劉丁睿 賀煜

Ballet Girl Sakura from Thailand， Dancing to Her Dreams in Chongqing

“Open， extend， and jump ......” A girl speaking “not-so-good” Mandarin is particularly noticeable in the practice room of Chongqing Ballet Theater （Chongqing Ballet）. She is Sakura （Chinese name： Xiao Ying， 小櫻）， 23 years old from Bangkok， Thailand and a foreign performer joining the Chongqing Ballet in June 2021.

Meeting Chongqing Ballet in Singapore

Sakura started to study ballet from a young age and was admitted by the Kirov Academy of Washington D.C.， USA after extensive trainings day in and day out. Her love for ballet has driven her to turn this hobby into her career after graduation.

In 2019， Sakura learned from her teacher that Chongqing Ballet would stage a performance in Singapore， which was a wonderful opportunity for her to observe and learn. In Singapore， after watching Chongqing Ballet’s performance Shangri-La， she had a totally different understanding of ballet as it was performed with strong expressiveness， unconventional dancing philosophies， and the avant-garde aesthetics.

“I really enjoyed Chongqing Ballet’s performance and dreamt of becoming one of them and performing on more stages.” Sakura recalled that after the performance， she met Liu Jun， Director of Chongqing Ballet. She was touched by his unique insights on ballet. After two years of hard work， Sakura has realized her dream and become a member of Chongqing Ballet.

On Bigger Stages from Chongqing

“When I first arrived in Chongqing， I missed my family very much. I talked with my parents every day via video call. The warmth that I’ve felt in Chongqing has made me adapted quickly to this place.” Sakura said that friendly and welcoming Chongqing colleagues cared her a lot and， gradually， she didn’t feel homesick anymore.

“My time at Chongqing Ballet is very fulfilling. I perform a lot and spend most of the other time in rehearsals. I practice six or seven hours a day and thanks to that， I have improved tremendously.” Before joining Chongqing Ballet， Sakura didn’t have many opportunities to perform， but Chongqing Ballet has given her a wider stage to improve her skills and enrich her experience on stage.

When performing with Chongqing Ballet， Sakura also met a great challenge - Chinese classical dancing. She had never been trained for Chinese classical dancing before. It was a slow process to start but she enjoyed it. After practices， she has learned how to blend Chinese classical dancing with ballet， enriching ballet with more Chinese features and artistic elements. Thus， ballet is able to embrace characteristics of the East and the West.

Nearly a year in Chongqing， Sakura has performed over 50 times in many ballets such as The Nutcracker Magic， Ballet in Illusion， Carnival of the Animals， Ripples Across Stagnant Water， Shangri-La and Ode to the Red Plum. She has danced in almost all the theaters in Chongqing and knew more about Chongqing’s local conditions and people. On April 21st this year， Chongqing Ballet’s Ode to the Red Plum Blossom was presented during the International Dance Festival at the Julio Mario Santodomingo Theater in Colombia， offering a feast of oriental dance to an audience of more than 2 million worldwide. Sakura was a dancer in that ballet.

In her leisure time， Sakura learns Chinese and enjoys exploring Chongqing with her friends. Nanshan Mountain， Nanbin Road， and Shibati （Eighteen Steps） are some of the places that she has visited. Sakura is so excited， “Chongqing is SO beautiful！” Not only the wonderful sceneries， but also the spicy food is a big hit with her， including Chongqing hot pot， Xiao Mian （Chongqing noodles）， Ma La Tang （mini hot pot）， Mao Xue Wang （Spicy Blood Curd）， Chao Shou （Chongqing-style wontons） and so on.

Hoping for More Cultural Exchanges Between Chongqing and Bangkok

In September 2011， Chongqing and Bangkok tied up as sister cities. Bangkok was the first capital city to establish a sister-city relationship with Chongqing. Coming from Bangkok， Sakura has a special feeling for Chongqing.

Chongqing in the eyes of Sakura is a modernized international metropolis. Skyscrapers and cross-river bridges harmoniously co-exist with old streets and ancient towns. This is Chongqing where history meets modernity. When night falls， the lights will make this city even more glamorous.

