Planting seeds for a dance revolution

Children from Shanghai and New York connect online and create an extemporized dance. Provided to China Daily

Gayner adds they primarily train Chinese teachers in New York.

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Teachers are asked to get close to students and engage everyone as much as possible, which is the opposite of traditional Chinese teaching methods, Gayner says.

Some Chinese teachers had said they didn't believe every child can dance but later admitted they were wrong.

Based on her experience teaching children in New York's Chinatown, Gayner says Chinese children are disciplined and well drilled, but its difficult to bring out their personalities.

However, when she watched children in Shanghai dancing together after six months of training, she felt "humbled at how successful they were" and was moved by the quality of their performances.

"Gorgeous! Six hundred and forty children dancing together - no dropouts!" she comments, adding that a boy who had an eye operation just days before the performance insisted on attending despite his parents' opposition.

To further enhance arts cooperation between children from the two countries, NDI employs telepresence to connect them online.

On Jan 21 at one of NDI Center's studios, the back wall was turned into a big screen, while children in New York made their steps first, and their peers in Shanghai thousands of miles away followed. In this way, they created an extemporized dance. Meanwhile, an audience in Philadelphia watched the whole process choreographed via another screen.

"Technology and arts combined is amazing. We will keep doing this," says D'Amboise.

Gayner, the China program director, says they are just half way finished in this experimental form of cooperation, but the program has been so popular that in September nine more schools in Shanghai are expected to join up.

In 2012, eight Chinese teachers attended the summer institute course in New York. And this year, 20 Chinese dancers and 10 musicians will receive training.

"In dance, cultural and language differences don't matter at all. We all grow, and we have planted our seeds in China," Gayner says.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn.