Summer camps promote traditional art forms (4)

Makeup is applied to a boy playing the Monkey King. [Photo by Zou Hong/China Daily]

The Forbidden City Concert Hall stages just one of the numerous summer camps that have sprung up nationwide to offer students the chance to access traditional Chinese art forms.

The Star Theatre in Beijing stages many of the smaller Peking Opera productions. On June 16 last year, an 80-minute play based on three classic Peking Opera stories for children premiered at the venue, and by June 30 this year, 100 sold-out shows had been staged there.

Han Yuechao, a Star Theatre producer, said many parents wanted their children to learn something about Peking Opera, so in January it held workshops on the art form for the first time.

"We started by painting Peking Opera masks. The children are attracted by the colors and famous roles, such as the Monkey King," Han said. "These days, kids have many forms of entertainment. We hope that they can get something out of the traditional art form."

Peking Opera, known as jingju in Chinese, combines several art forms, including singing, dancing, martial arts and acrobatics. In 2010, UNESCO declared it an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This summer, Han directed and produced a new play, Super Little Heroes, in which three classic Peking Opera roles are performed－the Monkey King, Hua Mulan and Ne Zha.

Five artists from professional schools and companies, including the National Peking Opera Company and Jingju Theater Company of Beijing, took part in the performances and workshops.

The new play, which premiered on July 13, is being staged at the Star Theatre during the summer, along with workshops given by Peking Opera performers.

Chen Weitong, 6, took part in the Peking Opera summer camp at the Star Theatre last year.

She said, "On the first day, my teacher drew a monkey's face on my face, and when I looked in the mirror, it was very funny."

Chen's mother, Deng Wei, has taken her to more than 300 live performances since the girl was just 18 months old, including ballet, classical music concerts and musicals.

"When we watched plays performed by Peking Opera artists, it felt very different from Western art forms. Although the plays are designed for children, I learned a lot as an adult," Deng said.

Ren Yu, a 23-year-old student at Beijing Vocational College of Opera and Arts, who started learning Peking Opera when she was 10, has taken part in two Star Theatre plays and workshops since last summer. "For children, Peking Opera is not old-fashioned... as long as the programs are interesting, they learn fast and with passion," she said.

Her twin sister, Ren Ying, is studying at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in Beijing and has performed in Peking Opera plays for children staged by the Star Theatre.

In Super Little Heroes, Ren Yu plays Hua Mulan, a legendary heroine from the Southern and Northern dynasties (420-581), who filled her aging father's shoes to resist the invasion of the nomadic Huns from Central Asia.

"Children not only learn about Peking Opera but also the important virtues of China, such as loyalty and courage," she said.