Unforgettable ballet, a classic worth revisiting, ‘The Eternal Wave’ is the first Chinese spy-themed ballet that has won numerous domestic awards and toured over 50 provinces and cities, performing over 600 shows. It was a sensation during the Spring Festival Gala of the Year of the Rat, with a Douban rating of 9.5 and a Damai rating of 9.7. Since its trial performance in 2018, ‘The Eternal Wave’ has been staged over 600 times. This ballet, which combines red culture, revolutionary spirit, and dance art, provides audiences with a double shock to the soul and vision. In 2024, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, ‘The Eternal Wave’ embarks on a new round of tours to pay tribute to the revolutionary spirit! From November 29th to December 1st, it will be staged at the Suzhou Shishan Grand Theater, once again paying tribute to the revolutionary martyrs who dedicated their youth and passion! Known as ‘the ceiling of domestic ballet,’ industry comments praise it as a model work that unifies thought, art, and watchability. It represents the achievements of Shanghai’s cultural brand construction and is a sincere work that moves from plateau to peak. It is a rare masterpiece that can win awards and has market appeal. ——Lin Hongming, judge of the ‘Wenhua Grand Prize’ and director of the Art Management Department at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
The characters in ‘The Eternal Wave’ are vividly portrayed, the conception is novel and unique, the plot is heart-wrenching, and the scene changes are diverse. The ballet achieves a good integration of drama, dance, and music, which easily resonates with people, strengthens their beliefs and pursuits, and satisfies the nobility and greatness of the soul. ——Liu Wenguo, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai Dramatists Association. The clever changes in space, bold designs, and sensitive captures, the space created by the human body in dance, perfectly combined with lighting and music, represent a new aesthetic spirit in contemporary ballet creation that needs to be well summarized. ——Feng Shuangbai, Chairman of the China Dancers Association. In recent years, the Shanghai Song and Dance Troupe has shown the momentum of Shanghai dance’s resurgence through a series of works. Among my limited vision of Chinese ballets, ‘The Eternal Wave’ is the best. ——Ying E Ding, a famous ballet director. Audience comments: I am engaged in public security work. In one sentence, my feeling after watching this drama is: I think this drama transcends the traditional form of ballet, the use of film language has given me a great spiritual impact, and it promotes the main melody in a way that young people today can better accept red education, which is particularly good. ——Audience representative. As a post-90s generation, I am unfamiliar with this history, but I have the honor to watch this play twice. The most intuitive feeling is that it is really very good-looking, the combination of stage art, costumes, and music is very good, I almost synchronize with the actors, and I basically watched the second half with tears.Understanding this period of history in this way is very important and also a great way for post-90s. — Audience representative. As a post-80s, I also watched movies when I was young. But when the music of ‘Fisherman’s Song’ sounded, it touched my tear point. It evoked my childhood memories as a Shanghainese, so I was very touched. The actors’ interpretations are excellent. From the very beginning, the audience felt the wisdom and firmness of underground revolutionary workers. — Audience representative. True story, bold creation. The dance drama ‘Eternal Wave’ is based on Li Bai, one of the ‘100 heroes and models who have made outstanding contributions to the founding of New China’. Taking the true story of martyr Li Bai and his wife Qiu Huiying as the material, it tells the story of Li Xia and Lan Fen couple’s undercover career in Shanghai. They walk on the edge of life and death every day and secretly transmit intelligence by radio. Based on respecting history, bold creation is carried out. The dance drama reproduces the heroic images who sacrificed heroically for the cause of national liberation with highly condensed dance drama narrative. Although there is not a single line, it uses the form of dance drama and expresses through body language to convey belief and perseverance, infecting and moving everyone. Trace back to the long river, live up to the original intention. Those I love all understand my love. Those I believe in are worthy of my heart. Believe without fear, love without fear. Smallness is actually great. Darkness makes light more visible. If taking the happiness of all people in the world as my great happiness, only then can I live up to the meaning of our farewell! On the streets of Shanghai, on a rainy night. Li Xia and Lan Fen pretend to be husband and wife and start their 12-year undercover career… Every day, walking on the edge of the blade. Every night, secret intelligence is transmitted thousands of miles. Layers of disguises hide fatigue and look forward to the dawn. On the eve of liberation, dawn is approaching and the night is even colder. Around Li Xia, invisible enemies are approaching step by step. Countless comrades disappear in the storm. Newspaper secretary, photojournalist, tailor shopkeeper, apprentice, rickshaw driver, newspaper president, flower seller. Are their identities true or false? Silent muzzles, tense chases, lightning tears the wound of the heart, swallowing tears… The Li Xia couple who have gone through hardships all the way are faced with a life-and-death choice. Li Xia calmly sends the last piece of intelligence and smiles at sacrifice. Day is about to dawn. Li Xia, taking martyrs such as Li Bai and other underground workers as prototypes. They hide their identities and measure the journey of light with their lives. They believe that one should be dedicated to his country regardless of personal fortune or misfortune. The long river is silent and flows eastward. The radio waves are endless and beliefs last forever. Red romance, immersive aesthetics. In recent years, there are many excellent spy-themed works in domestic and foreign films, TV dramas and novels. In the field of dance in stage art, spy-themed works have not been tried. The dance drama ‘Eternal Wave’ is an artistic exploration and practice of Shanghai Song and Dance Ensemble’s combination of the artistic form of comprehensive dance and the theme content of spy war on the stage. Through the body language of dance art and the abstract temperament of stage space, it gives spy-themed works a brand new artistic presentation.
The distinctive urban characteristics of old Shanghai, such as Shikumen, alleyways, streets, newspapers, and cheongsam tailor shops, are meticulously presented on stage. With highly condensed narrative in dance drama, aesthetic imagery, flexible and expressive stage settings, and the tense suspense of a spy thriller, it recreates the heroic figures who made a heroic sacrifice for our party’s national liberation cause. The performance is open from November 29th to December 1st, Friday to Sunday, approximately 135 minutes long, including a 15-minute intermission.
