In the past working for the state ballet company was highly regarded. The pain and hard work offered promising prospects and national status. Now the future of the old art is uncertain as the state rolls back it’s funding. The Shanghai Ballet still clings to its worn out repertoire and struggles to fund new productions. Xin Lili is their prima ballerina, a classical grace who toes the company line. Her very new competition is Jin Xing, a prima donna with her own private and lucrative, modern dance company. Jin Xing’s company has flourished under China’s new market freedoms. Now the comparison with Xin Lili’s career couldn’t be starker. Jin earns pots of money; Xin Lili lives in a modest flat with her parents. Both dancers are at the top of their profession but their different lifestyles and sense of optimism starkly reveals the problems for the country as it emerges from communism.

Produced by ABC Australia