Flying high

 

Wang Yabin turns the spotlight on her versatility as a dancer, choreographer, an actress and talk show host. Photos Provided to China Daily

 

Wang Yabin in a solo dance performance.

The girl of 6 who started dancing as a form of exercise, is now not just a highly acclaimed dancer but also choreographer, talk show host and actress. Xu Lin reports

It was Zhang Yimou's 2003 film House of Flying Daggers that brought Wang Yabin, 26, to national attention. Already known in Chinese dance circles, choreographing for the film and also performing the traditional dance as lead actress Zhang Ziyi's stand-in, turned the spotlight on her amazing versatility.

Wang's association with the famed director goes back to 1998, when the then 14-year-old student at the middle school attached to Beijing Dance Academy (BDA), the nation's top dance school, was selected to dance in the opera Turandot at the Forbidden City.

There was little inkling at that time that some five years later, the same dancer would be facing the camera.

But Wang considers herself more of a dancer than an actress.

Her performance at the opening ceremony of the ongoing Asian Games in Guangzhou was its only two-person dance, with the others all being large group acts, and told the tragic love story of a fisherman's daughter.

Her directorial work Yabin and Her Friends 2: Pursuing, saw two sold-out performances in Beijing recently. Combining modern and classical dance, its choreographers Sang Jijia and Fei Bo, also include dialogue and big screen projections of short videos, creating a veritable feast for the eyes.

Referring to the title, she explains, "We are always pursuing something in daily life, be it happiness, dreams, or success."

Wang began Yabin and Her Friends as director, choreographer and dancer in 2009, to give young dancers an opportunity to showcase their talents.

In preparation for the 2010 performance, she spent two months in the summer in the United States at the American Dance Festival, learning with world-renowned choreographers and participating in the world premiere of Sepia, a work by the Russian choreographer Tatiania Baganova.

Charles Reinhart, president of the festival, who traveled to Beijing especially for Wang's show, says, "I like the performance very much and Wang is really a fantastic dancer. "

Wang's parents sent her to learn dancing when she was 6, just so she could get some exercise. After three years in an amateur dance group in Tianjin, she was admitted to the middle school attached to BDA on the strength of her excellent performance. When she was just 15, she was recommended for admission to the academy.

She soon stood out as a classical dancer, winning four national championships and performing as principal dancer in the annual CCTV Spring Festival Gala five times.

The low point of her stellar career came in 2001, when she hurt her right ankle in a rehearsal, only three months after winning the gold medal at the National Dance Competition. Luckily, she made a full recovery several months later. "I was very worried that I may not be able to dance again," she says.

It was at the 2003 CCTV Gala that she first met the renowned comedian Zhao Benshan. Two years later, Zhao chose Wang to play the lead role in his popular light comedy TV serial Rural Love. She even spent some time in the countryside, to get a first-hand feel of rural life and give more authenticity to her role.

Wang won much acclaim and returned to play the lead again in the sequel, Rural Love 2.

"Acting and dancing have a lot in common. Sometimes dancing is just like acting minus the dialogue," she says.

In 2006, she enrolled for her post-graduation in performing art at Beijing Film Academy, China's leading acting school. She played Titania, Queen of the Fairies, in the university's multi-media drama A Midsummer Night's Dream, which won much praise in the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

She was also a TV hostess for Unique Touch, Beijing TV's talk show about reading.

Despite her successful dancing career, she keeps to a practice schedule of at least an hour-and-a-half every day. She has even refused offers to appear in several TV series because of conflicts with her dance performances.

Wang founded Yabin Studio in June 2009 and immersed herself in the preparations for the Yabin and Her Friends series. Despite the challenges posed by fund-raising and dealing with emergencies, she says, "I have learned a lot. Artistic creation is always about seeking perfection."

Her next mission is to promote dancing among college students.