At the invitation of the 13th “Music and Traditions” Bucharest Folk Art Festival in Romania, the 31st Maribor Folk Art Festival in Slovenia, and the 22nd Karlowitz Folk Art Festival in Croatia[ZX1] , 28 BDA students went on a performance tour with Chinese ethnic dance series “Chenxiang” in Romania, Slovenia and Croatia, led by 6 teachers including Gao Du, Director of the Academic Committee and Chief Expert of the Ethnic Dance Cultural Base of BDA, and Zhang Xiaomei, Deputy Director of the Department of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance.

　　With the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the tour became a formal part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and seven Central and Eastern European countries, as well as the year of culture and tourism between China and Croatia. During the 14-day tour, the troupe completed a total of 16 performances, including outdoor performances, street parades, performances on square and in theater. It is estimated that nearly 50,000 spectators watched the performances staged by the BDA troupe. The folk art festivals in Romania, Slovenia and Croatia also invited professional dance troupes from Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, Guam, Serbia, Macedonia, Ireland, in addition to local dance companies. The BDA troupe, the only Chinese troupe in the art festivals, performed dances of nearly 10 ethnic groups of China, including Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, Yi, Wa, Xinjiang Uygur, Dai and Lisu, presenting China’s multi-ethnic culture through the beauty of dance.

　During the performance tour, all troupe members overcame difficulties brought by heavy rains, fierce heat of the sun, differences in stage size and equipment. And even when rehearsal was not possible, the troupe was able to present outstanding performance with passion and high standards of professionalism, which was greeted with long and warm applause.

　　The BDA troupe’s performance was covered by local mainstream media. Romanian national TV, Slovenian national TV, national radio station, and art festival TV, as well as Croatian national TV all made live or special reports on the performances of the troupe, with interviews with BDA teachers and students. The troupe was warmly received by Mr. Sasa Arsenovic, Mayor of Maribor, Slovenia, who spoke highly of the wonderful performance.

The performance tour during the folk art festivals provides an opportunity for teachers and students of BDA to have exchanges with professional folk dancers of various countries, while further establishing the presence of BDA on the international stage. It presents the unique charm of the Chinese culture and enhances the cultural self-confidence of the Chinese people through exchanges with other cultures of the world.

(International Office, Department of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dance  Text / Yang Yang)