A Chinese classic

Often referred to as the ballet performed for Nixon on his visit to China in 1972, (so much so there is even an opera based on the event,) The Red Detachment of Women is an important icon of the Cultural Revolution and still remains one of China's most popular ballets, capturing and immortalizing a pivotal time in the country's history.

Based on the true stories of the Red Detacment of Women, an all-female company of the Red Army, the ballet then tells the tale of a newcomer, peasant Wu Qingha, who has escaped the clutches of tyrant Nanbatian, a landowner who has captured all of his tenants and imprisoned them for non payment of his exorbitant rent. When she is discovered by Hong Changqing, the army's Commissar, her life changes forever as she joins the communist party and the Red Detachment of Women and leads them to defeat Nanbatian and liberate the people.

Politically motivated, and heavily Soviet inspired, there is still plenty of enjoyment to be had in this gem of the Chinese repetoire.