Chapter 114 Dujuan Mountain
Chapter 114
Lin Chunsheng's question echoed the sentiments of everyone.
If Meng Yingying were to represent the Capital Song and Dance Troupe in the individual competition, what would she dance?
From an outsider's perspective, no matter what she dances, she will be attacked from all sides.
First of all, Gu Xiaotang is good at red ballet, and Zhou Lanxiang is good at modern dance and model opera, which almost monopolizes the three biggest dance styles in the competition.
From this perspective, Meng Yingying actually has very few dances left to choose from.
Because no matter which one she chooses, there will be people attacking from the front.
Seeing everyone looking over, Meng Yingying lowered her fair eyes and said softly, "I will jump off Azalea Mountain."
The room fell silent the moment those words were spoken.
"Dujuan Mountain?"
Wu Yanzhou was the first to react, her voice rising several decibels, "You jumped off Dujuan Mountain?"
Meng Yingying pursed her lips and nodded, "Yes."
Her answer was extremely decisive, which contrasted sharply with her obedient appearance.
"However, this dance has never been officially performed to the public. It is a dance reserved for internal performances within the □□ and is known as the Blood Rose."
"Yingying, this dance is incredibly difficult. Where did you hear about it?"
Even within their own dance troupe, very few people dance this particular dance.
The difficulty level is too high.
Meng Yingying knew she had almost been exposed, but she remained calm and said, "Doesn't the Capital Song and Dance Troupe have archives and a library from previous years? I went to take a look, and my teacher also explained this to me, especially the more unique dance pieces, so that's why I wrote them down."
In fact, Yang Jie was in a daze. Meng Yingying had asked her about this when she came to see her, but she didn't know if Meng Yingying had specifically mentioned Dujuan Mountain.
She herself has forgotten.
However, Yingying had a photographic memory, so she had it as soon as she said she did.
Wu Yanzhou didn't think much of it. She went to ask Meng Yingying, "Yingying, have you thought it through?"
"Dujuan Mountain is really difficult."
The fact that Wu Yanzhou would say something like that shows just how difficult Dujuan Mountain is.
Meng Yingying calculated the time and said in a low voice, "It's November 7th now, and there's still a month until the competition. There's still plenty of time before the very end."
Seeing that she insisted, Wu Yanzhou could no longer object. She went to see Yang Jie, hoping that Yang Jie could persuade Meng Yingying.
Because this piece is too difficult, it would be a huge loss if we failed.
"Yang Jie, you should advise Comrade Meng that setting such a high level of difficulty from the start could lead to a complete failure if any problems arise along the way."
Yang Jie and Meng Yingying exchanged a glance and instantly understood her thoughts. "Don't try to persuade her; she has her own ideas."
"Old Wu, we should also respect the students' opinions."
"After all, the student's talent is superior to ours, so the best thing we can do at this time is not to hold her back."
Wu Yanzhou couldn't refute those words.
With the repertoire finalized, the following week passed quickly. Meng Yingying practiced "Azalea Mountain," and it must be said that the resources of the Capital Song and Dance Troupe are truly impressive.
Once Meng Yingying's situation was finalized, all the teachers in the dance troupe began to serve her.
Dujuan Mountain is a model ballet of the Red Army, featuring both model operas and ballet, and also involving different musical instruments such as the banhu, erhu, and piano.
This was the first time Meng Yingying had ever seen a piano in the 1970s.
Only the Capital Song and Dance Troupe has this capability.
No wonder everyone is scrambling to climb the ladder.
The resources here are indeed different.
While Meng Yingying was practicing her basic skills, the group dance "Moonlight Night," led by Han Mingbing, was also preparing intensively for its training.
This time, Meng Yingying didn't participate in the group dance. Instead, she got Han Mingbing, the leader of the group dance, imprisoned.
Since she took Han Mingbing's spot in the individual competition, there was no need for her to try and take Han Mingbing's position as the leader of the group dance.
If this were done, it would be far too ruthless.
"How about it?"
After finishing her practice that day, Meng Yingying wiped the sweat from her face. In November, the capital had already entered early winter, and pedestrians outside had all put on thin cotton-padded jackets, but Meng Yingying was still wearing her thin dance costume.
They had just finished practicing and were covered in sweat.
She was asking Han Mingbing.
