"Bridging Chinese and Western Cultures with Dance, Inheriting Intangible Cultural Heritage"
From August 22 to 25, 2023, teachers and students from the Dancing School of Yunnan Arts University (YNAU) were invited to attend the Chinese Culture & Dance Festival - Hong Kong Dance Expo 2023 held in Hong Kong SAR. Presented by the Hong Kong Dance Federation, this event brought together more than 40 dance troupes from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and China's Taiwan region, as well as some countries. Under the theme "Bridging Chinese and Western Cultures with Dance, Inheriting Intangible Cultural Heritage", the event was held to foster international collaboration, exchanges, and performances.
Following the principle of "integrated development", the YNAU Office of International Cooperation and Exchange upheld cooperation and actively coordinated to ensure the timely arrival of the visiting group's nine members, led by Liu Li, Deputy Dean of the Dancing School, in Hong Kong as scheduled. Invited as a special guest dance troupe, the team joined this remarkable dance art event alongside professional dance troupes from Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, and China's Taiwan region, as well as South Korea.
The original dances Flickering Flowers, featuring cultural elements of Yi ethnic groups, and Silver Pheasants with Green Palm Fans, boasting characteristics of Hani ethnic group, were performed by the visiting group of Dancing School, YNAU, winning praises from the audience for their distinct style of Yunnan ethnic dance culture. The exquisite dance performance has demonstrated the comprehensive strength and professional quality of both postgraduates and undergraduates of the Dancing School.
Flickering Flowers
Choreographer: Niu Sixuan
Performed by: Cheng Junhan, a postgraduate enrolled in 2021; Guo Ting, a postgraduate enrolled in 2022; and Peng Jing, Cheng Jiahui, and Li Quanxi, undergraduates enrolled in 2020
Silver Pheasants with Green Palm Fans
Choreographer: Deng Yuying
Performed by: Cheng Junhan, a postgraduate enrolled in 2021; Guo Ting, a postgraduate enrolled in 2022; and Peng Jing, Cheng Jiahui, Li Quanxi, Chen Peng, and Che Lin, undergraduates enrolled in 2020
"Broadening Horizons and Integrating Culture"
On this occasion, YNAU's teacher and student representatives visited the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) and received a warm reception from Ms. Chan Anna CY, Dean of the School of Dance, Professor Sheng Peiqi, and other leaders and experts there.
With the elaboration of Ms. Chan Anna CY, YNAU's teacher and student representatives grasped an in-depth understanding of HKAPA's school running philosophy, features of majors, curriculum system, talent training model, as well as its distinct concepts and research achievements in dance science and technology after visiting the HKAPA campus, including the hardware facilities and theoretical and practical teaching sites.
During the exchanges, the two sides both introduced their school running features and discipline development phases, plus discussions on the future cooperation fields and paths in such areas as teacher visits, programs for student exchange and advanced education, program cooperation, study and research workshops, and the development of an international exchange platform. Upholding the principles of resource sharing, complementary advantages, equality and mutual benefit, and mutual promotion, the two sides planned to sign the Memorandum of Agreement with a view to giving full play to their respective strength and pursuing coordinated development and win-win cooperation.
After the team returned, YNAU immediately held a summary meeting, where the team reported on their experiences in the exchange performances and visits. The university's President Ouyang Junhu, Vice President Jiang Feng, and Vice President Lang Qixun attended the meeting.
President Ouyang Junhu extended his appreciation and congratulations to the teacher and student representatives while also outlining three expectations. First, he encouraged the Dancing School to give full play to its distinctive features and highlights and promote exchanges and cooperation with overseas high-quality universities. Second, he anticipated the school to benchmark against world-class institutes to learn from their strengths while improving itself, thus developing national first-class academic disciplines. Third, he advised leveraging the fruitful results achieved during this visit to motivate and mobilize teachers and students to further engage in the School's implementation of high-quality development with more efforts in the next three years. Meanwhile, he expressed his expectation for the Office of International Cooperation and Exchange of YNAU to continuously fulfill its functions, thus optimizing foreign-related services and gradually enhancing YNAU's school running capability at the global level.
Note: HKAPA is the only public institution specializing in cultivating performing arts talent in Hong Kong and also the top-grade academic institution in the field of arts in Hong Kong. It ranks 13th in the 2023 QS World University Rankings by Subject (Performing Arts) and ranks 1st in Asia for four consecutive years.
