Home
» City specials
» Hangzhou
City volunteer troupe puts on lively shows
By Xu Wenwen |
June 28, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
WHEN distinguished Yueju Opera star Tang Yuqi takes her final bow to a huge ovation in a charity gala, booking agents follow her backstage and ask how much she charges for a performance.
But 76-year-old Tang declines commercial performances and says she performs exclusively with the Hangzhou Volunteer Troupe.
"I feel young and happy when I serve as a volunteer, and I think this kind of volunteering is what senior people need," she tells Shanghai Daily.
Tang, the eldest member of the team, trains volunteers in the troupe's Yueju Opera team but she doesn't accept paying students from outside the troupe.
She is one of the thousands of members of the Hangzhou Volunteer Troupe, a government-owned entertainment troupe, which gives around 40 free shows citywide every year.
It was established in 2002 and its shows range from opera to pop songs to traditional Chinese folk music and dance.
All shows are free.
They mainly perform on holidays and weekends in communities and in city squares. In July and August they provide two gala shows a week in the city's air-raid shelters that are crowded with citizens escaping the heat.
The Hangzhou Volunteer Troupe includes 21 teams, including nine from local communities, and 12 specialized groups such as dance and singing group. Each group has tens or even hundreds of members. Some people volunteer in management and logistics.
Every year, the troupe receives a subsidy of around 10,000 yuan (US$1,544) from the city government, mostly covering transport and meals. Volunteers pay for their own costumes, instruments, props and other things.
No one is paid.
The head of the Hangzhou Volunteer Troupes is Li Huizhong, a producer at a TV station, who gets only four days off a month. He has led the group for thepast four years.
"Being busy is natural to me," Li says. "My life would be filled with mundane work and entertainment without this charity part."
Li and other volunteer managers connect communities, performers, sponsors and media.
Performers don't just show up on stage, they rehearse regularly, train new recruits, collect and maintain their costumes, props, instruments and various gear.
Jiang Hongping, a keyboard man, knows that he's going to be performing in air-raid shelters in July and August and face, as usual, an access problem. The queues in front of the shelters often stretch more than 100 meters.
"There's a narrow path that cars can't get through and every time when the sun is at its fiercest, we have to carry all the heavy instruments, like the drum set, electric organ and guitars on our backs into the shelter," says Jiang.
Jiang, who manages a musical instrument store, has been the lead vocal and trainer of the band for four years. In his store he sets aside an area for rehearsal. He also organizes his child students to give free musical shows in Qingchun Square on summer evenings.
"I do this work to feel that I'm doing something socially meaningful," says Jiang. "As a musician, I always feel good when the audience responds and applauds to the music."
These volunteer performers believe that they bring people happiness, which is as important as helping people with disabilities or showing visitors around - traditional types of charity work.
During the May 2008 earthquake that devastated Sichuan Province, Li was on-site reporting news and he met Xie Zhenhua, another volunteer performer who took 16 of his relatives and friends to Sichuan to help.
Li and Xie immediately decided to perform for survivors.
After inquiring about what was needed, Li, Xie and the 16 relatives and friends helped deliver food, put up tents and care for wounded people during the daytime in Guangyuan. In the evening, they put on simple shows.
"We read news, told jokes, sang songs and played games with children," Li recalls. "It was demanding since the victims were very sensitive and we had to avoid any vocabulary or actions that would distress them.
"But once we saw a smile on face that had been tense all day, even an instant smile, we knew our work was worthwhile," Li says.
They stayed a week, as long as they could, until they ate all the provisions they had brought for themselves.
"To dedicate yourself to others brings joy as I knew many volunteers in our Hangzhou Troupe are in the habit of helping others," says Li.
He cites a young man who would help foreigners negotiate the Hangzhou subway shuttles and two buses to get to their destinations.
And the troupe keeps growing in size; most of the newcomers are people who watched the shows and decided they wanted to get involved.
But 76-year-old Tang declines commercial performances and says she performs exclusively with the Hangzhou Volunteer Troupe.
"I feel young and happy when I serve as a volunteer, and I think this kind of volunteering is what senior people need," she tells Shanghai Daily.
Tang, the eldest member of the team, trains volunteers in the troupe's Yueju Opera team but she doesn't accept paying students from outside the troupe.
She is one of the thousands of members of the Hangzhou Volunteer Troupe, a government-owned entertainment troupe, which gives around 40 free shows citywide every year.
It was established in 2002 and its shows range from opera to pop songs to traditional Chinese folk music and dance.
All shows are free.
They mainly perform on holidays and weekends in communities and in city squares. In July and August they provide two gala shows a week in the city's air-raid shelters that are crowded with citizens escaping the heat.
The Hangzhou Volunteer Troupe includes 21 teams, including nine from local communities, and 12 specialized groups such as dance and singing group. Each group has tens or even hundreds of members. Some people volunteer in management and logistics.
Every year, the troupe receives a subsidy of around 10,000 yuan (US$1,544) from the city government, mostly covering transport and meals. Volunteers pay for their own costumes, instruments, props and other things.
No one is paid.
The head of the Hangzhou Volunteer Troupes is Li Huizhong, a producer at a TV station, who gets only four days off a month. He has led the group for thepast four years.
"Being busy is natural to me," Li says. "My life would be filled with mundane work and entertainment without this charity part."
Li and other volunteer managers connect communities, performers, sponsors and media.
Performers don't just show up on stage, they rehearse regularly, train new recruits, collect and maintain their costumes, props, instruments and various gear.
Jiang Hongping, a keyboard man, knows that he's going to be performing in air-raid shelters in July and August and face, as usual, an access problem. The queues in front of the shelters often stretch more than 100 meters.
"There's a narrow path that cars can't get through and every time when the sun is at its fiercest, we have to carry all the heavy instruments, like the drum set, electric organ and guitars on our backs into the shelter," says Jiang.
Jiang, who manages a musical instrument store, has been the lead vocal and trainer of the band for four years. In his store he sets aside an area for rehearsal. He also organizes his child students to give free musical shows in Qingchun Square on summer evenings.
"I do this work to feel that I'm doing something socially meaningful," says Jiang. "As a musician, I always feel good when the audience responds and applauds to the music."
These volunteer performers believe that they bring people happiness, which is as important as helping people with disabilities or showing visitors around - traditional types of charity work.
During the May 2008 earthquake that devastated Sichuan Province, Li was on-site reporting news and he met Xie Zhenhua, another volunteer performer who took 16 of his relatives and friends to Sichuan to help.
Li and Xie immediately decided to perform for survivors.
After inquiring about what was needed, Li, Xie and the 16 relatives and friends helped deliver food, put up tents and care for wounded people during the daytime in Guangyuan. In the evening, they put on simple shows.
"We read news, told jokes, sang songs and played games with children," Li recalls. "It was demanding since the victims were very sensitive and we had to avoid any vocabulary or actions that would distress them.
"But once we saw a smile on face that had been tense all day, even an instant smile, we knew our work was worthwhile," Li says.
They stayed a week, as long as they could, until they ate all the provisions they had brought for themselves.
"To dedicate yourself to others brings joy as I knew many volunteers in our Hangzhou Troupe are in the habit of helping others," says Li.
He cites a young man who would help foreigners negotiate the Hangzhou subway shuttles and two buses to get to their destinations.
And the troupe keeps growing in size; most of the newcomers are people who watched the shows and decided they wanted to get involved.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
