Public forum bringing music and dance artists to local citizens
Young Shanghai Ballet artists Wu Husheng and Qi Bingxue perform the classic "the White-Haired Girl" at the Wutong Forum on Saturday.
Shanghai's top music and dance artists will share their experiences and skills with local citizens in downtown historical villas through a new public forum in Xuhui District.
The Wutong Forum, named after the plane trees widely planted in the area that represents the berth for phoenix in Chinese culture, was officially launched in the Hengfu Art Center on Saturday.
The two-story brick-and-wood building at 178 Wulumuqi Road S. was built by the American Masonic Temple Association in 1932. It is open for lectures, forums and exhibitions.
Organized by Tianping Road Subdistrict and Hengfu Investment and Development Co, the forum invited the first group of six artists to give lectures and communicate with an audience.
They were Xin Lili, head of Shanghai Ballet, famous soprano Huang Ying, pipa (a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument) master Tang Liangxing, renowned violinist Yu Lina, young dancer Zhu Jiejing and erhu virtuoso Ma Xiaohui.
The forum is also part of the serial education sessions about the history of the Communist Party of China, People's Republic of China, the reform and opening-up as well as the development of socialism.
The artists are the top names in their fields. They've also witnessed China's reform and opening-up. Their art life has been closely connected with the nation's development, according to the organizer.
Many people from both home and abroad attend the first session of the Wutong Forum in Xuhui District on Saturday.
"The Shanghai Ballet has been promoting Chinese culture globally with its original works such as 'the Butterfly Lovers' and 'the Song of Eternal Sorrow,'" Xin said at the opening on Saturday. "It is the mission of my generation of ballet performers."
Young Shanghai Ballet artists Wu Husheng and Qi Bingxue performed the classic play "the White-Haired Girl," while Xin explained the traditional cultures, such as folk dance, martial arts and traditional opera, involved in the performance.
Xin also shared with the audience how the artists with the Shanghai Ballet kept practicing with masks during the novel coronavirus outbreak, while conducting self-quarantine for the players from outside Shanghai.
Forums hosted by one of the other artists will be held monthly at a nearby historical complex at 64 Wulumuqi Road S. The building was designed by famous architect Laszlo Hudec and built in 1932.
It was once home to the Xuhui Sports Bureau which relocated so the structure could become a one-stop community service center.
The road also features the former residences of playwright Xia Yan (1900-1995) and a restored study of translator Cao Ying (1923-2015), which are next to the Hengfu Art Center.
Xin Lili (left), head of Shanghai Ballet, talks with the audience along with ballet artist Wu Husheng (middle) and Qi Bingxue.
Pipa (a four-stringed Chinese musical instrument) master Tang Liangxing (left) shows a family photo taken in 1980s at his apartment at the Tianping Road Subdistrict where the Wutong Forum is held.
The first group of performers invited to the Wutong Forum.
