And that's where the director stumbles. The theatrical elements are so strong, he says, that the director might as well have staged the performance with actors. But despite such criticisms, Zhao's collaboration with the celeb filmmaker has assured a marketing triumph for the National Ballet. Lantern is already booked to tour Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles and New York in 2003. Pioneering performances are a gamble.
Audiences often hate change and a new work is a lot more expensive.
Lantern has been 60 times more costly, partly because of elaborate sets but also because of high fees for the choreographer, composer and director. Call it Zhao's investment in a lofty goal. Still, the ballet president doesn't lose sight of practicalities. What I want to learn from the West is fund-raising. To succeed in a globalized world, ballet companies really have to stay on their toes.