Spinning in the Spotlight: With Hong Kong Ballet's Principal Dancer Chen Zhiyao
WITH HONG KONG BALLET'S PRINCIPAL DANCER CHEN ZHIYAO
Speaking with the body, dancers find their voice through movement; articulating each joint and muscle with pronunciation, emphasis and accents. We learn the beginnings of the art form and craft when we see a dancer performing onstage. But to hear a professional dancer speak about their experiences and journey in dance is where we dive into the depths of what it takes to be a professional. In this exclusive interview with Hong Kong Ballet’s Principal Dancer, Chen Zhiyao, we take a look at the various facets of this prima ballerina’s life.
What is your ballet origin story?
I first got into dance when I was four. My mom said that I loved moving to music as a child. It was her idea for me to take dance lessons, and so I started learning Chinese dance.
When I was eight and a half years old, my parents heard about a new ballet program offered at the Sichuan Dance School. They thought that it might be a good idea for me to give it a try, and they brought me to the audition. I didn’t actually have a deep understanding of ballet or Chinese dance at the time, but I did enjoy dancing. It turned out that I got accepted into the program, and so I began my training in ballet.
How has your journey from Corps de Ballet to Principal Dancer evolved over the last 5 years?
Most of us started our career in the Corps de Ballet, but during that time, I also acted as an understudy to the soloists, learning from the back of the room in rehearsals. However, understudies only get the chance to play these roles when the soloist(s) cannot perform onstage.
Back when Hong Kong Ballet was about to go on tour to Canada to present The Sleeping Beauty, I had been with them for just one year. The ballerina who was supposed to perform the Bluebird Pas de Deux suddenly fell ill and as the understudy,
I had the chance to rehearse the role. But with just a little over a week left before we set off for Canada, I had little time for preparation and had to rehearse the dance with my new partner. In the end, our hard work paid off, and the performance turned out well. I earned a new found recognition for my work from the artistic staff.
After that, I got more opportunities to perform featured roles. I was promoted to Principal Dancer by our Artistic Director at the end of the Gala last November.
Being a principal dancer can be quite stressful, but I hope that I can turn that stress into motivation and keep learning. There’s still so much for me to learn.
What are some of your favourite repertoire and roles to perform and why?
There are things that I like about each repertoire and role I perform, but for classical ballet, I’d have to say Giselle because it has a lot of performance elements. It’s a whole lot of fun for me to play this role onstage as it’s filled with different emotions and interactions between characters. Amongst all the productions that I’ve been involved in so far, this is certainly a very memorable one.
Your Wildest Dance Performance Experience
There’re a lot actually, so let me just talk about one in particular, the Hong Kong premiere of ALICE (in wonderland). On my birthday I was supposed to perform in the afternoon only. Ready for a quiet and relaxing evening, I was just about to grab some food, remove my make-up and buy myself a piece of cake as a special treat after a great afternoon performance when the artistic director asked me to cover for the dancer who was supposed to perform as Alice that evening, as she fell ill. While I wasn’t mentally prepared at all, I went onstage. That was the first time I played the role of Alice and at the end of the day, everything went well. What a wild day it was.
Your Most Gratifying Performance Experience
I’d say Chroma, which is a contemporary ballet. I had different feelings each time I performed it. I felt extremely free, being able to dance freely on stage. Such a feeling was very satisfying.
Your Most Nervous Performance Experience
Swan Lake. When I first performed Swan Lake, our company was training for the performance in Beijing. As a graduate from the Beijing Dance Academy, I had a lot of teachers in Beijing. Pretty much the entire company participated in that performance, and I played the lead role in which many of my teachers came to see me perform, which made me feel very stressed. My hope was that they would see a brand new me. It was a very nerve wracking experience, and I didn’t sleep so well at that time.
Your Funniest Performance Experience
Le Grand Pas de Deux with Wei Wei at the Gala last year. The most interesting thing about this performance was that I entered the stage through the auditorium rather than coming out from the wings at the beginning of the performance. Going around the auditorium, I interacted with the audience. This was a very relaxing and hilarious way to begin the show. The performance had a lot of hilarious elements in it. I had a pair of thick-rimmed glasses on and a
little handbag with me throughout.
What is something surprising that most people don’t know about you?
I came from Sichuan, but I can’t speak Sichuanese. People believe that those who come from Sichuan know how to speak Sichuanese, but I don’t, despite being a local. Actually, Mandarin has always been the language I speak. Besides, everyone says that people of Sichuan have no fear of spiciness, but that’s not true in my case.
I almost always go to get some sleep before a performance, as I want to make sure that I’ll have enough energy on stage. Another thing is that I won’t drink a lot of water before a performance. Back when I didn’t have much performance experience, I used to drink a lot of water before going onstage as I felt very nervous and parched. As a result, when I was on the stage, my stomach would make funny noises. When my partner had his hands on my waist during a pas de deux, he would feel the noises in my stomach. Now I’ll avoid drinking water before going onstage.
If you were to perform any other style of dance other than ballet, what would it be and why?
It’d probably be street dance. I actually took a street dance course when I was in university and was quite interested in it. Everyone has the impression that ballet dancers are very graceful and that their movements are very standardised and adhere to specific rules. Street dance, on the other hand, is a relatively free dance style. I wish that I could dance as freely as those street dancers. If I ever get the chance to perform street dance, I hope that I can show a different side of myself to everyone.
What is your ultimate goal every time you step out on stage?
When I first became a member of the company, my ultimate goal as a corps dancer was to avoid making mistakes and dance in unison with the others in the corps to achieve the uniformity necessary for Corps de Ballet. Since I began dancing featured roles, I’ve always aimed at getting myself into character as soon as I’m on the stage and the stage curtains are opened. My goal is to forget everything else and enjoy the stage by fully transforming my offstage self into the character.
What advice do you have for those who want to be a professional dancer?
Stay passionate. Believe in yourself. Challenge yourself and dare to show others what you’ve got.
Filling us with the inspiration to enjoy the journey of dance and to take on our own stage, whether it’s at the Grand Theatre, a recital hall, or even at the office, Chen Zhiyao teaches us to give it our all and pursue our passions in life! So let’s work on those pirouettes until one day we’re spinning in the spotlight.