<B>Modern dance taps onto public stage</B><BR>By CHEN JIE fvrom The China Daily<P><BR>Modern dance lovers are setting their sights on a variety of new shows this month with the 4th Beijing Modern Dance Festival that kicked off yesterday. <BR>Jointly organized by the Beijing Dance Association and the Beijing Modern Dance Company and sponsored by the Beijing Bakeshu Cultural & Arts Company, the festival has attracted four professional modern dance ensembles from home and abroad and nearly 20 non-professional groups. They will perform until May 28. <P>Beijing Modern Dance Company brought shows to nine universities in Beijing last month. <P>At each of the nine colleges, the seats were sold out, and many students had to stand at the back or in the halls.<P><A HREF="http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2002-05-06/68664.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR>

<B>'Thunderstorm' audiences thunderstruck</B><BR>by CHEN JIE in The China Daily<P><BR>It was a scorching evening in Beijing's early summer. A loud "thunderstorm" of applause fell on the Experimental Theatre of Beijing Modern Dance Company as the packed audience of theatre-goers expressed their approval of the performance. <BR>One week later, the "thunderstorm" moved to the Shanghai Grand Theatre after a performance of a modern dance drama entitled "Thunder and Rain" thrilled the audience and stirred approval ratings within the Chinese dance circle. <P>Led by choreographer Wang Mei, the undergraduates of the modern dance department of the Beijing Academy of Dance will continue to bring the full-length modern dance drama down south to the Nanjing Culture & Arts Centre on June 7 and 8 and to the Guangzhou Friendship Theatre on June 14 and 15. <P><A HREF="http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2002-06-06/72615.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR>

<B>Festival marks progress</B><BR>By CHEN JIE for The China Daily<P><BR>Petite Huang Ying travelled back to her hometown of Guilin from Beijing with an excited heart. <BR>She was encouraged, because Willy Tsao, a well-known Chinese modern dance choreographer and artistic director with the Beijing Modern Dance Company hailed her as a success "Chinese Isadora Duncan" for her dance "The Little Donkey" at the Fourth Beijing Modern Dance Festival last month. <P>Huang's three-member "March Dance Studio" was one of 18 non-professional groups that participated in the "Youth Dance Showcase" during the festival, while four years ago only three participated in the event. <P>Today, the festival, and in particular the "Youth Dance Showcase" event, has intrigued young and amateur dancers across the country.<P><A HREF="http://www1.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2002-06-18/74150.html" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>