Facing the current severe and complex pandemic situation, as part of an art university, what should we do and how should we do? In this special period, we will truly record every bit of the actions taken by the teachers, students and staff of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Art is a kind of warmth, art is also a kind of a power, art can bring strength to others, and art can also inspire ourselves. Move forward with art! The pandemic is only temporary, but art will last forever.
In Shanghai’s battle against the pandemic, volunteer has once again become a shining name. Nearly 270 students live in the Honggu Road dormitory compound of the Dance College of Shanghai Theatre Academy. On 8 March this year, the alarm of pandemic was first triggered at the Hongqiao Road Campus because there were close contacts of confirmed COVID positive cases on campus. To this end, a student volunteer team was immediately established at the Honggu Road dormitory compound, which has been persistently active during the days of fighting the pandemic thus far. To date, more than one-third of the students in the Dance College have participated in voluntary service.
Volunteers should have a warm "home". In order to improve the work efficiency of volunteers and give volunteers a stronger sense of belonging and dependence, the Dance College has set up a "Dance College Anti-pandemic Volunteers Cabin" in Room 149 of the dormitory building. Volunteers can either have a short rest here or sort out their daily work here, so as to devote themselves to volunteer service in a fuller state. Xie Wei, party secretary of the Shanghai Academy, and Zhang Weiling, deputy party secretary and vice president of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, all came to the volunteer cabin to visit the volunteers when they were at the Honggu Road dormitory compound to give guidance on the pandemic prevention and control. They spoke high of the hard work and quiet dedication of the students, and gave them great encouragement.
In order to further stimulate students' enthusiasm for voluntary service, the student counselors and leaders of the volunteer team have creatively designed a new assessment and incentive model for volunteers. Accordingly, each volunteer is given a special envelope, and a “Youth of Dance College” stamp is to be chopped on the envelope for each time of service. After collecting a certain number of stamps, the volunteer concerned can redeem the stamps for souvenirs of the "Dance College Anti-pandemic Battle" series. These souvenirs are elaborately designed and endowed with special significance, making voluntary service an indelible memory.