Han Mingbing, who had just finished leading the team in a moonlit training session for the group competition, shook her head and said, "The team's coordination isn't good enough yet, so we keep making mistakes in the middle."
Meng Yingying wiped her sweat with a handkerchief. Her skin was particularly delicate and rosy from the sweat, somewhat like a ripe peach in March.
Plump and juicy, pink and tempting.
Even Han Mingbing was stunned for a moment. "Meng Yingying, if you weren't in the Capital Song and Dance Troupe, your face alone could have landed you a job at the Capital Film Studio."
"Your face is so beautiful, even more beautiful than Fang Shu, who is currently the most popular actress."
Fang Shu became well-known, even a household name, after starring in "Under the Bridge".
Meng Yingying was about to answer Han Mingbing, but after being interrupted by her, she forgot what she was going to say.
She paused for a moment before pursing her lips and saying, "At this stage, I only like dancing."
She doesn't really like acting.
"That's true. With your talent for dancing, it's a bit of a waste for you to go into acting." Han Mingbing also sighed, finding it hard to believe that the two of them now got along so well.
It's worth noting that Han Mingbing had been feeling down before.
Seeing her mouth opening and closing, Meng Yingying remembered something she had forgotten earlier. "Your talent is too high, higher than all of them. So much so that when you dance, you are immersed in your own world and forget about them."
Upon hearing this, Han Mingbing was stunned. She was somewhat annoyed. "Teacher Jin also told me what you're talking about, but I'm used to dancing solo and have adapted to my own rhythm. It would be really difficult for me to give up my own rhythm and cater to them."
Meng Yingying thought for a moment, "That means losing."
"What?"
Han Mingbing was somewhat taken aback.
Meng Yingying looked up, her face serious. "If you don't change your rhythm, Mingbing, we will definitely lose in the team competition."
Upon hearing this, Han Mingbing's face immediately turned red. After a long while, she stammered, "Can't we just let them adapt to my pace?"
Meng Yingying shook her head, "That's very difficult."
"Mingbing, you need to understand this: the best approach is for the minority to adapt to the majority."
“Besides you, there are thirty-one other people. Getting these thirty-one people to adapt to your pace is too difficult, Mingbing.”
"Think about it carefully."
Han Mingbing didn't say anything, but instead put on a thick military overcoat and turned to go to the dance studio.
"I hope she will listen to what you have to say."
It was Teacher Jin who said this.
“I’ve talked to her about it several times, but it has had little effect.”
Meng Yingying said, "That's because the price wasn't high enough."
"Teacher Jin, you need to tell her the consequences; only then will she change."
“If she still doesn’t change,” Meng Yingying said, taking a drastic measure, “then we’ll change the team leader.”
Upon hearing this, Teacher Jin's expression changed. "You really dare to say that, kid."
"Comrade Yang Jie is something else, she really teaches you everything."
She may not have learned anything else, but she thoroughly mastered Yang Jie's straightforward manner.
Meng Yingying shook her head, "Teacher Jin, this is not something my teacher taught me, but rather my own code of conduct."
"If there are obstacles on the way to achieving your goal, then overcome those obstacles."
“We have already told Han Mingbing where the problem lies, but she still hasn’t changed. This is a personal issue. Since personal issues are affecting the entire process, shouldn’t we cut it off and replace it with someone who can help me achieve my goal?”
Meng Yingying's way of thinking has always been results-oriented.
Han Mingbing, Teacher Jin, and even Wu Yanzhou are not among them. It seems they are results-oriented, placing more emphasis on romantic relationships.
That's why we have these two different philosophies now.
"Teacher Jin, if the Capital Song and Dance Troupe wants to win the group competition, it is essential for them to reach a consensus within their own organization. If they cannot do this, they might as well withdraw from the competition."
To be honest, to some extent, Professor Jin even saw a younger version of Yang Jie in Meng Yingying.
Yang Jie was once just as meticulous and principled.
She murmured, "Meng Yingying, no wonder Yang Jie accepted you as her apprentice."
I will write down your suggestion.
Meng Yingying nodded. She felt that she had practiced her basic skills enough, plus the knowledge points that her teacher had given her.
Meng Yingying felt that she had prepared enough, so she went to Wu Yanzhou and said, "Commander Wu, I want to see the film of Dujuan Mountain."
