The dance troupe of a leading Chinese high school touring the UK held their opening performance at the Longton Hall, Sydenham High School on 4^th February.  RDFZ, a High School affiliated to Renmin University in Beijing will also perform at venues including Wellington College and Cambridge University during their stay.

The performances, featuring traditional Chinese dances and martial arts, were interspersed with singing of traditional English and Chinese songs.  The dances were inspired by the folklore and lives of minority groups across China included a Torch Festival in July and Youth Ambition.  The singing demonstrated a broad range of styles and included a beautiful rendition of Danny Boy and Panis Angelicus.

RDFZ presented Kathryn Pullen, Headteacher, Sydenham High School with a calligraphy scroll made by their students inscribed with Chinese characters that mean ‘ Never tire of learning’.  The school presented each of the visitors with a copy of the school’s recent cd, Joyfully Sing, recorded by the Sydenham High choir during their recent tour of Venice.

The dance event was videostreamed to all classrooms in the school and nationally to schools across the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST).

Kathryn Pullen commented “we are very honoured that RDFZ chose us as their first tour date in the UK.  Some of us saw them perform two years ago in London and I knew seeing this performance would illuminate our students learning about Chinese culture and history”.