论中国古典舞群舞作品的创新危机——以第十一届中国舞蹈“荷花奖”古典舞终评为例

On the Innovation Crisis of Chinese Classical Group Dance A Case Study of the 11th Chinese Dance “Lotus Award” for Classical Dance Final Competition

关于中国古典舞将面临严峻生存危机的言论并非空穴来风,笔者通过现场观摩第十一届中国舞蹈"荷花奖"古典舞终评,感受到了问题的严重性。本文根据31部作品在终评中的表现,从群舞选材平庸、相似重复导致创新难危机等方面展开论述,查找根源,以求促使中国古典舞通过反思,摆脱危机,迎来健康发展的春天。

The 11 th Chinese Dance 'Lotus Award' for Chinese Classical Dance final competition took place on November 2 and 3, 2017 in Beijing Dance Academy. The author witnessed the performance of finalists, including 12 group dances as well as 19 solos, duets, and trios, but was disappointed after a comparison with the 'Lotus Awards'folk dance final competition. The key impression is the limited number of group dances and the distinction of male group dances. This confirms the popular belief that Chinese classical dance has met with a crisis, or a bottleneck. Through an analysis of 72 Chinese classical dances performed in major competitions in China and the 31 finalists of this competition, the paper points out the problems with Chinese classical dance: lack of participation;mediocrity;and similarity or even repetition, which threaten the innovation and growth of the dance genre. The paper aims to figure out the factors, and solutions to the factors, that restricted the further development of Chinese classical dance over the past years.The paper focuses on group dances because every form of dance has its unique charm and special function. In comparison with solos, group dances offers a wider view on the stage and have diverse forms. First, a group dance may contain solos, duets, and trios which may be as taken as standalone performances, while a group dance shows regional or ethnic collective force and creates multiple levels of movement. Second, a group dance can create various scenes and settings through the multiple body movements as well as props and settings such as high wall, fire, fishing boat, whirlpools, hillside, yurts, cave, bath, and bonfire. While presenting amazing aesthetics, a group dance can also create dramatic conflicts between characters and tell touching stories, thus producing a strong emotional echo in the audience. This is a good channel to realize the creative wisdom.Among the 31 finalists of this competition, 12 are group dances(38.71%), 16 are solos(51.61%), and the remaining are duets and trios(9.68%). The small proportion of group dances entering the final competition shows that the repertoire of group dances is small and the general quality of creation is low, and the number of group dance performers is still rather small. This means this dance genre has not made any obvious progress in the past four years.So far, China’s three major dance competitions, C h i n a N a t i o n a l D a n c e C o m p e t i t i o n, t h e L o t u s Award Competition, and the Peach and Plum Cup Competition, have brought together 933 group dances without repetition. Among them, 72 elaborated on classical themes, representing 7.71% of the total. As a major genre of group dance or even a hype, classical dance has in fact lagged behind modern dance in repertoire creation. Many classical dances are repetitive in form and tell commonplace stories, so they are quickly forgotten. The vicious circle is restricting its growth.Most Chinese classical dances now are basically a mixture of Western and Chinese dances. This paper believes that the genre was born in a special historical background, so the style fuses Chinese and Western factors and includes a great deal of modern and contemporary dance movements. Chinese classical dance was born out of Chinese operas, martial arts and acrobatics, and at the same time it has features of classical ballet. It is therefore a unique 'genetically modified' dance genre. The label 'Chinese classical dance' has created a certain confusion for choreographers and performers alike. They have no clear rules to follow and have to confine themselves to classical themes mechanically. This is why the 12 finalists are similar and even repetitive to some extent, which weakens the creativity and hence reduces the cultural, educational, and inspirational power. In the first place, the mediocrity, similarity, and repetition of themes and stories will gradually drive the audience away. The first prize winner Ink Dance resembles many other group dances of the same genre and the creation logic has inherent flaws. The paper believes that it is caused by the lack of in-depth deliberation.Second, the 4 th and 5 th prize winners, A Song of Fair Women and Han Dynasty Gates, presented free imagination based on Chinese classical poetry. A Song of Fair Women had 12 actresses forming various lines on the stage, which was too simple, empty, and boring to the audience. The male group dance Han Dynasty Gates was against common sense and flawed. Within 6 minutes and 30 seconds, the dancers turned their backs to the audience and faced the tombstone and gates three times in melancholy, pain, and confusion, which lasted more than 3 minutes. In addition, there were only 9 dancers, and the limited number weakened the collective power. Therefore, it is more like a class teaching Han and Tang rituals. This problem is due to the lack of experience and the mediocrity of content.To sum up, the low presence of group dance in the final competition is an evidence that this genre has serious problems with repertoire development and innovation. The biggest problem about Chinese classical dance is that the name itself restricting the hybrid essence from growing, and creating difficulty in the choice of subjects and innovation of form. The top 3 winners of the competition are either simple repetitions of earlier creations, or boring and empty, or contrary to common sense. These confirm the general impression that Chinese classical dance has met with a crisis in terms of subject selection and innovation.