Chongqing - "Before the performance, I was under a lot of pressure. But looking back now, sharing the stage and exchanging ideas with outstanding dancers from different genres was such a rare and valuable experience," said Li Siyu, dancer with the Chongqing Ballet, still visibly exhilarated after two days of intense competition on October 12.
A photo showing a scene from Chongqing Ballet's original duet "Jinghong". (Photo/ The 14th China Art Festival)
From October 10 to 11, the Dance Program Showcase of the 18th Wenhua Grand Award was staged at the Chongqing Guotai Arts Center. Twelve dance productions spanning classical, contemporary, traditional, and international styles were presented. The performances offered a vivid demonstration of the rich diversity and vitality of Chinese dance art.
Among them, the original ballet duet "Jinghong", created and performed by Li Siyu and her partner Yang Chencheng, drew particular attention. As the only ballet piece to reach the final round of this year’s Wenhua Grand Award competition, it captured the audience’s full attention from the moment it began.
"Jinghong" employs highly creative artistic techniques to interpret the core theme of ecological civilization, delicately portraying a harmonious coexistence between life and civilization. Following a narrative arc of “Dawn’s First Light – Dance of the Day – Rest at Dusk,” Li and Yang vividly bring to life the story of a pair of wild geese along the Yangtze River. Through a series of technically demanding movements — lifts, continuous leaps, and rapid whip turns — they precisely recreate the grace and energy of migratory birds in flight, play, and repose. The piece preserves the disciplined beauty of classical ballet while infusing it with the vibrant spirit of nature, earning wave after wave of applause from the audience.
Dancers from Chongqing Ballet perform their original duet "Jinghong". (Photo/ The 14th China Art Festival)
Long before competing for the Wenhua Grand Award, "Jinghong" had already garnered wide recognition and acclaim. In 2022, Li Siyu won the "Top Dancer" title in the China Top Dancer Growth Program for her outstanding interpretation of the work, which itself was listed among the Top Ten Works of the Year. In 2025, during the Chongqing Stage Art Star Competition, held again after a five-year hiatus, Li returned to the stage with "Jinghong" and earned the “New Star of Stage Art” award.
This time, performing in her hometown for one of China’s most prestigious stage honors, Li and her team refined and elevated the piece to new artistic heights.
"We completely updated the costumes and invited a professional choreographer to refine the production," Li explained. "We added more complex movements — big leaps and challenging lifts — that had never appeared in previous versions, making the overall presentation more engaging."
The other 11 works that shared the Wenhua stage were equally impressive and diverse. "Palace Banquet in Tang Dynasty" — inspired by Tang-dynasty clay figurines and first popularized during Henan TV's Spring Festival Gala — transported audiences into the opulent aesthetic world of the Tang era through delicate movements and immersive stage design. Meanwhile, the ensemble dance “Tender as Water” portrayed the scenic beauty of Lugu Lake, the grace of its women, and the happiness of the local people, each motion radiating poetic warmth and emotion.
"Elite dancers from various disciplines came together on this stage — we learned from each other, inspired one another, and grew together. The audience’s enthusiastic applause gave us tremendous confidence," Li said.
In her view, the 18th Wenhua Grand Award has built a professional platform for both competition and exhibition — one that allows more outstanding dancers to be seen, appreciated, and recognized by a wider audience.