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Yuanyuan Tan

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Template:Chinese name

Yuan Yuan Tan
Born
谭元元

Shanghai, China
Alma materShanghai Ballet School
John Cranko School
Occupation(s)Ballet dancer, choreographer, brand ambassador
Years active1995–present
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
TitlePrima ballerina, Principal, San Francisco Ballet
Guest Principal, Hong Kong Ballet
Yuan Yuan Tan poster in front of San Francisco City Hall.
Yuan Yuan Tan after diving into Lilacs.

Yuan Yuan Tan (Chinese: 谭元元; born 1977, Shanghai, China) is a Chinese ballet dancer. She is the prima ballerina of San Francisco Ballet where she holds the rank of principal dancer. She also holds the title of guest principal dancer at Hong Kong Ballet.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

As one of the most accomplished and critically acclaimed dancers of her generation, Yuan Yuan Tan is widely regarded as "the greatest Chinese ballerina of all time"[7][8] and was called a "national treasure" by ChinaDaily.[3]

Due to her accomplishments, Tan has become a fashion icon and celebrity in her native China. As one of few dancers to find mainstream success, she has been featured in numerous publications and high-profile brand endorsements. In 2014, she was featured on the cover of Time Magazine as a "Hero of Asia."[9][10][11]

Early life

Yuan Yuan Tan was born in Shanghai, China and raised in the city’s traditional Hongkou District. She first learned to dance in pre-school and took an interest in ballet after watching an old broadcast of the Galina Ulanova performing Swan Lake. She maintained an interest in dance throughout her primary education, where she excelled academically.[3]

At the age of 10, she was scouted by the Shanghai Ballet School and invited to join their training program. She was one of 24 candidates chosen from thousands of potentials in her age group from across China. Tan’s father, an engineer, adamantly opposed her pursuing ballet as a career, instead wishing for her to continue in academia and pursue a medical or law degree. Her mother, who once harbored ambitions of becoming a dancer herself, was supportive of Tan's desire to enroll in the ballet school. The parents’ impasse was resolved by flipping a 5-fen coin. Tan’s mother won the toss and her father capitulated.[3][12][13][14][15][16]

Ballet Career

Training and competitions

Yuan Yuan Tan’s formal dance training began at the Shanghai Ballet School at the age of 11. Because of her parents earlier indecisiveness, she was enrolled one year later than the other students in her class and was at a disadvantage. The rigorous training regime left her depressed and homesick until, at the age of 13, a new teacher arrived that inspired her to excel. At 14, she began competing at international ballet competitions representing the People’s Republic of China.[4][15][14]

Tan’s first major breakthrough came in 1992 at the 5th International Ballet Competition in Paris, France. Tan's performance was awarded a perfect score by competition judge Galina Ulanova, the legendary ballerina and Tan’s childhood idol. Tan went on to win the gold medal of the junior female division. In 1993, Tan won the gold medal of the junior female classical division at the 1st Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition in Nagoya, Japan. She also received that year's Nijinsky Award, named after Russian ballet legend Vaslav Nijinsky, the first time the prize was granted to a female dancer.[4][15][14]

In 1994, Tan attended the John Cranko School in Stuttgart, Germany on a full scholarship, where she continued her training with the Vaganova method. 6 months into her two-year scholarship, Helgi Tomasson, Artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet, the oldest ballet company in the United States, invited Tan to dance as a guest of the company, having spotted her at the Paris competition in 1992.[4][15][14]

San Francisco Ballet

Soloist

Shortly after arriving in San Francisco in 1995, Tan was offered and accepted a full-time soloist contract with the San Francisco Ballet; at the age of 17, she became the youngest in the company’s history and the first Asian soloist. One of her first significant roles was in the classic Swan Lake, which had inspired her love of ballet at the age of 5.[4][17]

Principal dancer

A major breakthrough came when Tan was called as a last minute replacement for an injured principal dancer in George Balanchine’s Stravinsky Violin Concerto. Tan had never danced the ballet before, nor was she acquainted with the unique style of Balanchine’s choreography. Tan was given a videotape to watch from the San Francisco Ballet archives, and performed the piece after only 6 hours of learning.[15][18]

The next season, in 1997, Tan was promoted to principal dancer; at the age of 19, she became the youngest principal in the history of the San Francisco Ballet, and the first Chinese dancer to reach that rank in a major company.[4][17]

Today

Today, she is a marquee name for the company, while San Francisco Ballet Company itself is widely considered to be among the best in the world and in the words of choreographer Mark Morris, the "best company in North America".[19]

She has danced lead female roles in Helgi Tomasson's Giselle, Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Nutcracker, Tomasson/Possokhov's Don Quixote, Morris' Sylvia, and Lubovitch's Othello. She created roles in Tomasson's The Fifth Season, Chi-Lin, Silver Ladders, and 7 for Eight, Possokhov's Magrittomania, Damned, and Study in Motion, Wheeldon's Continuum and Quaternary, and Welch's Tu Tu. Her repertory includes Ashton's Thaïs Pas de Deux, Balanchine's Symphony in C, Theme and Variations, Concerto Barocco, Prodigal Son, and Apollo, Duato's Without Words, Robbins' In the Night, Dances at a Gathering, and Dybbuk, and Makarova's Paquita.[20]

She has been featured in Vogue, Esquire, ELLE, Numéro, and Tatler. Currently she is also a brand ambassador for Rosewood Hotels, Van Cleef & Arpels and Rolex.[11][21]

