Between the 9th and 13th November 2015, the Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CITCM) held a series of performances in three primary schools (Harris Primary School, Tollgate Primary School and Selwyn Primary School). These performances, which successfully brought China’s colourful and diversified culture to life, marked the start of mandarin learning in the schools.
Since the beginning of this academic year the three primary schools mentioned above have formally integrated CITCM’s Mandarin Classes into their school curriculum, providing over 3000 new students with the opportunity to learn mandarin. During the performances CITCM’s Chinese dancers and Kung Fu masters presented four eye-catching performances which received great interest from the students and high praise from the staff.
The performances opened with the beautiful Chinese folk song “The Jasmine Flower”. Second on stage was the breath-taking Kung Fu show “Taiji Fan”. Next came a Uyghur dance originating from Xinjiang Province, China. The dancer amazed the audience with her graceful movements. Following on from the dance was the wildly acclaimed Chinese “Kung Fu Relay” which displayed various aspects of Kung Fu including Long Fist, Nunchucks and Nanquan. This performance allowed the audience to relive the evolution of Chinese Kung Fu. The shows were closed by an enchanting musical performance from a soloist who sang the famous Chinese folk song “The Dragon Boat Tune”. Throughout the performances some students were even invited onstage to try Chinese dancing and Kung Fu themselves.
The head teacher from Tollgate Primary School stated that “the show was more than expected” and added “we hope to see the performers again during the Spring Festival, hopefully by then the students will be able to use Chinese to communicate with the performers”.The Mandarin teaching Program operated in Primary and Secondary schools has always been a top priority for CITCM, this dedication has allowed the number of partner schools and students to increase year by year.
The head teacher from Tollgate Primary School stated that “the show was more than expected” and added “we hope to see the performers again during the Spring Festival, hopefully by then the students will be able to use Chinese to communicate with the performers”.
The Mandarin teaching Program operated in Primary and Secondary schools has always been a top priority for CITCM, this dedication has allowed the number of partner schools and students to increase year by year.