“Moreover， Chongqing is an open and inclusive city.” Sakura says that foreigners living here give thumbs-up to Chongqing. There are many restaurants of different styles around the world， offering tasty food of hometowns to foreigners. More foreign businesses and foreigners will be attracted to make investments and pursue their careers here in the future.

Talking about Chongqing and her hometown Bangkok， ballet dancer Sakura hopes that Chongqing and Bangkok can carry out more cultural exchange activities. She looks forward to improving mutual understanding and friendship between the two places with mutual visits and performances， learning opportunities， as well as interactive events. Once the pandemic is over， ballet dancers from both places could engage more with each other in exchange events and mutual learning， presenting more wonderful ballets to the audience.

“Chongqing has a long history and Bangkok also enjoys rich heritages. Chongqing people are welcomed to visit my hometown Bangkok and feel the charm of the city. I will also tell my friends and family more about this beautiful land of Chongqing.”

Photo/Chongqing Ballet Theater

“打開、送出去、跳……”，在重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)練功室，一位操著不太熟練的普通話的女孩，格外引人注意。她是來自泰國(guó)曼谷的Sakura（中文名：小櫻），今年23歲，是重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)引進(jìn)的外籍演員，2021年6月來到重慶。

在新加坡初遇重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)

Sakura自幼學(xué)習(xí)芭蕾，日復(fù)一日的艱苦訓(xùn)練，她終于被美國(guó)華盛頓基洛夫芭蕾舞學(xué)院錄取。熱愛芭蕾，她便在畢業(yè)后將這一愛好變成職業(yè)。

2019年，Sakura從老師口中得知，重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)將在新加坡有一場(chǎng)演出，她便欣喜地前去觀摩學(xué)習(xí)。在新加坡，她欣賞到重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)的演出《追尋香格里拉》，富有張力的舞臺(tái)表現(xiàn)，不落窠臼的舞蹈思路，與時(shí)俱進(jìn)的藝術(shù)審美，讓她對(duì)芭蕾產(chǎn)生了不同以往的認(rèn)識(shí)和理解。

“我非常喜歡重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)的演出，當(dāng)時(shí)就特別想成為她們中的一員，去更多舞臺(tái)表演。”Sakura回憶說，通過那場(chǎng)演出，她結(jié)識(shí)了重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)的團(tuán)長(zhǎng)劉軍，劉團(tuán)長(zhǎng)對(duì)芭蕾的獨(dú)到見解讓她深受觸動(dòng)。經(jīng)過兩年的努力，Sakura如愿成為了重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)的一員。

在重慶登上廣闊舞臺(tái)

“初到重慶之時(shí)，我很思念家人，每天都會(huì)和父母視頻通話，但來自重慶的溫暖讓我很快就適應(yīng)了這里。”Sakura說，重慶人熱情友好，舞團(tuán)的同事對(duì)她關(guān)懷備至，離家的愁緒漸漸消散。

“在重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)的日子非常充實(shí)，會(huì)經(jīng)常隨團(tuán)演出，其他時(shí)間大多在排練，每天會(huì)練習(xí)六七個(gè)小時(shí)，讓我得到了極大的提升?！盨akura表示，在來重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)之前，她并沒有太多的表演機(jī)會(huì)，而重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)給了她廣闊的舞臺(tái)，讓她既提升了表演能力，也豐富了舞臺(tái)經(jīng)驗(yàn)。

來到重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)，Sakura還遇到了一個(gè)極大的挑戰(zhàn)—中國(guó)古典舞。她此前并未接觸過中國(guó)古典舞，初學(xué)時(shí)進(jìn)度較慢，但她樂在其中，通過刻苦地練習(xí)，她學(xué)會(huì)了將中國(guó)古典舞與芭蕾舞巧妙地融合，賦予芭蕾藝術(shù)更多的中國(guó)神韻和藝術(shù)特質(zhì)，呈現(xiàn)出中西合璧的芭蕾表現(xiàn)形式。

