A Fresh Start Through Art rural Children Gain Access to an Arts education

TO the casual observer， Duancun， located 100 kilometers from Beijing in Hebei Province， is a wholly unremarkable town. A narrow， dusty road meanders through the old town center； gardens stretch out behind residences， in which a variety of vegetables are grown， and recently harvested crops dry in the sun on rooftops and pathways.

But Duancun has a remarkable secret. Visit the town on the weekend and walk down the main street， and you’ll hear delicate music wafting over you. It’s not the humdrum loudspeaker monotone， a relic of China’s revolutionary past， still heard at sunrise and sunset in many towns. Rather， Duancun’s melodiousness is a sign of China’s revolutionary future： a countryside filled with music and the arts.

The music originates from Xiti Primary School. There， young pupils work on their scales， join forces in an orchestra， and sing in a choir. The full range of instruments – clarinets， violins， trumpets and all the rest – is on offer， and children are free to choose their favorite. As practice time begins， their dulcet tones light up the whole town.

It wasn’t always this way. Duancun has benefited in recent years from efforts by the Beijing Hefeng Art Foundation to popularize and promote arts education in the countryside. Li Feng， the foundation’s founder， says that an education in the arts makes children proud， confident and creative. For those from disadvantaged backgrounds， the arts can also be a daily respite. In cooperation with rural schools， Li and his colleagues send volunteers and professional teachers to the countryside， and also train local educators to provide children with music， dance， painting and drama lessons. Furthermore， the foundation provides schools with musical instruments， painting kits， instruction booklets and many other items the children need to get involved in the arts.

Sowing Seeds of Art

Liu Yipeng is a pupil with a passion for music. She still gets excited when talking about auditions for the village orchestra in December 2012. It was a windy winter’s day， she said. Parents accompanied their budding virtuosos from all across the village to try out. Many turned up just to witness what was a historical event for the town.

Li Feng brought in an old 20-inch TV from the town’s government offices to show people what a professional orchestral performance looked like. For many， it was the first time they had seen such a performance. Many questioned why the orchestra members were so formally dressed when they came on stage， but they were soon awed to silence by the beautiful melody. When the performance ended， Li Feng informed the crowd they had just heard Beethoven’s Egmont Overture.

Liu Yipeng said she was touched by the music， and especially by the performance of the lead clarinetist. “It was actually the first time I learned that there is such an instrument，” she added. That day， all the children present registered to join Li Feng’s orchestra.

Now， out of the 600 primary school students in Duancun Town， 260 regularly attend the free classes in the arts. Every weekend， professional teacherscum-volunteers from the Central Conservatory of Music， the Central Academy of Drama， the Beijing Dance Academy， Beijing Normal University and a number of other institutions make the trip to Duancun to teach.

Liu Yipeng said she was very nervous when she took her first music class. She was afraid she would break the instrument. During class， she was all eyes and ears； her teacher， after all， was a professional musician. Her mother， Feng Hongli， would sit quietly by as an observer， taking notes. “If she forgot an exercise or a technique later at home， I had my notes， and I would explain things again to her，” she said.

In Yipeng’s mother’s eyes， learning a skill – any skill – can only be a good thing. She had wanted to send her daughter to music class a few years ago， but at that time there were no qualified teachers in the village. Going to the next town to study was out of the question. Now， a musical education， once only a dream in this part of China， is a reality， and a calling for many.

Liu Yipeng sits by the mill in her yard after dinner every day to practice the clarinet for one hour. After only four classes， she could play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was so enthused by her early success that she went over to her grandparents’ house and performed it over and over again. Her grandparents were delighted.

Liu Yipeng knows more than one song these days. She continues to look forward to her classes， which take place every weekend. She still performs for relatives and friends， and tells them everything she knows about the clarinet at the same time. She’s a fast learner， her teacher says， and she’s grown more confident in both performance and general conversation as a result of her new-found passion. She’s even got a fan – her five-year-old brother. A love for music has spread throughout her family. When her mother goes out to work in the field， she often takes a tape player with her to listen to symphonies.

The Arts， More Than Skills

For Li Feng， head of the Hefeng Arts Foundation， promoting an arts education represents more than just teaching children a new set of skills. “The arts grant people an insight into the best of humanity’s cultural achievements. For those who practice a discipline， the arts improve their work ethic and aesthetic perception. Confidence is boosted， and creativity is fostered. There’s no downside， and the experience of learning lasts a lifetime，” Li said.

“Our Hefeng Arts Foundation is initiating a basic program calling for more attention to arts education. We aim for its promotion and development and to push forward the ‘spiritual progress’ and prosperity of the nation.”

“I have been asked by many people why we lobby for the arts in rural areas， where some people still experience food shortages and other basic livelihood issues. I tell them that the arts could be an elixir to the problems. As Mother Teresa said， people’s lack of hope is the main reason for poverty. The arts can endow the unfortunate with an optimistic attitude， and can fill a society with hope for the future，” Li added.

