On 14 May, the “Daegu International Musical Festival – The 8th DIMF Stars of Musical China Finals” was held online and concluded successfully. Six current students from the Department of Acting (including the Musical Theatre Centre) of Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA), namely, Qin Zichun, Cai Xinyi, Chen Siyu, Talinzhuona, Peng Xinying and Shen Wei, advanced into the finals. After a tense contest and competition, Shen Wei, a student of BA Musical Theatre 2020 stood out from 27 contestants from all over the country and won the Grand Prize of China Finals 2022. Cai Xinyi, a student of BA Musical Theatre 2018, won the "Young Eagle Award".
In the special period of severe COVID pandemic, the STA students of musical theatre have made great achievements on the professional stage and demonstrated their strength through unremitting efforts.
Shen Wei's piece in the finals was “Me And The Sky” selected from the classic musical “Come From Away”. During the competition, her singing and performance won the unanimous appreciation of the judges, while the audience was also deeply moved. After scoring by professional judges and voting by fans, she finally won the Grand Prize.
Cai Xinyi's piece in the finals was “Fly, Fly Away” selected from the classic musical “Catch Me If You Can. She did very well during the performance and finally won the “Young Eagle Award”.
The other STA students taking part in the finals also said that they had gained a lot through the competition and exercised their ability and courage, and that it was a good start for their future study as well as for the career in musical theatre they were passionate about.
The Daegu International Musical Festival in South Korea, referred to as "DIMF", is the second largest musical festival in the world after the New York Musical Festival (NYMF) and the largest musical festival in Asia, which has been held since 2006 and is considered one of the icons of Daegu's cultural industries.