在重慶的近一年時(shí)間里，Sakura參演了《胡桃夾子》《幻妝芭蕾》《動(dòng)物狂歡曲》《死水微瀾》《追尋香格里拉》《百年紅梅頌》等多臺(tái)芭蕾舞劇，演出共計(jì)50余場(chǎng)，隨團(tuán)到過成都、廣州等城市演出，去過重慶潼南、永川、酉陽、黔江等區(qū)縣表演，幾乎跑遍了重慶所有的劇場(chǎng)，讓她更加全面地了解了重慶的風(fēng)土人情。其中，今年4月21日，重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)的《百年紅梅頌》還亮相了哥倫比亞胡里奧·馬里奧·圣多明戈大劇院國(guó)際舞蹈季云展演，為全球200多萬觀眾呈現(xiàn)極具東方舞韻的芭蕾盛宴，Sakura就參演其中。

工作之余，Sakura會(huì)學(xué)習(xí)中文，也喜歡和朋友們一起探索重慶。南山、南濱路、十八梯……這些極具重慶特色的地方都有她的足跡。講到這些，Sakura直呼：“重慶太美啦！”不僅美景醉人，麻辣美食更是讓她大飽口福。重慶火鍋、重慶小面、麻辣燙、毛血旺、抄手等都是她的心頭好。

希望重慶與曼谷開展更多文化交流

2011年9月，重慶與曼谷結(jié)為友好城市。曼谷是第一個(gè)與重慶建立友城關(guān)系的外國(guó)首都城市。作為一個(gè)曼谷女孩，Sakura也因此對(duì)重慶增添了一份喜愛。

Sakura眼中的重慶是現(xiàn)代化國(guó)際大都市，現(xiàn)代的摩天大樓、跨江大橋與老街、古道新舊融合，在歷史傳承與時(shí)代發(fā)展的碰撞中，構(gòu)筑了屬于重慶的經(jīng)典。每當(dāng)夜幕降臨，萬千燈火更是璀璨迷人。

“重慶還是一座開放、包容的城市。”Sakura說，在重慶生活的外國(guó)人都對(duì)這里不吝贊美。街上有很多外國(guó)餐廳，能讓生活在這座城市的外國(guó)人品嘗到家鄉(xiāng)風(fēng)味，更好地工作和生活。相信未來將吸引更多的外國(guó)企業(yè)、外國(guó)人來此投資興業(yè)。

談及重慶與家鄉(xiāng)曼谷，Sakura表示，作為一名芭蕾舞演員，希望重慶和姐妹城市曼谷能開展更多的文化交流活動(dòng)，通過互訪演出、學(xué)習(xí)交流，增進(jìn)兩地的相互了解和友誼。待疫情過后，希望兩地的芭蕾舞演員可以多多交流學(xué)習(xí)，為觀眾呈現(xiàn)更多精彩的芭蕾舞劇。

“重慶歷史悠久，曼谷同樣底蘊(yùn)深厚，歡迎重慶人民去我的家鄉(xiāng)曼谷做客，親身領(lǐng)略其城市魅力，我也會(huì)向親朋好友推薦重慶山水?！?/p>

》》》拓展閱讀

2011年6月，為慶祝中泰建交36周年，重慶與曼谷在曼谷暹羅劇場(chǎng)聯(lián)合舉辦泰國(guó)重慶文化周活動(dòng)，加強(qiáng)中泰兩國(guó)的文化交流。重慶文化代表團(tuán)多次赴曼谷訪問演出。

2011年9月，重慶與曼谷結(jié)為友好城市。曼谷是泰國(guó)的首都，是政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化、教育、交通中心。

2012年、2015年，重慶分別組織高校師生赴曼谷參加友好城市青年交流活動(dòng)，增進(jìn)友誼。曼谷也于2013年至2016年組織高校師生和華裔青少年代表團(tuán)來渝訪問，參加文化交流活動(dòng)。

圖片/重慶芭蕾舞團(tuán)提供