On October 13 and 14, 2018, Professor Kalina Stefanova of Bulgaria was invited to the Shanghai Theatre Academy to participate in the international seminar "From J. Grotowski to Lupa—On the Influence of Polish Theatre in the World" and published a paper. Following Professor Kalina’s attending the International Theatre Town Alliance Forum last March, she wrote an article introducing Yue Opera Town to the British "Stage" magazine and Bulgarian local publications. She also introduced various forms of performances including opera, children's drama and chorus to Yue Opera Town. As a result, Yue Opera Town, in the years ahead, will be able to embrace Bulgarian folk chorus, a choir that has been touring Europe for many years and has performed for the Pope many times but has never come to China. We appreciate Professor Kalina’s efforts to make this happen.
From October 17 to 22, another council member of the International Theatre Town Alliance, Professor Levan Khetaguri of Georgia, also came to Shanghai to participate in the activities sponsored by the ITI/UNESCO International Alliance of Performing Arts Universities. In June, he invited Mr. Guo Xiaonan to attend the drama exhibition with him as the curator in Tbilisi, Georgia. Unfortunately, he failed to make it because of time. Mr. Levan recommended Georgia’s traditional dance to Yue Opera Town. Yue Opera Town hoped that Chinese audience could be privileged to appreciate the polyphonic music of Georgia with his help. Georgian Polyphonic Music is a long-established UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.
On October 22 and 23, Mr. Constantin Chiriac, an artistic director of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania, came to Hangzhou before going to Shanghai for the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. Mr. Guo Xiaonan arranged for him to watch the rehearsal of the Zhejiang Xiaobaihua Yue Opera Troupe. Mr. Chiriac saw performance of folding fan dance of Xiaosheng (young male’s role in traditional Chinese drama), circular fan dance of Hua Dan (female’s role in traditional Chinese drama), long sleeves dance, and drum dance in addition to singing of the Yue Opera. Mr. Chiriac improvised the lines of Shakespeare's plays and Romanian poems. Mr. Guo Xiaonan and his team watched the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania in last June and believed that more cultural exchanges are looming ahead.
(Long Sleeves Dance in a rehearsal room by Li Yunxiao)