Before sunset, dancers prancing to the brisk beats of the Djembe drum on the playground, with teachers and students cheering and running around in excitement.
This was a performance by Abbe Dance Company in an international school in Beijing. To pick a word that best describes it, that would be “integration”: It was performed by a troupe founded by a Chinese lady and her African husband; the performance featured a dance with typical African Djembe drums in a school in China; dancers and drummers from both China and Africa were dressed in traditional African attires; the teachers and students with various skin colors were in high spirits… The Chinese culture has been magically blended with the African culture and the global culture as a whole.Abbe Dance Company performs at a school in Beijing
It was Chinese performing artist Jiang Keyu and her husband, Cameroonian dancer Simon Abbe who founded the Abbe Dance Company. In 2005, Jiang Keyu was selected into a Chinese-Cameroonian cultural collaboration project as a dance teacher, and took on the job of revitalizing the Cameroon National Ballet. She embedded elements of Taichi and Chinese folk dance in her teaching, along with thoughts rooted in ideas and philosophies from Taichi and Daoism. Simon Abbe was one of the dancers who entered the training program tutored by Jiang Keyu.![]()
Jiang Keyu and Simon Abbe teach young people dance in Cameroon [source: Xinhua]
After three years of dedicated efforts, the Cameroon National Ballet has rejuvenated itself from the brink of bankruptcy. In 2008, the young troupe performed an original dance in the Africa Night event around the time of the Beijing Olympics, as a special gift for China.Performance in the African Night event in 2008 [source: Internet]
Of course, such bonds are not limited to dance or a few decades. The scroll that records Chinese-African cultural communication and collaboration unfolds back to the Han dynasty.
Back in the 14th century, Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta started his exploration in China along the ancient Silk Road. He wrote about busy Chinese ports, and the fine bamboo crafts, lacquerware, and silk of China. In the 15th century, Chinese admiral Zheng He sailed as far as the east coast of the African continent, and his close and direct interactions with local residents have left warm memories there.[source: Internet]
Since the 21st century, along with the establishment of the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation, the two sides have seen more extensive and in-depth cooperation in people-to-people exchanges. Chinese TV series like Minning Town have been welcomed in African countries, projects including the Shaolin Temple cultural center in Zambia and the Luban Workshop have won applause; exchange activities like the China-Africa Youth Festival have become increasingly influential. In these, people can see closer bonds between China and Africa.the Shaolin Temple cultural center in Zambia [source: Xinhua]
The 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has been held on schedule. Leaders of China and African countries have gathered in Beijing again after six years. We expect this meeting to open a new and more colorful chapter in the era of cultural communication between China and Africa.
How can we not be delighted to have friends coming from Africa? We dance with joy, and find our hearts connected.
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