On Nov 19, Singapore China National Theatre for Children Malanhua Art School held a graduation ceremony and report show for its students of the first training session at the Chinese Culture Center Theater in Singapore.

   Que Xiaohua, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore addresses the graduation
ceremony of Singapore CNTC Malanhua Art School on Nov 19, 2017. [Photo by CNTC]

   

Ma Hongying, director of China Cultural Center (Singapore) confers the diploma on a
graduate of Singapore CNTC Malanhua Art School on Nov 19, 2017. [Photo by CNTC] 

The entire show, starting with the situational drama Love of Water-lily, adapted from the famous ancient Chinese prose of the same name and lauding the noble character of a gentleman, was characterized by diversity, exuding the charm of communication between Chinese and Western culture. Students fully displayed their talents as a result of their studies in the two-year training session by performing various shows, including the situation dramas Love of Water-lily and Monkey Eating the Watermelon, modern dramas This Is Not Prometheus, What IS Happiness and The Story of a Fisherman, and Kungfu show Teenage Heroes, as well as the dances Chick Chick and Cup Dance. The entire show was an artistic and promotional success, leading an immediate surge in enrollments for the school’s third training session.。

Before the show, Que Xiaohua, cultural counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Singapore addressed the ceremony. He highly commended the mission and direction of Malanhua Art School which apart from emphasizing solid learning in the classroom, arranged many extra-curricular activities conducive to nourishing children’s minds. Meanwhile, the introduction of Xinxiu Kungfu class has furnished Singaporean children with a platform to learn Chinese martial arts and feel the charm of Chinese culture. Following Counselor Que’s speech, Ma Hongying, director of China Cultural Center conferred diplomas on all graduates.

The Xinxiu Kungfu class from Singapore CNTC Malanhua Art School perform Kungfu for
their graduation ceremony on Nov 19, 2017. [Photo by CNTC]

In recent years, China National Theater for Children has been committed to promoting Chinese culture and its initiative of developing overseas Children Theatrical education has gained strong support from the Ministry of Culture of China and China Cultural Center, and the Singapore CNTC Malanhua Art School is apparently the fruit of this initiative.

As early as in the November of 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping on a state visit in Singapore, together with Goh Chok Tong, emeritus senior minister of Singapore, opened the China Cultural Center (Singapore). In order to put on a successful performance at the opening ceremony of the cultural center, Su Mingyang, a teacher from CNTC Malanhua Art School was appointed by China Cultural Center to go to Singapore, helping the rehearsal for the opening ceremony. It was the first successful cooperation between Malan Flower Art School and Singapore that gave rise to the birth of Singapore CNTC Malanhua Art School co-founded by China Cultural Center (Singapore) and China National Theater for Children on March 26, 2016.

Singapore, a country full of Chinses descendants, has a long-standing but unmet need for Chinese culture education, and CNTC Malan Flower Art School, the epitome of Chinese Children theatrical education, boasts premier teaching resources. The Singapore CNTC Malanhua Art School, a place where Chinese classic stories are told and students learn to speak Chinese and act out Chinese classic children plays, was therefore created to fulfil the need for Chinese culture education in Singaporean society. It is hoped that the art school can help Singaporean students of Chinese descent learn more about China’s splendid traditional culture, deepen the communication of children art education between China and Singapore, and facilitate the development of children drama in both countries.