“Whenever I have time， I rent a minibus and take my city friends to Duancun. I want them to know and understand what I am doing， what my career means.”

Even the parents of children who attend arts classes have had misgivings about the point of it all. Under the program， children get free musical instruments. But their parents worry about other costs of their participating， like metronomes and oil for wind instruments. Some want their children to give up instruments because of such factors. To ease parents’worries， a committee was set up to take on board their concerns and solve financial issues with support measures.

Teachers from Beijing have tried many methods to arouse the artistic passion of Duancun’s children. In ballet class， for instance， practicing flexibility is always a start， but the dullness and pains it brings always scare children away. Guan Yu， the secretary of the Ballet Dancing Department at the Beijing Dance Academy， introduced children to the rules of ballet etiquette for his first class， rather than making them do contortionist-like stretching exercises. He taught them that ballet originated in the royal court in France， and hence there are strict standards concerning dancers’ gestures， dress and general behavior. From the third lesson， Guan started rehearsals for a performance of Dance of the Four Little Swans from Swan Lake. Staff were amazed by the children’s progress. A month later the budding ballet troupe held its first performance. Needless to say， the production wasn’t world class， but it was nonetheless a special occasion – and a wild success –for all involved.

Furthemore， Guan had achieved his aim. “I want them to be interested in ballet and enjoy it – nothing more.” Later when Guan began to introduce stretching exercises， no one “pulled out” of the class. On the rare occasion that Guan couldn’t hold class， one of the students would step up to lead it. Guan says that as long as ballet in Duancun continues to promote art for arts sake， as well as beauty and values， the skills are unimportant.

Painting teacher Li Ping says he was excited about his time teaching in Duancun. “I was completely new to teaching rural children，” he adds. He tried new ways to teach them and asked the kids to draw whatever they wanted instead of adopting the traditional“sketch and lines” approach. Baiyangdian Lake， close to the town， is full of lotuses， and many of the children drew the lotus for their first painting. Li then taught the children that art can be interpretation –distinct from real life – and that their lotuses could be perfectly round， or square， or in any other shape.

The rural children’s powers of imagination surprised Li Ping. So impressed was he that he helped organize a showcasing of their paintings on a school wall. It marked the first art exhibition ever held in the town. Many visitors came， and parents whose children hadn’t attended the class before quickly signed their little Michelangelos up.

Of the exhibition， Li Feng said， “When the wall of a rural school becomes a space for children’s artistic imaginations to run wild， the metaphorical wall between the countryside and the city falls.”

Volunteer Spirit

“For arts education in rural areas to mature will require years and years of work on our part. There is no similar experience to follow in China. But if we don’t devote ourselves to the arts now， when will we？” Li Feng said.

His foundation has faced obstacles， such as a shortage of funds， villagers’ doubts and suspicions， and a lack of support from some parts of local government. But Li Feng has never given up on his goal of making the arts accessible to everyone. Every week he has experiences that inspire him to stay committed.

One weekend， after finishing classes in Beijing， he took some local ballet teachers on a visit to Duancun. Walking down the main street， a woman whom he’d never met ran over and handed each member of his group a bottle of water. Without saying a word， she turned round， and ran away. Later， he found out she was the parent of a ballet student， and very grateful for the work he was doing.

“The raw emotion of it touched me，” he said.

On another occasion， a professor of music from Baoding， a city in the same province， came to Li Feng having heard about his work and offered his teaching services free of charge every weekend.

Li Feng hopes that one day， all villages in China will revel in the arts. “Children learn artistic skills and then influence their parents. The result positively impacts the whole of rural society. The arts are crucial in any humanistic society， and spreading art， music， dance and all the rest brings joy， hope， culture and understanding to the most remote regions. It’s an upward spiral.”

Li Feng is not just spouting ideals. He was himself skeptical about the worthiness of his project at the beginning. His opinion changed when he witnessed a stark change in the mindset of the children he taught.

In recent times， many local governments from around China have caught wind of the experience of Duancun and invited the Hefeng Foundation into their villages. Some enterprises have promised to fund the expansion of the foundation’s work. Li Feng hopes for Duancun to become a model for a comprehensive system of arts education in the countryside.

While the Hefeng Foundation looks set to roll out arts education nationwide， Li Feng is looking to deepen the scope of their work. He is already work- ing on developing an ebook with cartoon characters to introduce children to the arts. “The different characters in the book are to represent different art forms， and the stories told through them will hopefully pique children’s interest.”

An ebook is crucial because teachers and volunteers are unable to cover the whole country， especially very remote villages. Electronic learning materials can – with proper funding – reach everyone.

How long will it be before a comprehensive system is built and everyone in China has access to topquality arts education？ Li Feng answers frankly：“Maybe two to three hundred years. It’ll be longer than my lifetime， that’s for sure， but at least I’m doing my part.” Hopefully there’ll be no shortage of volunteers in future years to ensure Li’s dream is realized.