This really stumped Wu Yanzhou. She shook her head and said, "Dujuan Mountain was only staged three times in 1970, and the film reels that were reproduced at that time were locked in the film archive. Our Capital Song and Dance Troupe does not have any publicly available footage of Dujuan Mountain."
It was at this moment that everyone realized just how big a challenge it was for Meng Yingying to jump off Dujuan Mountain.
The Capital Song and Dance Troupe does not have film reels of the dance "Azalea Mountain".
Meng Yingying was taken aback. "No?"
“But I saw the category of Dujuan Mountain in the archives.”
“That’s an archive,” Wu Yanzhou said. “The film isn’t with our Capital Song and Dance Troupe; only [the brothel] has it.”
Yang Jie was much more decisive than her: "Since we don't have any film, let's borrow some."
"Borrow the film that was taken from the archive; let's try it out first."
Wu Yanzhou smiled wryly, "If it were really that simple, these kinds of films would be sealed away for preservation purposes."
"It's almost impossible to borrow them from outside."
This immediately led to a difficult situation. Seeing that Meng Yingying and Yang Jie remained silent, Wu Yanzhou said, "This is also why I made Meng Yingying reconsider whether or not to jump off Dujuan Mountain."
"Because this dance is inherently difficult, and our unit doesn't have film, the basic skills you've learned these past few days have all been taught to you based on the teachers' memorization points."
"Yingying".
Wu Yanzhou looked at the calendar hanging on the wall and said, "If I were you, I would change the track right now."
"We've only just started and there's no film, so let's go change to a different piece of music instead of wasting time on these meaningless things."
"Yes." Meng Yingying looked up, her fair chin showing a hint of determination. "Commander Wu, I want to know about the film issue at Dujuan Mountain. Is it just our unit that doesn't have film, or is it that none of the units have it?"
Wu Yanzhou thought about it carefully, "It's that none of the units have it."
"Because I remember very clearly that there were three rehearsals in 1970, but only one was actually reproduced. And that film was completely sealed away because of Zhang Haimei's passing."
Zhang Haimei was the originator of the Dujuan Mountain dance, and the Dujuan Mountain dance she performed was also known as Blood Rose, a legendary performance.
This is also why the film was sealed away.
After hearing this, Meng Yingying murmured, "If that's really the case, then I'll definitely jump off Azalea Mountain again."
"This is my greatest strength."
What does she have to fight against Gu Xiaotang and the others with?
Gu Xiaotang excels at red ballet, and Zhou Lanxiang excels at modern dance. If she were to compete against them with ordinary dances, she would have absolutely no chance of winning.
We must take an unconventional approach.
"Teacher Wu." Meng Yingying even changed her form of address; she used to call him Commander Wu, but now she called him Teacher Wu. "Could you go and ask the □□?"
Wu Yanzhou felt very conflicted, but Meng Yingying insisted, so she agreed, "I can ask around, but I can't guarantee that it will be 100% successful."
Meng Yingying nodded, "Just ask."
Wu Yanzhou acted quickly, taking Meng Yingying to the person in charge of the □□ that same day. After explaining their purpose, the other party refused decisively, saying, "Zhang Haimei's version of Azalea Mountain is now a unique film reel and cannot be lent out to outsiders, because any accidental damage would be an irreparable loss."
Wu Yanzhou was not surprised by this result, and she turned to look at Meng Yingying.
Undeterred, Meng Yingying still wanted to try, so she asked directly, "Comrade, if we don't borrow the film, we can watch it in the propaganda room of the □□."
"Can we just watch it once?"
Upon hearing this, Officer Zheng was also taken aback.
Because she had never heard of this request before, the film of Rhododendron Mountain, which was sealed on film, took almost forty minutes from beginning to end.
To think that one can learn something by simply looking at the film once without borrowing it is nothing short of wishful thinking.
It just so happened that Lin Rujuan brought Gu Xiaotang to the city on business, and the Central Ballet Troupe came to the city, so it was like their own backyard.
Lin Rujuan was able to deduce important matters from these few words.
She gave Meng Yingying a deep look and roughly knew who Meng Yingying was.
As soon as Meng Yingying and Yang Jie arrived at the Central Dance Troupe in the capital, she received the news.
Her senior sister is said to have taken in a genius.
Lin Rujuan simply scoffed at this. There are too many geniuses in the world, but very few can reach the top.
Her senior was a genius, but in the end, it was Lin Rujuan who stayed with the National Ballet of China and became the head coach.
