The ATEC 11th International Forum was held from May 17 to 20 at The Central Academy of Drama (CAD), Changping District, Beijing. The Forum was co-hosted by Committee of Arts Education, the Ministry of Education of PRC and Asian Theatre Education Centre (ATEC), and organized by CAD. It was part of Joint Exhibition of Asian Civilizations (Themed Salon) during Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. Nearly 100 representatives of 13 member schools from 7 countries and areas were engaged in this event.
The Forum started on the evening of May 17 with the opening ceremony at the Theatre Center of CAD at its Changping Campus. The ceremony was highlighted by the participation of and speeches by Ms. Wan Lijun (Secretary-General of Committee of Arts Education, Ministry of Education of PRC) Mr. Tobias Biancone (President of ITiI/UNESCO Network for Higher Education in the Performing Arts), as well as Mr. Hao Rong (Director-General of ATEC and President of Central Academy of Drama). Attendees also include Ms. Zhou Hanping (Deputy Director-general of the Art Department of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism), Ms. Li Qing (Deputy Secretary-General of China Scholarship Council) along with guests from CAD and schools around the world.
After the speeches, the floor was given to the fascinating performances by CAD students, including Golden Time of Chinese Classical Works by the Department of Peking Opera, Gentle Melodies and Glorious Chapters, a medley by the Opera Department, Jasmine Flower, a song by the Acting Department and the Georgian students of the 'Belt and Road' Class, as well as Flowing Elegance, a dance by the Department of Dance Theatre. The Ceremony was pushed to a new high when the song of Tomorrow Will Be Better was jointly presented by the Opera Department, the Acting Department and the Georgian students. The iridescent lighting and the excited audience perfected this gathering of theatre arts for cultural exchanges.
In the following days, from May 18 to 19, the 11th International Forum of ATEC was held at the Academic Hall at CAD Changping Campus. The forum, themed as‘Physical Training in Theatrical Education', was divided into three units, which served as a platform for the participants to be engaged in academic exchanges. Relevant topics, such as‘Physical Training and Characterizing', 'Training of Performing Throughout the World', ‘Physical Training in Xi Qu Performance’, ‘Performing Shakespeare's Plays in China’ were given due attention.
During the event, three member schools presented one play respectively with their cultural characteristics, and they are: White Snake by The Central Academy of Drama, China, Brown Horse by Mongolian State University of Arts and Culture, Mongolia and The Moonlit Women by Chung-Ang University, South Korea.
