| John Wey Ling | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lin Jianwei 1958/1959 (age 59–60) China |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
| Chinese name | |
| Traditional Chinese | 林建偉 |
| Simplified Chinese | 林建伟 |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Lín Jiànwěi |
John Wey Ling (林建伟; born c. 1958) is a Chinese-born American ballet dancer.
Ling began his training at the Shanghai Ballet School. [1] In 1977, he ranked as a Principal Dancer for the Shanghai Ballet.[ citation needed ] In 1980, he and his partner Wang Qifeng (汪齐风) participated in the International Ballet Competition in Japan, where they made history by winning the first gold medal in an international competition for China. [2]
After participating in the 1982 USA International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi, Ling disappeared for two days, leaving behind his costume and clothing. By the time he turned up again, he had applied for US permanent residence on the basis of a job offer as a dancer. Some media reports characterized this as a defection, though Ling did not apply for political asylum. [1] [3]
The USA International Ballet Competition, or USA IBC, is one of the world's top competitions for ballet. Located in Jackson, Mississippi, this competition is attended by dancers from all over the world to represent their country for bronze, silver, or gold medals in a variety of categories of ballet in an Olympic-style competition.
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause, or doctrine to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.
Ling joined the American Ballet Theatre as a soloist under the direction of Mikhail Baryshnikov. While at ABT, Ling danced with Rudolph Nureyev, Joyce Cuoco, Carla Stallings and many more. Ling has appeared as a guest artist with the National Ballet of Canada, the Hong Kong Ballet, the Hong Kong Dance Company, the Fort Worth City Ballet, the Dallas Ballet, and the National Ballet of Mexico. He has danced the leading roles in all the major classical ballets. In addition, Ling has not only choreographed and staged the classics but has also given master classes around the world.
American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. It has an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House in the spring and a shorter season at the David H. Koch Theater in the fall; the company tours around the world the rest of the year. ABT was founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant and is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. ABT is the parent company of the American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, and was recognized as "America's National Ballet Company" in 2006 by the United States Congress.
Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov, nicknamed "Misha", is a Soviet-born Russian and American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He is often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky, Rudolf Nureyev and Vladimir Vasiliev as one of the greatest male ballet dancers in history.
Joyce Cuoco is an American former ballerina. She came to great acclaim at a young age, particularly for her ability to sustain long balances and her multiple pirouettes. Cuoco's early training was with Harriet Hoctor and Boston Ballet founder, E. Virginia Williams. She quickly rose to great popular success as a "baby ballerina". She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Danny Kaye Show in 1966, and later headlined at Radio City Music Hall. In every appearance she would charm the audience with her smile and her astonishing dancing.
Ling founded his own school and company, Elite Ballet Theatre, in 2003 in Temple City, California. His school follows the Vaganova method under which he was trained in China. His younger daughter Alexandra also studies ballet, and participated in the 2014 USA International Ballet Competition. [4]
Temple City is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Temple City is part of a cluster of cities, along with Arcadia, Rosemead, Monterey Park, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley with a rapidly growing Asian population. Temple City also has a Cuban and Puerto Rican community, among other Latino nationalities. Approximately one third of the city's population is white. The population was 35,558 at the 2010 census.
The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova (1879–1951). It was derived from the teachings of the Premier Maitre de Ballet, Marius Petipa, throughout the late 19th century. It was Agrippa Vaganova who perfected and cultivated this form of teaching classical ballet and turned it into a viable syllabus. The method fuses elements of traditional French style from the romantic era with the athleticism and virtuosity of Italian Cecchetti technique. The training system is designed to involve the whole body in every movement, with equal attention paid to the upper body, legs and feet. Vaganova believed that this approach increases consciousness of the body, thus creating a harmony of movement and greater expressive range.
The Shanghai Ballet Company is the state ballet company for Shanghai. This regional dance troupe organized in 1966. They perform a blend of traditional and Western dance styles and performance. The troupe is particularly well known for their performances of The White Haired Girl.
Irina Vladimirovna Dvorovenko is a Ukrainian American actress and former principal ballet dancer with the American Ballet Theatre in New York.
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Ballet San Jose was a ballet company based in San Jose, California, US, operating from 1985 to 2016.
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Bengt Erik Johan Renvall was a Swedish dancer and choreographer active in the United States from 1978. He was known for "soaring leaps of astounding power and soft landing", of a mixture of extraordinary bravura and lyric nuances through his performances. His career, as "one of only a small group of elite dancers the world has known", began in 1972 when he was admitted to the Royal Swedish Ballet School. He then became a member of the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1977 and of American Ballet Theatre in 1978 where he later became principal dancer.
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Martine van Hamel is a Dutch choreographer, director, teacher, retired ballerina and former Principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and American Ballet Theatre (ABT). She was a gold medalist at the biennial Varna International Ballet Competition, the most prestigious ballet competition in the world, held in Varna, Bulgaria. She is also a recipient of the Prix de Varna, a recognition rarely awarded, for best artistic interpretation in all categories. She was one of the leading classical ballerinas in America.
