American high school students perform Chinese idiom stories

Performers with the Children's Theater of Charlotte rehearse their play based on the Chinese idiom "teaching a fish to swim" at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday, August 16, 2018. [Photo: China Plus]

A group of American high school students, wearing ancient Chinese costumes, will stage a drama in Beijing this weekend telling three Chinese idioms.

One of the stories is Dong Shi Xiao Pin (东施效颦). The young American performers can speak fluent Chinese, and will be accompanied by typical traditional Chinese melodies.

The idiom refers to an incredibly ugly girl named Dongshi who tried to imitate Xishi, a beautiful girl in every way she behaves. However these actions don't work, but serve to increase the level of ugliness that she displays.

Michelle Long is Director of Education with the Children's Theatre of Charlotte, which brought these young performers to Beijing.

"I think that the themes of each of them are universal. I think what was difficult to understand are some of the cultural norms, I guess, of that time period. Some of the things that are traditional here are not traditional in the US. And so it's important for us to learn what is important to the Chinese people so that we can better understand Chinese people."

Long also added it is the first co-production for her theatre to work with counterparts outside the United States. But the exchanges and cooperation with the China National Theatre for Children started two years ago during the China Children's Theatre Festival.