DRUMMING UP A NEW BEAT

By Xu Bei

It took Li Shang， a percus- sionist from Beijing， nearly 15 hours to reach Weiziba， a village in Gansu Province， on July 21. Local transportation from the airport in the provincial capital to the village， at an altitude of 2，450 meters， remains inconvenient， but Li and his colleagues didnt seem to be bothered.

They came to the village in northwest China to perform for students of the Weiziba Primary School.

At 8：00 a.m. the next day， children started to trickle in， excited by the prospect of this new experience brought to them by the schools annual art-themed summer camp.

It was the first time for the musicians to bring Over the Moon， a percussion concert， which has been staged in Beijing many times already， to the rural areas. The “box-office hit” via word of mouth is co-produced by Tong Productions， a Beijing-based company sharing world-class stage performances with Chinese children， emphasizing interaction with the audience.

Nearly 60 percent of young people in Weiziba have gone off to work in cities， leaving many children in the care of their grandparents.

“Family education， to some extent， cannot play out its full-fledged role in the lives of those who grow up with their grandparents. At the same time， as there is a lack of specialized teachers， the school is unable to offer courses in various art genres，” Liu Yibing， head of the school， said. That means every summer camp is an opportunity for the children to broaden their horizons， he told Beijing Review.

A productive summer

Due to the long journey， the performing artists could not bring any large instruments with them to the village. Though the school does have some African and snare drums for the regular music class， these are not enough to put on a full-on percussion act. Hence， metal objects such as pot lids served as instruments， bridging the gap between the young rural audience and the exotic musical genre.

Eleven-year-old Duan Dongqi was reluctant to leave after the show. She told Beijing Review that players like Li were great because they could create beautiful music using only pots and pans.“Percussion does not come with many rules. Anything can serve as an instrument and create rhythm， vibes and happiness，” Li said.

Despite not understanding the genre， the young learners could emotionally capture every signal the musicians conveyed as they spoke to all the senses. Their enthusiastic reaction encouraged musicians to reveal the true charm of the beats through their virtuoso skills.