Thinking of this, Lin Rujuan turned her gaze away from Meng Yingying and said to Wu Yanzhou, "Commander Wu, I told you, when your unit submitted your application for the individual Azalea Mountain Jump competition, I advised you not to try to do too much at once. You didn't believe me, but now you do."
"The film from Dujuan Mountain has been sealed away; this is something we all know. Why are you making things difficult for Officer Zheng?"
Officer Zheng nodded in agreement, “Commander Wu, Coach Lin is right, it is indeed inconvenient to lend out these sealed film reels.”
Wu Yanzhou ignored Lin Rujuan and instead addressed Zheng, the cadre, saying, "If watching the film in the propaganda room isn't allowed, then I'd like to know what Lin Rujuan brought Gu Xiaotang here for?"
"You're not here to offer early New Year's greetings to everyone in the □□, are you?"
That's really a scathing remark.
It's clear that Wu Yanzhou was also offended by Lin Rujuan's words, which is why he said what followed.
Sure enough, as soon as Wu Yanzhou finished speaking, Lin Rujuan's expression changed. She gave a forced smile and said, "Commander Wu, what are we doing here? It seems we don't need to report to the Capital Song and Dance Troupe."
"You don't need to report to me."
“However, I can check your records to find out the purpose of your visit.”
Wu Yanzhou's words were tinged with coldness. "I don't want to take this step, but if the authorities here discriminate, only allowing the Central Ballet to borrow film every day, but not allowing our Capital Song and Dance Troupe to borrow film, then I'll have to go and ask Minister He if the higher-ups are also discriminating against us?"
How could an ordinary employee like Zheng withstand such high praise?
He immediately changed his tone, "Commander Wu, please don't be angry. As long as you don't have any special credentials, you can borrow the film."
Wu Yanzhou remained noncommittal as she led Meng Yingying inside.
Lin Rujuan was surprised that they actually achieved their goal. She subtly reminded them, "Commander Wu, the Dujuan Mountain film is a unique item, and all unique items can only be borrowed once."
"If you intend to see Rhododendron Mountain once and think you can leave it out, that's just wishful thinking."
Wu Yanzhou didn't turn around, but simply said, "There's no need for Coach Lin to worry about that."
"Instead of worrying about us, you should take care of your ballet company first."
"If I remember correctly, Gu Xiaotang from your ballet troupe just had a fight with Zhou Lanxiang, right?"
Both of them are pillars of the National Ballet of China. They fought because they were vying for a solo performance in the individual competition.
In a sense, the National Ballet of China is now more like a breeding ground for venomous insects, where only the most capable people rise to power.
Although this practice is cruel, the resulting Gu worms are indeed very effective.
Because both Gu Xiaotang and Zhou Lanxiang are exceptionally capable.
Hearing these words from Wu Yanzhou, Lin Rujuan's face was not very pleasant, and Gu Xiaotang behind her was in a similar mood. She apologized to Lin Rujuan, "Teacher, I'm sorry, I've embarrassed you."
There was even a hint of fear on her face.
This is a completely different attitude from how she interacts with Han Mingbing and Wu Yanzhou.
Lin Rujuan glanced back at her and said, "Since you know it's shameful, next time you fight, make sure you don't make a scene. If I find out and spread the word, you and Zhou Lanxiang will both be put in solitary confinement."
Gu Xiaotang lowered his head and remained silent.
However, out of Lin Rujuan's sight, she glanced up at Meng Yingying's back and murmured, "Are you Teacher Yang Jie's apprentice?"
She doesn't understand.
Why did Yang Jie choose to leave the Central Ballet Troupe rather than accept her back then?
Meng Yingying seemed to sense something and turned around to look. Unfortunately, Lin Rujuan had already left with Gu Xiaotang, but she could vaguely see the corner of Gu Xiaotang's clothes around the corner.
Meng Yingying pursed her lips and caught up with Wu Yanzhou, who was also waiting for her.
"You saw it?"
It was a seemingly random sentence, but Meng Yingying understood it. She nodded and asked, "Was that Gu Xiaotang just now?"
In her memory, Gu Xiaotang was so talented that she could drive away her master, Yang Jie, because Yang Jie refused to accept her as a student.
So Gu Xiaotang should be imposing, or at least arrogant.
With a privileged family background, outstanding talent, and a great teacher, she herself is a pillar of the National Ballet of China. Logically speaking, she should be in a high position.
