Chinese dancers to celebrate Confucius anniversary

Performers from the most prestigious dance academy in China will perform at the Darwin Entertainment Centre this Friday 28 September, 7.30-9pm, to celebrate Global Confucius Institute Day.

The Beijing Dance Academy will present a repertoire of traditional ethnic folk music and dance in a performance titled “Inheritance”.

The event coincides with the sixth anniversary of the inauguration of the Charles Darwin University Confucius Institute (CI), which was granted permission to operate by the Confucius Institute Headquarters (Hanban) in 2011 after a visit to Darwin by (then) Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping.

The institute opened in July 2012.

CI Deputy Director Associate Professor Hua Wang said it was a great honour that the best dance academy in China was to perform to a Darwin audience.

“A key objective of the Confucius Institute is to work closely with local communities in the Northern Territory to enhance cultural activities and support a range of Chinese language and cultural programs,” Mr Wang said.

“As far as cultural activities go, it doesn’t get any better than the Beijing Dance Academy.

“The world is getting smaller; it is easier to travel, and people want to learn and experience different cultures, and our aim is to enhance friendship and understanding within our universities and communities by offering opportunities to engage and share through cultural exchange.”

The CI has invited students from the Confucius Classroom program, which opened in 2017 at Woodroffe Primary School, to give a dance performance as a prelude to the Beijing dancers’ main event on Friday evening.
 
The Confucius Institute is a partnership between CDU, Anhui Normal University and Hainan University.