In the springtime of March, the Dance School celebrated its 64th anniversary.
The anniversary celebration of the dance school was a testament to beauty. The Dance School 64th Anniversary Teaching Achievement Report Performance began with the group dance "On the Field of Hope."
It was on this field of hope where the breath of spring and a sense of enthusiasm and vitality abound.
The dance school has selected a batch of new and high-level works for each of its five professional directions: Chinese dance, ballet, international standard dance, song and dance, and modern dance, to showcase their elegance. Among them are award-winning pieces from top domestic and international dance competitions such as "Peach and Plum Cup," "Lotus Award," and "Fanghua Cup," including "Heart Tip," "Listening to Autumn in a Leaf," "Green·Rhythm," "Impression of the River," "Life Crossing," and others, as well as "Winter Waltz," "Return to Righteousness," "Love Theme," "Moon Over the Mid-Autumn Festival," "Ballet Suite," all rich in form and unique in character.
Outstanding alumni such as Zhu Jiejing, Wang Jiajun, Tan Yimei, Zhao Yongqi, Qian Anqi, Ma Xiaoqiao, and their dance partners Song Yu and Wang Xinyi were invited to perform, bringing excerpts from dance dramas like "The Eternal Wave" and "Chang'e," as well as other dance programs, stunning the audience. The alumni expressed their deep gratitude and sincere blessings to their alma mater through their exquisite performances.
The celebration of the dance school was also a real manifestation of teaching outcomes. As part of this, the 2018 Class of Chinese Dance presented their teaching report, divided into "Classical Dance Basic Training" (instructor: Ni Qianyun, Shen Yin) and "Folk Dance" (instructor: Lu Yan, Zhang Jingkai), encompassing solo and group dance performances. The students performed with finesse and solid fundamentals, earning applause from the audience.
The celebration of the dance school was also a heartwarming event where Zhang Weiling, Deputy Party Secretary and Vice President of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and Ling Guiming, former principal of the Dance School and a renowned ballet artist, unveiled the plaque for the "Master's Workshop," marking the official establishment of the "Master's Workshop" at the Dance School. This signified the school's effort to bring together quality social resources, to advance the construction of professional subjects and the cultivation of talents, injecting new momentum into the school's development.
Xie Wei, Party Secretary of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, fully affirmed the achievements of the Dance School over the past 64 years and pointed out that in the face of the goal of making Shanghai the "best practice area for Xi Jinping's cultural thought" and creating a "Shanghai sample" of cultural confidence and strength, the Dance School should make more significant contributions to actively creating a "dance sample" and offering the "STA experience."
It is hoped that the Dance School will not forget its original aspiration, and while deeply summarizing its educational experience, it will continue to highlight the characteristics of its education and cultivate more "lead dancers" with both moral integrity and artistic excellence; it will leverage its professional advantages to lead and plan dance aesthetic education activities, and become a "golden name card" for Shanghai's culture, contributing to the construction of Shanghai as an international cultural metropolis; it will strengthen the global expression of Chinese dance, dance with an "international style," showcase the "Shanghai flavor," and let the world see "Shanghai's dance moves" and enjoy "Shanghai's dance steps."
