Zhang Jun, the first Chinese to study classical dance in India, died in 2012
Zhang Jun, the first Chinese to study classical dance in India, died in 2012
The India-China confrontation in Beijing briefly backfired as China’s renowned dancers of Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi joined a scintillating performance of Chinese Indian classical dance performances in an emotional tribute to Zhang Jun.
Tired of the COVID lockdown and other restrictions in Beijing, more than 300 Zhang Chinese fans flocked to the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) auditorium on Friday night to watch a scintillating performance by young Chinese children as well as highly talented professionals. who devoted his life to practice and performance. Indian classical dance forms in this country.
it was like a dream come true Jin Shan ShanoZhang’s ardent student and a widely acclaimed Bharatanatyam dancer in both India and China, following in her mentor’s footsteps, devoted her life to popularizing Indian classical art.
The audience included India’s Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat and former Deputy Finance Minister of China and President of AIIB Jin Liqun, who enthusiastically welcomed the dances of classical Tamil and Hindi music.
India’s Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat and his wife Shruti Rawat with students and fans attend a special show to pay tribute to Zhang Jun in Beijing on June 24, 2022. photo Credit: –
Zhang Jun (1933–2012) has inspired generations of Chinese and Indians with his relentless passion for learning Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi and popularizing them in China.
Encouraged by the then Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Enlai at the height of India-China relations, she first visited India in the early 1950s, during which she became fascinated by Indian dance and art forms.
Leaving Mao Zedong’s disastrous Cultural Revolution (1966–76), during which millions of intellectuals were persecuted, Birju Maharaj, Uday Shankar, and later, a prestigious institution of Bharatanatyam, studied at Kalakshetra, to master the dance forms. He traveled to India seven times. Then in Madras, now in Chennai.
They later helped form China’s famous dance troupes, the Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble, which helped the likes of Jin Shan to undergo rigorous training to emerge as professionals.
Born in 1933 to a family of intellectuals in Qichuan, Hubei Province, China, she was married to Wei Jun, an conductor of the classical Chinese orchestra.
Zhang Jun, the first Chinese to study classical dance in India, inspires hundreds of students to follow their passion. File photo: Special arrangement
He was diagnosed with cancer in 1996 and passed away in 2012, leaving his students and fans deeply saddened.
“She wanted to take the beauty of Indian dance to more people. I hope she continues to enjoy the joy and beauty of Indian dance, on the other side of heaven,” Zhang’s son Han Xiao Xia said while talking about his mother in a special documentary on her life and times called Shown on Friday’s show.
“I remember when I was little, my mother used to go to India, she used to go there many times over the years. The house would be lovely whenever she came back. The house was filled with Indian music every day. From time to time he also had friends who used to visit him.”
“She has taught many outstanding students and she always hoped that her students would surpass her.
“Every day students came to learn the dance from morning till night, some of them were elementary school students,” Han said.
Mr. Rawat, who met Zhang during his first term in Beijing, said he was one of the great teachers of Indian classical dances in China.
“I always wondered what attracted her to Indian dance forms because the attraction was so deep, almost soul-touching. It seemed to us that perhaps in her first birth she was born in India and that bond was passed on to China. I took it till this birth.
“His devotion to Indian art forms was absolute. The energy emanating from that devotion attracted many students even at a time when our bilateral relations were going through some turmoil,” said Mr. Rawat.
It would be fair to say that Madam Zhang Jun became a movement in itself, he said.
“As a teacher, she inspired many young Chinese people and we see today the result of her inspiration in dances performed through her most famous disciple, Jin Shan Shan.
“Her devotion to Indian art forms is so complete that even during her battle against cancer, she kept returning to teach her students. He also asked Payal to perform the last rites along with him,” said Mr. Rawat.
Among those who inherited his position was Jin Shan Shan, who trained with Zhang from the age of 12 and grew to become China’s most famous Indian classical dancer, especially Bharatanatyam.
Ms. Jin joined the Hindi department of Peking University on Zhang’s advice and later went on to study at Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, where she was groomed by India’s most famous Bharatnatyam dancer, Leela Samson.
A regular performer at Indian Embassy events, Ms. Jin runs her own school of Bharatanatyam where she has trained over 100 dancers.
Created by Ms. Jin, her daughter Jessica Wu, Chinese name Wujing Xi, has already emerged as the star dancer of Bharatnatyam, wooing audiences in China.
“I did Arangetram (the first formal performance of a Bharatanatyam dancer) in 1999, when I was pregnant. She was born with dance in her blood,” said Ms. Jin PTIDescribing his passion for Indian dance forms.
“Both countries are ancient civilizations. We have many Indian students who have got to learn Indian art. If Indians can learn our classical and traditional art forms as well, we can understand each other better,” she said.
The cultural program took place amid a chill in bilateral ties over a two-year military standoff in eastern Ladakh.