Long Beach Ballet's China Blog

Okay, I have to admit, I don’t really know exactly how to get started with this.  Having never written a blog before, and having already sent you a ton of info on how to prepare for the tour, I’m a little at a loss for material on the first day!   So I decided to start by wetting your appetite for touring through China with this photo. 

I’ve been taking tours of ballet dancers to China since 1998 and we seem to be the only organization regularly doing this, so I think it would be safe to say that there have been more ballet dancers’ feet from Long Beach on this wall than from any other school or company in the world.  In a few weeks, your faces will be replacing these faces from last year’s tour, and I’m sure you will return home with hundreds of amazing memories just as they all did.  

Over the coming days, before you all start the program here in Long Beach, I’ll be writing about our previous experiences so that you can get a “feel” of what to expect and how to prepare.  Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions, as I will be writing and responding every day.  Check in again on Monday for the next post!

  The history of how I got started traveling to China begins with me being asked if I’d like to take my company to  Taiwan for a three-week tour in 1997. 

I rarely say no to any opportunity, so a few months later we were off to Taipei with a 40 foot shipping container of scenery and a full-scale production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”  The performances were a big success and China heard about it, so we were invited for a five week tour in 1998 to China with the same production .

The director of the Guangzhou Ballet, currently China’s second largest ballet company, saw one of the performances and asked me to stage my production of  “The Nutcracker” on her company.  I did, and then brought them to the U.S. for their very first international tour.  That tour led to future tours and they continued asking me to choreograph full length ballets for them. 

My friendship with the Guangzhou Ballet is strong and each year they welcome us to share with their company and their school during the first week that we are in China every year.  Sun Xin, the dancer pictured here in rehearsal for “Don Quixiote” last summer, was 17 years old when she was in the premiere of “The Nutcracker” in 1999.  Then she went on to be third cast Nikia in “La Bayadere” (1993) and first cast Cinderella in “Cinderella” (2005).  She’s my favorite!.

You’ll soon meet her and other company members of the beautiful Guangzhou Ballet.

After a seemingly endless  flight  from Los Angeles to China (15 1/2 hours), we arrive at the spectacular new Guangzhou International Airport Sunday morning at six in the morning.   The reason we leave Friday night and get there Sunday morning is because we cross the “international dateline” about halfway across the Pacific and lose an entire day.  Don’t worry, we get the day back when we return and arrive in the U.S. before we left China!

We’ll be picked up the associate director of the Guangzhou Ballet in their tour bus.  His western name is Sasha because he studied Russian and English at the Guangzhou Language Institute.  His Chinese name is Zhang Yi (Zhang is his family name.  In China you say the “last” name first and the “first” name last.)  They usually bring an additional truck to take our luggage because the busses in China are not equipped to handle American’s luggage requirements, and no matter how light we pack, it’s always an issue.

We’ll be taken straight to our hotel – the Cornucopia Hotel in Long Dong,  just on the outskirts of Guangzhou and walking distance from the Guangzhou Ballet.  After checking in and settling into our rooms,  we’ll meet for a dim sum breakfast.  All meals in China are takeen at 10-person round tables with a lazy Susan in the middle. 

All food courses are brought to the center of the table and shared by everyone.  If you aren’t yet adept at using chop sticks, you’ll learn fast. 

Afterbreakfast we’ll have a chance to visit the shopping district next door to the hotel.  Shopping in China is amazing but we have to be disciplined and not buy much before we get to Beijing at the end of the tour.  There are two reasons for this.  First, all of the gifts and clothes that we could possibly want to buy can be bought in Beijing, and more importantly, if we wait until the end, we won’t be lugging around our purchases for three weeks from city to city! 

Tomorrow’s blog:  Money exchange.

The official currency in China is “renminbi”, or RMB, but is referred to by the primary unit, the “Yuan” (Chinese dollar) pronounced “you-wan.”  The Chinese character for Yuan is 元.  One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiǎo (角), which in turn is subdivided into 10 fēn (分).  Coins are used infrequently and the largest denomination of bill is the 100 Yuan note (a little over $15).

