.
She remembers some of her most eventful moments working with the company. About 10 years ago she danced the title role in the company’s production of The Little Mermaid for the first time at the War Memorial Opera House stage in San Francisco, and there was a six-minute standing ovation at the end.
“That may be the night I received the most flowers,” Tan said.
Another fond memory is San Francisco Ballet’s first tour of China in 2009, during which she performed Swan Lake in the Shanghai Grand Theatre. In 2015 San Francisco Ballet made a second tour of China and Tan danced a full-length ballet, Giselle, at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing.
“I must say that is the best Giselle I’ve ever danced. I felt like a feather floating in the air. What an enjoyable experience.”
That trip also marked her 20th year with the company, she said. Her Chinese upbringing has a great influence on the way she approaches dance, and she is proud of it, she says.
“My parents often say, ‘The best is what you do today is better than yesterday’. I know there is no perfection in the world yet that’s how I keep getting closer to the perfect every day. This is surely a way of tackling difficulties and challenges, so we must be persistent and positive. We also need to remember to leave our comfort zone and stay curious.”
Her secret to career longevity is to do things “with love and passion” and “Do not add age to your life but life to your age.”