But no, judging from the short clip of what he just said, Gu Xiaotang didn't lift his head the entire time.
She was a melancholy girl.
He is quiet, reserved, and even somewhat insecure.
Meng Yingying found it hard to imagine that the word "inferiority complex" was manifested in Gu Xiaotang, but she observed it from the fact that Gu Xiaotang dared not make eye contact with people.
She is indeed insecure.
"It's very different from what you imagined?"
Wu Yanzhou asked her a question.
Meng Yingying nodded.
Wu Yanzhou said, "Gu Xiaotang is a genius on stage, but in life—" She sighed softly, "she was ruined by Lin Rujuan."
If Yang Jie had taken Gu Xiaotang in back then, she might not be the way she is today.
Meng Yingying didn't quite understand, and Wu Yanzhou didn't say much either, because they had arrived at the propaganda screening room of the □□.
Wu Yanzhou could only say hastily, "You'll understand once you've had more contact with them."
Just then, Officer Zheng arrived, carrying sealed film in his hand, looking very careful.
"It's here."
He took the film reel to the projector and said, “You all need to remember this carefully: this kind of unique film reel can only be projected once.”
However, in his opinion, even if he watched it once, it wouldn't make any difference.
It's just a way to offer some comfort.
However, he naturally wouldn't say such things out loud, lest it spoil the mood and offend anyone.
When the video started playing on the screen, Meng Yingying began to watch intently. Zhang Haimei's version of "Azalea Mountain" is considered a masterpiece.
That's because Zhang Haimei had an accident and left after jumping off the Azalea Mountain.
At this time, before she could pass on the story of Dujuan Mountain, she had already left.
At this point, only one film remained. It wasn't that no one came to learn about Rhododendron Mountain from the film, but it wasn't enough.
The Rhododendron Mountain course is very difficult and requires real instruction. It's really too hard to learn it just by watching a 40-minute video.
Moreover, film is easily damaged. What if the film is ruined before we've even learned the dance of Azalea Mountain?
Later, after much discussion, they finally sealed up the film from Azalea Mountain.
After the film was sealed away, Meng Yingying was the first person to borrow it.
She looked closely, her eyes glued to the screen almost without blinking; Zhang Haimei's azalea mountain was nearly perfect.
In particular, she stepped onto a 2.4-meter-high platform on her toes, then did a 180-degree split in mid-air, landing on her knees and sliding more than a meter away, her knees sparking and flashing as they hit the floor.
After this action occurred.
Wu Yanzhou subconsciously leaned forward a little, "Yingying, why don't we give up?"
This is no longer just photographic memory.
Even if you memorize the movements, it's still difficult to reach Zhang Haimei's level.
Disaster.
It's too difficult.
Falling from a height of 2.4 meters, even if one doesn't die, one will be severely injured.
If it really comes to that, it could ruin her future career at any time.
For Meng Yingying, this was not a worthwhile deal. After all, she was still young and had countless futures ahead of her.
It's really not worth risking your entire future for a single competition.
Meng Yingying didn't speak; she simply continued reading quietly, a more serious expression on her face. Strictly speaking, this was the first time she had truly seen the entire Azalea Mountain.
In her previous life, the film from Azalea Mountain was not properly preserved. When she looked at it again at her age, the film was already damp, and the images were not very clear.
However, based on this unclear image, Meng Yingying deduced 98% of Dujuan Mountain's movements.
Now, what's playing in front of her is a complete version of Azalea Mountain.
Meng Yingying was not afraid, nor did she feel daunted; she was only excited. She had finally seen the complete version of Azalea Mountain.
She can replicate the entire Dujuan Mountain after just one viewing.
Thinking of this, Meng Yingying stared intently at the screen, but murmured, "Teacher, I don't want to give up until the very last step."
She will definitely break free from the complete Rhododendron Mountain!
*
At the entrance of the Capital Song and Dance Troupe, Qi Donghan, dressed in a black overcoat, looked weathered and had sharp features.
At that moment, he handed the letter of introduction to the security guard, his voice low, "Comrade, I'm looking for Meng Yingying."
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Author's note: I'm here, and I'm late again. I've been writing since around 7 a.m., but it's been so slow writing by hand that I'm feeling really hopeless.
That's all I have to say. I'll just give you all a quick bow. Sorry.
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