International Fame & Fashion Icon

Brand Collaborations

Brand Collaboration Year Notes Ref
Burberry Campaign 2013- "Art of the Trench" Shanghai [1] [22]
Chanel Event 2014 Shanghai, China [23]
Coach Brand Ambassador, campaign 2016- Modern Career Women 2016, Asia Campaign [2] [24]
Dior Event 2008 "Christian Dior and Chinese Artists" [25]
First Republic Bank Campaign 2012- Print / Online [26]
Gap Campaign 2012 International [27]
Giorgio Armani Event, editorial 2012 "One Night Only in Beijing" [28]
Ferrari Event, charity 2012 Ferrari @ The Great Wall, Beijing [29]
Hugo Boss Fashion show 2013 F/W 2013, Shanghai [30]
La Mer Campaign 2017 “La Mer x 谭元元“ [31]
Lane Crawford Campaign 2013 Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier [32]
Louis Vuitton Event, Editorial 2015 Hong Kong [33]
Rolex Brand Ambassador, campaign 2012- International [21]
Rosewood Hotels Brand Ambassador, curator 2014- Beijing, International [11]
Tiffany & Co Events, charity 2016- San Francisco [34]
Tod's Brand Ambassador, editorial 2013 Milan Fashion Week [35]
Tom Ford Event, editorial 2011 With Tom Ford and Maggie Cheung [3] Beijing [36]
Van Cleef & Arpels Brand Ambassador, campaign, event 2012- Ballet inspired collection [10]

References

  1. ^ "San Francisco Ballet - Dancer". www.sfballet.org. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  2. ^ "TAN Yuan Yuan | HK Ballet". www.hkballet.com. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  3. ^ a b c d 李齐. "Raising the barre[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  4. ^ a b c d e f 李齐. "Raising the barre[2]- Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  5. ^ 李齐. "Raising the barre[3]- Chinadaily.com.cn". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  6. ^ "The Little Mermaid from San Francisco Ballet | About the Program | Great Performances | PBS". Great Performances. 2011-11-30. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  7. ^ "The Hong Kong Ballet - Tan Yuan Yuan". hkballet.com. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  8. ^ "TEDxShanghai | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  9. ^ "TIME Magazine -- Asia Edition -- October 11, 2004 / Vol. 164, No. 15". Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  10. ^ a b Sulcas, Roslyn; Cooper, Michael (2013-11-20). "Ballet Dancers as Brands". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  11. ^ a b c "A Pirouette Through China's Capital With Tan Yuan Yuan". Rosewood Hotels and Resorts. 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  12. ^ "Destiny's child". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  13. ^ "Haunting Beauty". dancemagazine. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  14. ^ a b c d TEDx Talks (2016-12-06), Balance - My Life as a Ballerina | Yuan Yuan Tan 谭元元 | TEDxShanghai, retrieved 2017-10-04
  15. ^ a b c d e Coolcat (2013-04-07), Interview with Tan Yuanyuan, retrieved 2017-10-04
  16. ^ "The Perfect Poise of Tan Yuan Yuan" CNN, June 25, 2008.
  17. ^ a b "Sunday Profile: Yuan Yuan Tan". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  18. ^ "Yuan Yuan Tan's 20 stellar years at S.F. Ballet". SFGate. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  19. ^ "San Francisco Chronicle Jan 08, 2005" SF Chronicle
  20. ^ "Yuanyuan Tan" HK Ballet Guest Principal Dancer
  21. ^ a b Sulcas, Roslyn; Cooper, Michael (2013-11-20). "Ballet Dancers as Brands". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-03.
  22. ^ "Digital Goes Glam At Burberry's Star-Studded 'Trench' Opening | Jing Daily". Jing Daily. 2013-08-30. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  23. ^ CHANEL. "香奈儿官网_CHANEL官网_香奈儿中国官网 | 香奈儿CHANEL官网". CHANEL (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  24. ^ Hantang Culture Shanghai (2016-11-21), COACH Modern Career Women - Tan Yuan Yuan, retrieved 2017-10-05
  25. ^ "Christian Dior and Chinese Artists - UCCA". UCCA. 2014-04-24. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  26. ^ "First Republic: Yuan Yuan Tan". First Republic Bank. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  27. ^ "Gap continues edgy new image makeover with campaign starring indie musicians and dancers". Mail Online. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  28. ^ 顾馨. "Fashion Special: Armani hosts fashion gala in Beijing". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-05. {{cite web}}: Text "Style" ignored (help); Text "chinadaily.com.cn" ignored (help)
  29. ^ "法拉利官方网站". www.ferrari.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  30. ^ "Shanghai Chic: Hugo Boss Winter 2013 Fashion Show". Luxury Insider. 2013-06-06. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  31. ^ Team, Tencent VFE. "LAMER X 谭元元：开启你的焕变奇迹_腾讯视频". v.qq.com (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  32. ^ FirmStudio. "The LC Insider | by LaneCrawford". lcinsider.com. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  33. ^ "Homage to Hong Kong - Louis Vuitton Passion for Creation". Luxury Insider. 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  34. ^ Rabimov, Stephan. "San Francisco Ballet 2017 Gala Best-Dressed List". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  35. ^ "芭蕾舞蹈家谭元元亮相TOD'S米兰时装周首秀". slide.fashion.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  36. ^ "Tom Ford Opens First Womenswear Boutique In Beijing | Jing Daily". Jing Daily. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
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