As a brilliant ballet dancer yourself, you have danced this version of Don Quixote before. Can you share with us some feelings and experiences when you were dancing this piece?

作為曾演繹過紐里耶夫版《堂·吉訶德》的優秀舞者，您能否與我們談談您當時的表演心得？ 

Just for me to inform that, this ballet maybe the one I dance almost every part in the ballet. So when I joined the company in the 80th, I was in a fisherman, a Gypsy, matador, all this. So I did everything until Basilio. And also Nureyev taught me this personally, the whole of Basilio, he taught me himself. And I did my premier in Milan in Teatro alla Scala when I was 20 years old. I was really a baby, like a young, younger star. So this is the ballet I really dance for more than 25 years, everything in this ballet. So this is the start of the story. And I am so very happy to have the chance for coming to China to teach ballet national, because for me it is something I know very well. So it’s good for me to come and to teach something that I really want to transmission to the theatre.

對我而言，可以這樣說，我幾乎跳過《堂·吉訶德》這部芭蕾舞劇中所有的舞段。當我80年代入職時，我曾演過漁民、吉普賽人、斗牛士……所有角色我都演過，直到巴西里奧。而且，紐里耶夫也親授此劇于我，他曾親自教我跳巴西里奧的所有舞段。20歲那年，我在米蘭斯卡拉歌劇院完成了我的首演。當時我太過年輕，像剛出道的新星。所以，這是一部我至少跳過25年，并跳過所有角色的戲。這就是我和《堂·吉訶德》的淵源。很高興，我此次有機會來中國國家芭蕾舞團教授排練，因為這部戲我較為擅長。對我而言，能來教我想教的東西以及我想傳遞給劇場觀眾的東西，是大有裨益的。 

Have you dance other versions of Don Quixote before? Or just this one？If you have danced many versions, why do you feel that the version of Nureyev stands up?

您以前跳過其他版本的《堂·吉訶德》，還是僅跳過此（紐里耶夫）版？如您跳過許多版本，為什么您會認為紐里耶夫版本在眾多版本中出類拔萃？ 

I dance only Nureyev’s version, only this one. I dance everywhere but only this version. But I know some of the Baryshnikov’s version; I saw some version at the National ballet, in the Stuttgart. But I think the one from Nureyev is very special, because it is like a mystery of life. They do, they tell this story very good. The way they tell the story is funny. So it is lot of acting, a lot of dancing, and also the original of this ballet was very good. So all the set, musical choreography fits together. So it is really an ideal version for me.

我僅跳過紐里耶夫版本的《堂·吉訶德》。雖然跳過的地方很多，但都是這個版本。我知道此劇有巴爾什尼科夫的版本，我也曾在斯圖加特芭蕾舞團和其他國家芭蕾舞團看過一些其他版本。但是，我想紐里耶夫的版本是非常特別的，因為它如同生命一樣神秘，它極好地、生動有趣地演繹了這個故事。這個版本包含了大量的戲劇表演、大段的舞蹈，而且這部作品的原始版本也非常好。舞美與音樂化的舞蹈設計很好地結合在一起。所以對我來說，它真是理想之作。 

You have been working with our company for quite a few years. And this time after you came back, you have already worked with dancer for a few days, how do you fell about our dancers nowadays, their current conditions?

您與中芭合作已有些年頭，此次與我團舞蹈演員一起工作也已有時日，您對這些演員目前的表現有何評價？ 

For me, it is a…Just for the story, I working now with Johnny, the ballet master you (invited). And you know I met him in (19)84 in Japan where (there was) a competition. Yesterday we were talking together. And I said at that time, when I came and saw the competition in Japan, and when I come back to Paris，they said: “Oh, you were with a lot of Russian dancers. That was good.” And I said: “but you know, the best were the Chinese.” So for me, Chinese dancers are really on the top of classic ballet, really good. Because they have the ability to do it, nice body, they are also clever, they understand, and they are performer, so they fight for this. I saw a new generation of dancers. And what I saw now is a team grow, you know (the team is) getting better and better. They are very strong, then they can be very fast, and also what I can say, saw these prima ballerina with Zhu Yan, Zhang Jian, and Qimin, they are so amazing, these girls, they are really for me it is like this term for prima ballerina, really amazing. So in the world, in the ballet world, they are really something special, Chinese dancers are very good, and this company they can really do a lot, lot, lot of things.       

為了這部戲，我與芭蕾大師Johnny(張衛強)一起工作。1984年，我們在日本舉辦的某賽事中相識。昨天，我們還提及此事。我說，那次我看過日本的比賽，以及回到巴黎之后，別人說：“哦，你和那么多的俄羅斯舞蹈演員同臺，真好。”但是我說：“你知道，中國演員才是最棒的。”所以，對我來說，中國的芭蕾舞演員是頂尖水平的古典芭蕾的演繹者，真的很好。因為他們有能力做成那樣，完美的身材，也很聰明，理解力、執行力都很強，也為此而努力。我看到了新一代的舞者，這個團隊的成長，它在不斷的進步。這些演員都很堅強，領悟得很快。我可以說，那些首席女演員——朱妍、張劍、王啟敏，真是令人驚嘆。在芭蕾世界里，她們都非常特別。中國的舞蹈演員都非常出色，在中國國家芭蕾舞團，她們真的可以做很多很多的事情。 

采錄/翻譯：施偉、秦羲、王偉、孫豪/審稿：孫元娜/攝影：司廷宏