On 26^th, May, Mrs. Bethany Sootheran, an American dancing teacher in Suzhou, and her husband held a salon themed “Ballet and Contemporary Dance” with students and teachers in our school, prior to which the two guests have been warmly invited by International Exchange Division of SECEC to our school in April to have a brief understanding towards students learning on music and dance. After visiting the buildings and sites in our school, the two guests also observed a dancing class together with Mrs. Cai, leader from International Exchange Division of SECEC as well as Mrs. Gao, teaching instructor from the Art Department.

 The salon attracted more than 100 students and teachers. Leaders from Suzhou Radio and Television General Station also presented. Mrs. Bethany delivered a detailed and comprehensive speech at the very beginning, enabling the audience to have a better understanding on the similarities and differences between classical dance and contemporary dance, as well as the western dance and Chinese dance.

 The speech was followed by three sections: Q&A, Students Performance, and Teacher Performance.

Q&A Students have already prepared a series of questions covering different aspects. Some of them wanted to know more about Mrs. Bethany’s career experience, while others were eager to learn more on how to improve dancing skills, and there are a considerable number of students asking about the dance teaching philosophy in kindergarten. Mrs. Bethany, who was touched by students’ enthusiasm, answered all these questions by speaking as well as performing.

Students Performance Two pieces of dances brought the salon into a hilarious atmosphere, especially one of which combined Qipao and moon-shaped fan from the east, and the ballet style actions as well as flute from the west.

Mrs. Bethany was deeply impressed by students’ dancing performance, and demonstrated that facial expressions and eye contact are essential to professional dancers. She also maintained that more mutual understanding is needed between dancers in group dancing, which makes it more unified in form and spirit. 

Teacher Performance Dressed in white and covered in red silk which symbolized the continuation of life, Mrs. Bethany brought a beautiful piece of dance “If You’ve Ever Seen Them” for the audience. The dance, which was invited to attend the Suzhou 2020 International Grand Talent Show, was themed with commemoration of anti-COVID-19 heroes and told the story of the difficult year 2020. Her dance won a heated applause from both students and teachers.

The salon came to an end in joy and laughter. We sincerely hope to enrich students’ knowledge and experience in their academic study, as well as to provide a platform for sharing and communication through this salon. Hope you all enjoy it!