2012: “Firebird” rehearsal German School EuroCampus: World-famous British dance veteran Royston Maldoom accepted Harmony Shanghai’s invitation to choreograph the third Community Dance project in China in 2016.

Under the choreography of world-famous Royston Maldoom 140 students aged 12 to 20 years from different Chinese and international schools will develop and present a professional performance of Carl Orff's "CARMINA BURANA". After an extensive six-week training period the dance will be staged on October 29th and 30th, 2016 at the Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre.

Shanghai, September 2016 – For the third time after 2012, world-famous British dance veteran Royston Maldoom will choreograph Harmony Shanghai's Community Dance project. 140 Students, 70 of them Chinese, from Cao Yang School Shanghai No 2 and Taicang school, 70 of them from German School, Lycée Français and Dulwich College as well as some Chinese employees of Marquardt and inclusion factory take part in the project. Though no dance or stage experience is required, the students, aged 12 to 20+, will be fully involved in creating the dance alongside their professional tutors.

Maldoom, who has become well known through the 2004 movie "Rhythm is it", will be supported by his team of professional choreographers, namely Volker Eisenach and Mia Sophia Bilitza, Ruth Pulgram as costume designer and world-class lighting designer Pete Ayres.

"Part of my aim, particularly in working with young people, is to awaken their minds to important issues as well as the joy and power of contemporary dance and classical music", says the choreographer.

Harmony Shanghai hosts the event as Production Company and SAIC Volkswagen is for the third time the main sponsor. The dancers will be accompanied by the An Hui Orchestra under the direction of Christian von Gehren as Orff Expert. Ticket sale starts after the "Golden Week" 2016 and tickets will be available at four different price categories at both Shanghai Poly Grand Theatre ticket office and the participating schools.

2016 rehearsal German School EuroCampus: In a six week training period, 140 Chinese and international students from five Shanghai and Taicang schools develop Carl Orff’s “CARMINA BURANA”. Copyright: Harmony Shanghai

The participating students will be led through an intensive six week training period, covering more than 120 hours in total, partly on weekends but also during the entire week of Chinese National holiday. Thanks to the support of 28 sponsors and partners, the project is completely free of charge for all participants. Also some workers of the handicapped workshop in Taicang will have the opportunity to benefit from this project. Due to the success and positive feedback in 2012 and 2014, the third public performances will be held.

 "Community Dance is about people enjoying dance, expressing themselves creatively and connecting to each other, it aims at inclusion through participation" explains Christa Kroeger Wang, CEO and founder of Harmony Shanghai. The students get a feeling of belonging, companionship and increasing understanding for each other, no matter where they come from. The ultimate aim is that each participant undergoes a process of personal, artistic and social discovery; an experience that is, so Kroeger Wang, "fundamental to their personality development".

Ling Jie Gu, a dancer of the 2014 performance sums it up: "I embarked on the ‘Rite of Spring' dance with reservation, but came out of it a confident person. This is the dance that is the embodiment of self-confidence boosting. As a freelance person myself, it surprised me how great the whole project was. The skeptic within has turned into someone accepting that no one knows what life would throw at us. It reminded me slightly that if one has the passion for something, he or she would have to look no further and subsequently carry on with his or her goals."