Acrobatic trainees all set for exciting high life

SHIJIAZHUANG－The first group of trainees from Laos and Cambodia at a Chinese acrobatic art school has graduated from the institution's online training program after in-person exchanges were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A total of 42 students received online training provided by the Hebei Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School in North China's Hebei province. The school started to recruit international trainees in 2002, and more than 500 trainees from over 40 countries and regions have so far taken part in its acrobatic art training.

Wuqiao is considered the hub of Chinese acrobatics and the performance style can be traced back some 2,000 years to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). In 2006, Wuqiao acrobatics was listed as national-level intangible cultural heritage.

Duan Yong, who is in charge of the school's foreign exchange affairs, says acrobatic training requires precise movements and skills. It is difficult to perceive all angles through online training.

"During the training sessions, 10 teachers used livestreaming teaching methods, aided by multiple sets of high-definition cameras that captured the performance of skilled Chinese students from a 360-degree angle," Duan says.

There will be further online training. In light of the pandemic, the school plans to select two to three more countries in East Africa, with a time difference of less than six hours with China, to carry out online training so as to continue promoting the exchange and learning of acrobatics.

Xinhua