The ballet Soul of Crane praises the beauteous youth and precious life by presenting us the magnificently beauty of the harmony between humans and nature, highlighting a poetic scene of “crane lives in human, so does human in crane”. The red-crowned crane has been given a very special cultural sense that characterizes auspiciousness, purity, and loyalty, which makes the crane the precious gift from the nature. The heroine of the ballet was created on the legend of XU Xiujuan who was the first person in China to look after cranes. XU Xiujuan devoted herself to a career of cultivating and protecting cranes and sacrificed her life for saving a crane trapped in the moor, which represented the noble spirit of her time. When we enjoy ourselves in the excellent ballet, empathy flows in our heart, enlightening us to feel the beauty of nature, of human and of the sublime self-sacrifice for another life, awakening the pure and virginal soul that we were born with, in a heaven-like artistic atmosphere.
From 2008 to now, the Soul of Crane team has visited red-crowned cranes’ habitants for thousands of times. Through the on-field studies on cranes and face-to-face interviews with the workers looking after those cranes, the team gained precious first-hand knowledge. Through their visits, those industrious workers continuously reminded the artists of the legend of XU Xiujuan who gave her life to save a crane, and the team began to feel the sublime power behind this noble love for crane. The pilgrimage-like tours led the team to cranes’ habitants, also unveiled the pure and chaste inner world of those laborious workers – the protectors of cranes. Finally was created the master-piece ballet – the Soul of Crane – touching, amazing and excellent, leading us into a true pilgrimage of art and soul.
“鹤”以其优雅的体态，超然的气质，与中华清雅淡泊坚贞不渝的人文精神形神相通。芭蕾舞剧《鹤魂》是中央芭蕾舞团以护鹤英雄徐秀娟的真实故事为原型精心创排的大型民族芭蕾舞剧。舞剧以优雅的芭蕾述说充满永恒大爱的人鹤不了情，体现了人与鹤及大自然应和谐共生天人合一状态的理想追求。这也是中芭继经典之作《红色娘子军》之后，又一次凝聚集体精神与智慧的原创芭蕾舞剧。
