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 Côte 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 Côte 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 Côte d’Ivoire) and artists特迪瓦总统夫人多米尼克与演员合影

“节目实在是太精彩了，中国的人美、服装美、舞蹈美，这是一场完美的演出。”科特迪瓦总统夫人多米尼克看完湖北艺术团的演出，难掩激动之情，对演出赞不绝口。

9月18日至9月27日，湖北艺术团一行33人赴塞内加尔、科特迪瓦，举办“中国文化聚焦——荆楚文化非洲行”巡演交流活动。湖北省文化厅从省歌剧舞剧院、省戏曲艺术剧院、武汉杂技团精挑细选出的演员们平均年龄30岁，多数具有出国演出经历。

通过展示歌舞、民乐、戏曲和魔术杂技等丰富多样的节目，艺术代表团为非洲观众献上六场精致的文化大餐。“在筹备和实施过程中，精益求精，追求完美，大家力争把每一场展演活动和每一个节目都打造成精品。”艺术团团长、省文化厅副厅长段天玲说。

由于人员精简，此次出访演出，每人都身兼多职。“所有演出道具、乐器、服装，包括几十斤重的大幕布，都由演员们自己搬。”舞蹈演员邓蓓说。

艺术是一座天然的桥梁，能有效增进相互理解。9月19日上午，艺术团演员们与塞内加尔国家剧院演员同台交流。没有议程、不需要更多语言翻译，两国演员们很快打成一片。

“艺术无国界。”笛子演奏演员韩笑说：“这种临时自由交流，虽然时间紧凑，但效果特别好，双方都感到惊喜。”

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 Côte d’Ivoire湖北艺术团一行访问科特迪瓦玛丽亚女子精英中学

Group photo taken at the Senegal National Grand Theater 塞内加尔国家大剧院合影留念

“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 Côte 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中非两国演员同台演出

Chinese acrobatic performance中国杂技表演

“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 Côte 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 中国民族舞蹈表演

9月21日，当地时间晚上8点，“荆楚文化非洲行”庆祝中华人民共和国成立68周年专场文艺演出，在塞内加尔国家大剧院精彩上演。两国演员同台演出，优美的中国古典乐与热辣的非洲舞曲碰撞出别样的火花。当时热烈的场景，至今忆起，省歌剧团团长汪金媛仍激动不已。

9月22日中午，艺术团转场科特迪瓦。1500个座位的大剧场座无虚席，演出再次引起轰动。25日上午，艺术团赴当地著名的玛利亚女子精英中学演出交流。“孩子们夹道欢迎，掌声震耳欲聋。”省文化厅外联处的任俊介绍说。

“我们的演出在孩子们心中播下对中国文化的印象。”省演艺集团副总经理杨利民说：“许多孩子说，看了精彩的中国节目，他们渴望学汉语，希望更多地了解中国文化。我们欢迎他们来湖北留学。”

科特迪瓦文化部长班达曼同中国演员见面时非常激动，他真诚邀请艺术团明年在中科建交35周年庆典活动时，前往该国各城市巡回演出。

Chinese opera performance 中国戏曲表演

湖北艺术代表团还与当地文化机构签署多项合作意向书，为今后湖北省与非洲的文化交流搭建机制平台。♦

湖北文化出彩非洲

文/许旷 译/刘洁