Family Tree of Tan Yuan Yuan

Pavel Gerdt

Pavel was born in St. Peterburg on 22 Nov, 1844. He followed several teachers when he was young. One of his most important teacher is Jean-Antoine Petipa. ( "Jean-Antoine Petipa", The International Encyclopedia of Dance, Selma Jeanne Cohen, Oxford University Press) As a dancer, he performed on the stage of St. Perterburg for many years. Many of the most famous "prince character" was created by him. (pp265, Ballet 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet, Robert Greskovic).

He is the teacher of many famous Russian dancer, like Michel Fokine, Vaslav Nijinsky, George Balanchine and Pyotr Gusev.

Pyotr Gusev

Pyotr Gusev was born in St. Peterburg on Dec 29, 1904. He studied in Imperial Ballet School with Pavel Gerdt, Ponomarev and Alexander Shiriaev. (Gusev, Pyotr, pp204, The Oxford Dictionary of Dance, Debra Craine, Judith Mackrell) (Dancing on Water: A Life in Ballet, from the Kirov to the ABT, Elena Tchernichova). In school, he was classmate and friend of Balanchine. After graduating, he joined the Young Ballet Group of Balanchine. He moved to Moscow with his wife Mungalova in 1935. He dance as a soloist in Kirov there. He ended his stage career in 1945, and became art director of Kirov, Novosibirsk theater, and Lelingrad's Maly. He visited China and taught the first Ballet Class of Beijing Dancing Academy. During his stay in China, he also visited many places like Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou. His student became the first generation of Chinese Ballet performers and teachers.

Jia Hong Wang

Jia Hong Wang was born in Ningbo in 1942. He entered Beijing Dancing Academy when he was 14. He was taught by Russian Ballet dancer Pyotr Gusev during 1957~1960. [8] He was the first generation of Ballet dancers who took the Vaganova's training system. He graduated in 1960, and taught in Beijing Dancing Academy for 10 years. He moved to the national Ballet of China in 1970, performed and taught there for 8 years. He returned to Beijing Dancing Academy and became a professor in 1978. [9]

Mei Fang Lin

Jia Nian Chen

Yin Rui Song

She entered Beijing Dancing Academy in the same year of Lin and Chen. She was a Traditional Chinese Dance student, and she was also taught by Jia Hong Wang.

Meifang Lin is wife of Jia Nian Chen. They shared the same experience for their whole Ballet Career. They were born in the same place, and they were classmates in Shanghai Dancing Academy and Beijing Dancing Academy. Lin followed her husband to teach both in Canada and Shanghai. She was a visiting professor in Shanghai Ballet Academy now. [7]

Jia Nian Chen was born in Ning Bo. He started his dancing training in 1973, with his classmate Mei Fang Lin. After graduating from the Shanghia Dancing Shool in 1979, they taught in the school for 5 years. [3]

He entered Beijing Dancing Academy in 1984, when Beijing Dancing Academy just started a Bachelor program of Ballet. He was taught by Jia Hong Wang.[4]

He graduated on Sep. 28th 1987 and won a prize in 2nd China National Ballet Competition in Kun Ming in October. [5]

After that, he returned Shanghai to teach Ballet. He went to Canada in 1995, where he became the vice president of GOH Ballet Academy of Canada. And he is the president of Shanghai Ballet Academy Now. [6]

Qi Song

Student of Yin Rui Song. I've studied pop dance Choreography with her.

I had an interview with her on Feb 15th to learn the information about Chen and Wang.

Yuan Yuan Tan

Yuan Yuan Tan was born in Shanghai. She entered the Shanghai Ballet school when she was 10 and started Ballet training at the age of 11. She was taught by Mei Fang Lin and Jia Nian Chen. [1] After that, she continued her Ballet Training in John Cranko School in Stuttgart.

She won the gold medal in the 5th International Ballet Competition in Paris in 1992, and the Nijinsky Award at the 1st Japan International Ballet and Modern Dance Competition in 1993.

She Joined San Francisco Ballet in 1995. In 1997, she became the principal dancer when she was 20. [2]

Resource

1. Lei Chen, 2010 (3), The Creator of Great Pointe, Shanghai Wave, 50

2. Official cite of SF Ballet, http://www.sfballet.org/company/dancers/principals/Yuan_Yuan_Tan

3.Lei Chen, 2010 (3), The Creator of Great Pointe, Shanghai Wave, 49 - 51

4. The primary resource about the relationship between Chen and Wang is the my interview with Qi Song. She told me Jia Hong Wang is in charge of fundamental Training of both Ballet and traditional Chinese Dance.

But there is other related records can support it.

In Jan 1985, Yin Li and Gang Xu from Ballet department of Beijing Dancing Academy took part in Prix de Lausanne. Wang was their instructor and went to Lausanne with them. (Yi Sheng Lv, The History of Beijing Dancing Academy, 30)

5. The History of Beijing Dancing Academy, 33

6. Official site of Shanghai Dancing Academy, http://dance.sta.sh.cn/wdxy/jsp/ym1.jsp?id=2-3

7. Official site of Shanghai Dancing Academy, http://dance.sta.sh.cn/wdxy/jsp/sub.jsp?num=1-1&num1=1-1&num2=null&num2name=null&id=12&ym=3-3_jt

8. although I don't find direct record, there are multiple resource besides my interview which can support it.

The History of Beijing Dancing Academy, 291, form 12.2, the record of Foreign visiting professor taught in Beijing Dancing Academy for more than half year. It shows Gusev and his wife taught from 1957~1960, the same period of time when Wang studied there.

The picture of Gusev's

wife instruct students.

The picture of Wang

It is reasonable to think that the student in the middle is Wang

9.The History of Beijing Dancing Academy,

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