Hubei Culture Sparkled in Africa

By Xu Kuang

Translation by Liu Jie

Hubei Culture Sparkled in Africa

By Xu Kuang

Translation by Liu Jie

“The programs are indeed splendid! It’s a perfect performance. The performers,costumes, and dances are all beautiful,” said Dominique Ouattara, the first lady of C?te d’Ivoire.She was full of praises for the Hubei Art Troupe after watching their performance.

From September 18th to 27th, the Hubei Art Troupe, with its 33 members, was doing a tour performance entitled “Focusing on Chinese Culture—Jing-chu Culture’s African Tour” in Senegal and C?te d’Ivoire. For this, the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture had singled out the programs from the Hubei Provincial Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, the Hubei Provincial Theatre of Traditional Chinese Opera, and the Wuhan Acrobatics Troupe.The performers averaged 30 years old, and most of them had experience performing abroad before.

The Art Troupe presented six performances meticulously prepared for African audiences,including various local songs and dances, folk music performances, operas, magic shows, and acrobatics.“In the process of preparing for the exchange program, we were constantly striving to make each program and performance perfect under the aim of achieving excellence,” said Ms. Duan Tianling,director of the Hubei Art Troupe and deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture.

Dominique Ouattara (the first lady of C?te d’Ivoire) and artists特迪瓦總統夫人多米尼克與演員合影

“節目實在是太精彩了，中國的人美、服裝美、舞蹈美，這是一場完美的演出。”科特迪瓦總統夫人多米尼克看完湖北藝術團的演出，難掩激動之情，對演出贊不絕口。

9月18日至9月27日，湖北藝術團一行33人赴塞內加爾、科特迪瓦，舉辦“中國文化聚焦——荊楚文化非洲行”巡演交流活動。湖北省文化廳從省歌劇舞劇院、省戲曲藝術劇院、武漢雜技團精挑細選出的演員們平均年齡30歲，多數具有出國演出經歷。

通過展示歌舞、民樂、戲曲和魔術雜技等豐富多樣的節目，藝術代表團為非洲觀眾獻上六場精致的文化大餐。“在籌備和實施過程中，精益求精，追求完美，大家力爭把每一場展演活動和每一個節目都打造成精品。”藝術團團長、省文化廳副廳長段天玲說。

由于人員精簡，此次出訪演出，每人都身兼多職。“所有演出道具、樂器、服裝，包括幾十斤重的大幕布，都由演員們自己搬。”舞蹈演員鄧蓓說。

藝術是一座天然的橋梁，能有效增進相互理解。9月19日上午，藝術團演員們與塞內加爾國家劇院演員同臺交流。沒有議程、不需要更多語言翻譯，兩國演員們很快打成一片。

“藝術無國界。”笛子演奏演員韓笑說：“這種臨時自由交流，雖然時間緊湊，但效果特別好，雙方都感到驚喜。”

During the performance, every performer had to undertake multiple jobs. “All the stage props,musical instruments, costumes, and even the heavy curtains that weighed dozens of kilograms had to be carried by us,” said dancer Deng Bei.

Art, a bridge between different cultures, may naturally enhance mutual understanding. On the morning of September 19th, the performers of the Art Troupe had a face-to-face encounter with their counterparts from the Senegal National Grand Theatre. Without any agenda, without even a translator, they communicated with each other freely.

The Hubei Art Troupe visiting Lycée Sainte Marie in C?te d’Ivoire湖北藝術團一行訪問科特迪瓦瑪麗亞女子精英中學

Group photo taken at the Senegal National Grand Theater 塞內加爾國家大劇院合影留念

“There’s no boundary between arts,” said Han Xiao, a player of the flute, a Chinese folk music instrument made from bamboo or wood. “This impromptu conversation has produced wonderful effects. Short though it was, we both felt great.”

On September 21st at 8 p.m. local time, the Art Troupe held a special performance for the 68th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China at the Senegal National Grand Theatre. The players from the two countries performed on the same stage. The beautiful,classical Chinese music and bright, lively African dance music blended and created a fantastic effect.The impassioned atmosphere could still excite Ms. Wang Jinyuan, head of the Hubei Provincial Theatre, when she later recalled the performance.

On noon of September 22nd, the Art Troupe came to C?te d’Ivoire and launched a performance at a huge theatre with 1,500 seats. It was said that the performance was so successful that the theatre was filled to the back row. On the morning of September 25th, the Troupe came to Lycée Sainte Marie, a famous local élite high school for girls, for a show. “The kids were lining the street to welcome us,” said Mr. Ren Jun from the External Communication Division of the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture.

Artists from China and Africa performing on the same stage中非兩國演員同臺演出

Chinese acrobatic performance中國雜技表演

“We’ve sowed Chinese culture into the children’s hearts with our performance,” said Yang Limin,deputy general manager of the Hubei Provincial Art Group. “Many children said that, after watching the Chinese programs, they longed to learn Chinese and to learn more about Chinese culture. We welcome them to Hubei for studies.”

Mr. Maurice Kouakou Bandaman, Minister of the Ministry of Culture felt quite excited when meeting with the Chinese artists. He earnestly invited the Troupe to tour next year in cities across the country in celebration of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and C?te d’Ivoire.

The Hubei Art Troupe also signed multiple cooperation memos with local cultural institutions,thus setting up a platform for cultural exchange between Hubei and Africa in the future. ?

Traditional Chinese dance 中國民族舞蹈表演

9月21日，當地時間晚上8點，“荊楚文化非洲行”慶祝中華人民共和國成立68周年專場文藝演出，在塞內加爾國家大劇院精彩上演。兩國演員同臺演出，優美的中國古典樂與熱辣的非洲舞曲碰撞出別樣的火花。當時熱烈的場景，至今憶起，省歌劇團團長汪金媛仍激動不已。

9月22日中午，藝術團轉場科特迪瓦。1500個座位的大劇場座無虛席，演出再次引起轟動。25日上午，藝術團赴當地著名的瑪利亞女子精英中學演出交流。“孩子們夾道歡迎，掌聲震耳欲聾。”省文化廳外聯處的任俊介紹說。

“我們的演出在孩子們心中播下對中國文化的印象。”省演藝集團副總經理楊利民說：“許多孩子說，看了精彩的中國節目，他們渴望學漢語，希望更多地了解中國文化。我們歡迎他們來湖北留學。”

科特迪瓦文化部長班達曼同中國演員見面時非常激動，他真誠邀請藝術團明年在中科建交35周年慶典活動時，前往該國各城市巡回演出。

Chinese opera performance 中國戲曲表演

湖北藝術代表團還與當地文化機構簽署多項合作意向書，為今后湖北省與非洲的文化交流搭建機制平臺。?

湖北文化出彩非洲

文/許曠 譯/劉潔