Cultural troupe offers charm of Chinese culture |24 September 2015

It was a real entertaining as well as relaxing taste of Chinese culture at the University of Seychelles auditorium at Anse Royale on Friday afternoon, as the Dalian University Art Troupe offered a glittering performance.

Present were the Chinese ambassador to Seychelles Her Excellency Yin Lixian, University of Seychelles’ (UniSey) vice-chancellor Dennis Hardy, lecturers, students, members of the local Chinese community and other art lovers.

The troupe from the beautiful coastal city of northeastern China which had arrived earlier the same morning had stopped in Seychelles as part of a tour of Africa and the Indian Ocean. Invited by the University of Seychelles, their ‘Charm of China’ show served as promotion for the Chinese language course which the university will be offering as from next year.

During one and a half hours which seemed to quickly elapse in only 10 minutes, the audience was gracefully carried through China’s 5,000-year history, on clouds of folk and also pop songs, music and dance which have evolved over the years.

The soft sounds were brought by the guitar as well as traditional Chinese violins, banjos and flutes, and a round tambourine-looking percussion instrument which also strangely resembles our own moutya drum. The master of ceremony confirmed that just as the moutya drum, it is of Arabic origin.

And when the troupe performed Jean Ally’s ‘Proud to be a Seychellois’ and was joined on stage by members of the National Choir, it sounded like the Seychellois traditions had been exported to China for a beautiful blend of the two cultures.

Talking to the attentive audience, ambassador Yin Lixian reminded of the long and deep existing friendship between the peoples of China and Seychelles. She remarked that culture is one of the most important elements of the relations between the two countries. She gave as examples the Seychelles-China Day and Chinese involvement in the Carnaval International de Victoria. As a result of the cultural exchanges she said, more Seychellois are becoming interested in Chinese art and culture.

Professor Hardy has on his side expressed hope that the cooperation between the two universities, of which the basis was laid during the visit of a UniSey delegation to China two years ago, will continue.

The Dalian University Arts Troupe which started as a choir in 1998 and consists of teachers as well as students, also regroups a traditional orchestra and a symphony, all incorporated into a conservatory of music and dance. Since its creation, other than its involvement in various Chinese festivals, it has performed in more than 20 countries worldwide.

The following are some of the photos taken by our photographer Louis Toussaint during the show.

M. Savy