Chongqing Ballet's original work "Red Shoes" kicks off a national tour this week, with Shanghai being the first stop. Audiences can catch the performance on April 3 and 4 at the Shanghai International Dance Center Theater.

"Red Shoes" is inspired by Dai Ailian, a pioneer of contemporary Chinese dance. It tells the story of the overseas Chinese artist who decided to return to her homeland during the turmoil of war. She cared for war orphans, supported the vulnerable, and organized benefit performances, using the power of art to inspire people's morale.

Dai Ailian was born in 1916 in Trinidad, a British colony in the West Indies, into a family of three generations of overseas Chinese. Her ancestral home was south China's Guangdong Province.

At the age of 14, she went to London to study dance, training under renowned dancers such as Anton Dolin and modern dance masters Rudolf Laban and Mary Wigman, majoring in classical ballet and modern dance.

In 1940, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, she gave up a comfortable life in the United Kingdom and returned to China.

In Hong Kong and the mainland, she organized benefit performances under the leadership of Soong Ching Ling, creating a series of dances that condemned the atrocities of the Japanese army and celebrated the spirit of resistance.

She traveled to remote areas, including Xinjiang and regions inhabited by ethnic minorities, to collect folk dances, documenting a wealth of original dance forms. The eight Tibetan dances she recorded using Labanotation are now preserved in dance centers and libraries in the United States and the UK.

"Red Shoes" premiered in 2023. It incorporates elements of ethnic dances such as Miao and Tibetan, and brings together ballet and the traditional Chinese qipao on stage.

After Shanghai, the ballet will also be performed in cities including Taizhou, Wuxi, Wuhan, and Changsha.

Performance info

Dates: April 3-4, 7:30pm

Tickets: 80-680 yuan

Venue: Shanghai International Dance Center Theater 上海国际舞蹈中心

Address: 1650 Hongqiao Rd 虹桥路1650号