The world-renown ballet adaptation of Shakespeare's light-hearted comedy, The Taming of the Shrew opens in Beijing Friday night for a three-night run. With original choreography from John Cranko (1927-73), Stuttgart Ballet's interpretation of the classic work has proved popular for generations. Prima ballerina Sue Jin Kang from South Korea portrays a unique Katherine as she kicks, stomps and storms her way through a personal journey of love and life, presenting a complex and vivacious character via dance and artistic expression.
With music by Kurt-Heinz Stolze and Domenico Scartletti, Cranko's adaptation unleashes the irony and romance of Shakespeare's text with skillful artistry. The Taming of the Shrew depicts marriage as a war between the sexes. The story follows how Petrucchio, a rough and boastful man, tames Katherine into becoming a submissive wife. It features three pas de deux between Petrucchio and Katherine, which vividly present the pair's subtle changes. In the first pas de deux, Katherine is stronger while Petrucchio pursues her; in the second, he becomes stronger; and in the third the two find a balance and fall in love.
Sue Jin Kang said that playing the role of Katherine is delightful, "What I like so much about Katherine is that she is a very down-to-earth person. She found one man who she loved and changed her mind and her personality as well. It is not a tragedy; it is a true story about how life is."
Stuttgart Ballet's The Taming of the Shrew premiered in 1969 with Brazilian ballerina Márcia Haydée and partner Richard Cragun setting the bar with legendary performances. Sue Jin Kang spent 10 years learning from Haydée directly. She originally performed as a Korean ethnic dancer before shifting to ballet and said that because she enjoyed playing melancholy roles in tragedies, in the beginning, she found it difficult to play Katherine, "Comedy for me was very hard, because you cannot make or act what you want to be funny, because then it is not funny."
"She gets upset. She gets excited. She gets angry. She gets anxious. She has all colors inside of her," Kang said of Katherine. Under the careful guidance of artistic director Reid Anderson, Kang tempered the role with her own interpretation after years of effort. "I am very happy that I did not give up on Katherine, because it is fun to do it."
The Stuttgart Ballet is known for John Cranko's triad of full-length works in which he redefined the genre of narrative ballet in the 20th century. His presentations of Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Onegin and The Taming of the Shrew placed Stuttgart Ballet among the best ballet troupes in the world with a unique blend of drama and ballet. Featuring strong dramatic content and detailed characterization, Cranko's works are considered to both enrich the artistic quality of ballet as an art form and inspire a dancer's acting ability.
"In the past, ballet aimed to present glittery costumes, melodious music and high dancing skills, but in Cranko's works the choreography of each movement serves the story," Wang Chang, project manager from the National Center for Performing Arts (NCPA), told the Global Times.
The Taming of the Shrew runs until Sunday at the NCPA.
Editor: Dong Jirong
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