There are a large number of recreational performance ensembles nowadays, and hard-to-get tickets are a rare thing. However, it is what happened in CWI Children’s Palace (the Palace) at the end of 2011 and the beginning of 2012:

　　A man holding a small camera in his hand elbowed his way through the crowd in the Little Friends Theatre on the 4th floor of the Palace, rushed to the hall on the ground floor and showed the four elders waiting there a video of children dancing on the stage. What was happening? CWI Children’s Palace was holding the annual performance for showcasing teaching results and only one ticket was given to the family of each child due to the limited space of the theatre. However, all the other family members wanted to see the show, so they came up with an idea. The family sent a“representative”to shoot the performance on site and other family members waited outside so they could watch the performance as soon as the“representative”came out.

　　Hard-to-get tickets reflect the popularity of the activities regarding art and science & technology launched by CWI Children’s Palace. Chen Baihua, master dance teacher, master headmaster and Director of CWI Children’s Palace as well as an audience of almost all performances, said:“Every child studying here is our favorite and will have equal educational opportunity here.”

　　Give More Children Access to the Palace

　　"The Children’s Palace is not a place only for welcoming outstanding children or children with special talent. It should be a place where all children can grow together”, said Chen Baihua.

　　The Palace offers many art and science & technology training classes so that more children can benefit from such classes. A maximum number of students are enrolled into all classes every year. Considering children’s interest in learning dancing, the Palace offers the“basic-skill class”. But, many students did want to leave when they finish their study and asked to continue learning, so the“dance performance class”was offered in response to their demands. Some children attended all the courses from basic-skill class to dance performance class. Why do they like the Palace so much? One of the students said:“I’m really happy that I can learn dancing here. It not only teaches me the dancing techniques but also trains my willpower.”

　　Some children from families with financial difficulty also became the students of the training classes with the help of the Palace. Yang Chaojun who learned playing piano at the Palace is now studying in a Michigan art school in America with full scholarship. Her performance of the piano solo Shepherd Boy and His Piccolo at the recreational performance in France in 2002 in support of China’s bid to host Expo 2010 was warmly applauded by the audience. This exceptionally gifted child was all but going to give up her dream for she came from a poverty-stricken family. In order to help her fulfill her art dream, the Palace provided financial aid and created opportunities for her to learn music and take part in various practices. Thanks to the instruction of the teachers of the Palace, she won first award for many times in city-wide and nationwide piano competitions. She has also gained the opportunity to perform together with the famous pianists Kong Xiangdong and Xu Zhong.

　　The performance which is given for the purpose of showcasing teaching results lasts nearly a month and all students have an opportunity to give a performance on the stage. This performance has become a grand festival for these children. What is more noticeable is that a group of graduated students in uniforms served as volunteers, checking tickets and guiding the performers to take a bow at the end of the performance in an orderly way.

　　A Fat Girl Becomes a Ballet Student

　　The performance showcasing the teaching results of the 2011 program "Dance Changes Your Future”starts with the dance“Wishes of the New Year”. Then the dances“Love in Kangding”, and“the Bustling Tianshan Mountain”, etc. are performed in succession. Now, the dance“Paper-cutting Girls”begins, and the performers, students of Class 9, are dressed in the beautiful costume resembling green paper-cut“window flower”.”Look, that fat girl wears a yellow costume. It’s different from the others. She must be the leading performer”.“No, that’s because she’s fat and she can’t fit into the costume that everybody else is wearing, so she has to pick a different costume. It still looks tight on her and the back of the costume is pinned. But I have to admit that she dances well.”The audience whispered.

　　The typical standard for choosing a dancer is small head and good shape. However, CWI Children’s Palace would not stick to the rules.“We want more children to enjoy dancing and show themselves on the stage. We want them to experience life on the stage,”Chen Baihua said. Not many children here would be professional dancers in the future; however, it is most important that the children would be happy and learn how to appreciate art here.

　　The fat girl whose surname is Dong, a student of No. 2 Primary School of Kongjiang Village said:“I am fat and shy, and I had almost lost confidence in dancing. My teachers taught me to be brave and believe in myself, and they made me believe that I was as good as anyone else and I could do it successfully. With the help of many people, I made great progress and overcame the difficulties. In the rehearsals, the teachers always encouraged me and sometimes put me in a very important position in a performance and that made me become more and more confident. I will never feel ashamed because of my shape again."

　　The teaching in the dance class emphasizes fairness and equality. In the rehearsals, every child has an opportunity to be a leading character as well as a supporting character. It is the teachers’belief that giving every child the opportunity of both being a leading character and a supporting character is an important way of training the children’s psychological adjustment ability. Children would realize the equal importance of their cooperation with others and others’cooperation with them in the performance, and this also helps develop their teamwork spirit.