The Pleasures and Perils of Cross-Cultural Ballet: Shanghai Ballet's The Butterfly Lovers

Dancers of the Shanghai Ballet in The Butterfly Lovers (Photo: CAMI) The Butterfly Lovers - one of those hybrid East-meets-West story ballets meant to showcase Chinese command of classical Western technique while celebrating a traditional Chinese theme - blew into Berkeley on a cloud of garishly colored butterfly tutus, courtesy of Shanghai Ballet at Cal Performances. This conventional tale of star-crossed lovers, with a cross-dressing twist, contains some spectacular and moving moments amid str...