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3 September 2008

Pretoria: The Chongqing artistic troupe from the People's Republic of China stunned their South African audience with their brilliant performance of a repertoire called "Greetings from the Yangtze River" at the State Theatre last night. Significantly, the visit by the troupe coincides with our heritage month celebrations under the theme "Celebrating our dance, our heritage."

Guests at the opening night expressed their admiration especially for the acrobatic performance by young girls. The repertoire included the showcasing of traditional Chinese musical instruments, which was a novelty and unique experience for the audience. The troupe will give one more performance in Pretoria tonight at 19h00 before proceeding to other cities. The troupe's tour to South Africa is hosted by the Department of Arts and Culture. All performances are free of charge and the public is invited to attend.

Addressing guests at the reception function, the Director-General of the Department of Arts and Culture, Mr Themba Wakashe said that the visit by the Chinese art troupe is part of the "celebrations of 10 years of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of South Africa and the People's Republic of China."

"Our respective governments will endeavour to further enhance the existing partnership between the two countries by recognising the need to increase cultural exchanges and thereby promoting people to people interaction," Mr Wakashe further stated.

According to his Excellency, Ambassador Zhong Jianhau, the tour by the troupe is a golden opportunity to showcase the rich Chinese culture and consolidate cultural relations between the two countries.

The troupe will continue their performance tour in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Details of their performances are as follows:

* Cape Town – Jameson Hall University of Cape Town (UCT), 5 to 6 September
* Durban – The Playhouse, 9 to 10 September
* Johannesburg – The Lyric Theatre, 12 September

All performances start at 19h00.

Public enquiries on the performances:
Ms Lerato Maboea
Cell: 082 389 3978

Media enquiries:
Mack Lewele
Cell: 082 450 5076

Issued by: Department of Arts and Culture
3 September 2008