On a recent sleepy summer morning, a group of about 50 dancers from the New York City Ballet gathered in a sunny rehearsal studio at the Lincoln Center to stretch. They came from a three-week break, returned to company class, and were preparing for a tour in northern New York. Some carried bottles of energy drinks and hand sanitizers. Others brought the dog and took a nap under the barre as the dancer began a series of exercises (priet, tendus, jump, pirouette).
Tall and majestic, Chun Wai Chan stood near the center of the studio. In May, he became the first principal dancer of Chinese descent in the 74-year history of city ballet, making him the fourth Asian to hold that rank. In the studio that morning, some dancers were still accustomed to their routine. But he was full of energy and vowed to use his class time to exercise each of his muscles.
“I need to focus,” said 30-year-old Chan. “I really need to push myself.”
Born in Huizhou, an industrial city in southeastern China, Chang has enthusiastic fans in his home country. (During the pandemic, he appeared on the popular Chinese television show “Dance Smash.”) He participated in the city ballet only last year, but after spending 10 years in the Houston ballet, he was already a new star. I am emerging as one person.At the performance of Jerome Robbins “Cage” When Justin Peck’s “Partita” Last season he was hailed as an elegant and agile artist. He also Social mediaHe posted dance clips and tutorials on topics such as building abdominal muscles and applying makeup.
Chan embraced the history of the appointment of city ballet and talked about the struggle of Asian dancers to win recognition and stereotypes about Asians that remain in classics like The Nutcracker. Nine of the 96 dancers are from an Asian company, and his colleagues and teachers celebrated his promotion.
“It’s a great moment not only for him, but for the institution,” he said. Georgina PascoginAs an activist, a fellow dancer who has worked to eliminate the sneaky portrayals of Asian ballet. “I can’t fully emphasize how wonderful and fun this is, and how proud I am, and likewise we know we still have more work to do.”
Chan wants to help change the perception of ballet dancers by reinventing art forms whose main pedigree is from Europe. “I’m the first person, but I really hope it won’t take another 70 years to get another,” he said. “The prince can also be Asian.”
At an early age, Chan’s parents enrolled him in a swimming lesson with the Olympic aspirations in mind. But after attending a ballet class with his sister, he came up with other ideas.
At the age of six he began his own ballet studies and was one of the few boys in his class. His parents were skeptical of his passion and instead advised him to pursue a career as a lawyer, doctor, or accountant.
At the age of 12, he wrote to his parents, learned to dance and stated his determination to perform on the world’s largest stage. They agreed to send him to a performing arts boarding school in Guangzhou, about 90 miles away.
Chan’s break was 18 years old, a finalist of the Lausanne International Ballet Company in Switzerland in 2010, and received a scholarship to study at the Houston Ballet. He joined the company as a dancer two years later and became principal in 2017.
There, he gained a reputation as a confident and sensitive performer. He also collaborated with Peck, City Ballet’s resident choreographer, who created the Houston Ballet “Reflections” in 2019.
Peck was impressed with Chan’s curiosity. “He’s always keen to dig a little deeper, digest the details, and understand the intent behind the movements and steps,” Peck said. “After working with Reflections, it was completely clear to me that Chun Wai had a tremendous amount of work ethic, concentration and on-stage presence.”
The two had dinner in Houston, and Chan was interested in dancing in New York one day. In early 2020 he was invited to a city ballet class and was offered a soloist position from the fall of 2020.
But he will have to wait. The Houston Ballet has canceled dozens of performances due to a pandemic that has stopped cultural life across the country. During the shutdown, Chan taught an online class and recorded a dance video with her friends.
In mid-2020, longing for the opportunity to perform again in front of a live audience, Chan returned to China, where many theaters were open and less infected with the coronavirus. She participates in the second season of “Dance Smash” where artists of various genres such as modern dance, ballet and traditional Chinese dance gather.
Chan captivated the audience with his soulful performances of ballet and modern dance, and was eliminated after advancing to the final four. He has more than 200,000 followers on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform like Twitter. His fans called him “the prince of ballet”.
He returned to New York last year as an outsider. The vast majority of city ballet dancers spend years together training at the prestigious School of American Ballet. So they specialize in choreography by the company’s co-founder and longtime artistic director George Balanchine.
Trained in the Russian Vaganova method, Chan initially struggled to master Balanchine’s choreography.
“I felt suspicious of everything I learned. It didn’t mean anything,” he said. “They split me into many pieces and reconstructed me. And a few weeks later, I felt much more comfortable, as with increased musicality and freedom.”
City Ballet Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford said Chan quickly adapted to Balanchine’s aesthetics. “He has this magnetic quality on stage,” Stafford said. “He can be very naturally elegant, but he can also be really dynamic. He just pulls you in.”
When City Ballet returned to stage after the pandemic shut down, Chan made several debuts, including “The Nutcracker of George Balanchine” and Black Swan Pas de Deux, an excerpt from Peter Martins’ “Swan Lake.” .. During this spring season, New York Times dance critic Gia Kourlas wrote that he was “noble and generous in all the roles he saw dancing.”
Chan is eager to rethink his important role. He said his Chinese identity influenced his style. For example, while playing Pas de deux in “Swan Lake,” he said he tried to be humble and tentative, expressing his love.
“I’m not just playing like Westerners,” he said. “I also incorporate some of my Asian culture and Asian values into my body language.”
Chang’s promotion comes when cultural institutions face national pressure to diversify their ranks. About 27% of city ballet dancers recognize it as an ethnic minority, compared to about 14% in 2010. The recent surge in violence against Asians in the United States has echoed in the world of dance, prompting debate about the lack of outstanding role of Asian dancers. Depiction of Asians in the performing arts.
In recent years, many companies have taken steps to eliminate stereotypes, including the “Nutcracker,” which often incorporates bamboo hats and stereotyped movements during a short routine for performers to introduce tea from China. I am taking it.
Chan said he was encouraged by his efforts to rethink the outdated metaphor. “Whenever there is a change to make people more comfortable, I think it’s an improvement,” he said.
In China, Chang’s success is a source of pride. The news of her promotion to principal dancer was widespread and was repeatedly featured in the Chinese media under headlines such as “Ballet Night” and “Conquered New York after” Dance Smash “.”
Chan is interested in bringing what he has learned back to China. He said that in China, there is a lack of appreciation for ballet. He also wants to deepen his understanding of traditional American Chinese dance.
After the performance, the audience may tell Chan that he has never seen an Asian dancer play the leading role. He was impressed to hear the young dancers in color that his example gave them hope for their own career.
“I thought I was dancing just for myself,” he said. “Now I’m dancing for my family, for the audience, for the entire dance community.”
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