If you want to exchange a little bit of money before leaving for China, local U.S. banks sometimes have some onhand, but usually it has to be ordered in advance.   The exchange rate is not as good as we get in China, so my suggestion is to bring a few hundred dollars in cash ($200 or more).   You can also bring an ATM card for cash withdrawal.  If your card has the standard “star,” “plus,” or “interlink” symbol on the back, and your bank has been informed that you will be using it in China (important!), then you can withdrawal Chinese money from many ATM’s in amounts of 100 Yuan and up.  

Most hotels do not offer currency exchange, and we have to search out a bank that does, while driving around in our tour bus, find a place to park (very difficult), and keep everyone waiting while we wait in line to make the exchange (a lot of paperwork).  We have therefore come up with a system.  One of our staff acts as “banker.”  He collects cash from everyone and then disburses RMB.  That takes just one exchange transaction at the bank!

When we arrive in Guangzhou on Sunday the banks will be closed.  Sasha will be prepared to exchange $110.00 into 700 yuan for each member of the tour.  

Bottom line:  Bring U.S. dollars in amounts divisible by 110, and/or an ATM card that has been cleared for use in China. 

Tomorrow’s blog:  Three weeks in Long Beach!

Guangzhou Ballet in Rehearsal

It has been such an incredible honor for me to be associated with this beautiful company of dancers.  You will be amazed beyond your wildest expectations.  Every year our tour members say things like “I didn’t know this level of dancing existed” after seeing them in class and rehearsal.

Guangzhou Ballet Compound

The Guangzhou Ballet facility is a walled “compound” that includes 16 studios, a cafeteria, a little food shop, a little ballet store, a pointe shoe factory, scenic shops, wardrobe, classrooms for students, and apartments where everyone lives, including the gardeners, cooks, dancers, students and directors.  The two largest studios are immense and we will be using one of them for our classes and rehearsals during the first week.  Depending on the schedule of the company while we are there, we usually have the principal dancers teach our class a couple of times.

David Wilcox with Guangzhou Ballet principal Sun Xin

The company’s school is a full-fledged boarding school for students from 10 and up.  This is standard in government run ballet schools.  The best are selected from around the country and then they spend up to eight years in daily training and regular academic classes.  The ones who make it all the way through graduate into the company.

Last year the Guangzhou Ballet won first place in an important competition for the best new full length ballet, launching the company into an even higher level of prominence in Asia.  

Guangzhou Ballet men in daily class

Despite their exquisiteness, the dancers are completely humble and sweet, demure and almost shy.  They are honored that we appreciate them and really touched by our thoughtfulness when we present them with little gifts (I’ll be reminding you about this again). 

Their daily class is divided between the men and women, and hopefully we’ll get to watch both.  Last year we watched them in rehearsal for “Don Quixote” which was a wonderful treat.  In one studio the corps was rehearsing and in the other the three principle couples were working on the Grand Pas. 

La Bayadere

The summer prior they were rehearsing “La Bayadere” (my production) and surprised me by asking me to run the rehearsal!  I hadn’t thought about if for five years and was worried that I wouldn’t know what to say.  It didn’t matter much because they did it so perfectly!

Besides the obvious (clothes and such), here are a few reminders:

Students who are NOT going to China…
Class and Rehearsal Dancewear
Black Wrap Skirt
Sewing Kit
Black Jazz Shoes (NOT dance sneakers)
Black Jazz Pants
Solid Black Knee-Length Circle Character Skirt
Black Camisole Leotard
Sun Screen
Alarm Clock
Beach Towel
Bath Towel

Students who ARE going to China…
Class and Rehearsal Dancewear
Black Wrap Skirt
Sewing Kit
Stage Make-Up and Mirror
At least 3 Pairs of Pointe Shoes
White Camisole Leotard
Sun Screen
Alarm Clock
Beach Towel
Bath Towel
Chocolate Bar as a Gift to a Guangzhou Ballet Dancer
Passport (and Companions’ Passport)

And China Tour boys also bring…
Blue Jeans for Dancing (Rodeo)
Cowboy Boots (Rodeo)

China Tour members are reminded to pack as light as possible.  Extra items brought to Long Beach can be mailed home before we depart to China.  Good comfortable walking shoes are required.  One somewhat dressy outfit for special dinners or occasions.  No coats or sweaters are needed. 

Anyone following this blog who has been with us on tour already, please leave a comment if you have any suggestions!

Tomorrows post:  Stories about our summer faculty! (Part 1)