15 October 2014
From 19 to 30 September 2014, assigned by the National Office of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOTCFL)/Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban), the Confucius Institute of the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA) sent an exhibition and performance delegation to Italy for cross-cultural exchange at the Confucius Institutes in Rome, Naples, Turin, Brescia, Milan and Florence. The delegation visited these six cities within ten days and gave nine demonstration performances.
Assigned by NOTCFL/Hanban, this exhibition and performance tour in Italy coincided with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Confucius Institute, and was part of the Confucius Institute 10th Anniversary Artistic Performance Tour Program as well as the Global Confucius Institute Day celebrations.
In this exhibition and performance tour, STA adopted an interactive approach for better interaction and communication with the audience, instead of the one-way approach traditionally. With the support of the STA leadership, a large amount of preparatory work had been done with regard to the contents of the performance, including repeated evaluations by experts and scholars. STA’s traditional Chinese opera school assumed the performing task. The teachers and students of the school considered and refined every detail over and again to ensure the quality of the performance.
During the tour in Italy, all members of the delegation devoted their full enthusiasm and efforts to each exhibition and performance. There were timely review and adjustment after each performance in preparation for the next one. All these were fully recognized and highly appraised by the Italian side as well as the local audience. The local media also had an extensive and positive coverage of STA’s Peking Opera exhibition and performance.
