Here are a few more rehearsal pictures from my time in Shanghai!
The rehearsal process was interesting, and very unlike any process I have been part of before. The language barriers between the tutors and ourselves meant the style of teaching was definitely more of imitation rather than really understanding the part of style.
There was little room for explanation, and often we would watch the tutor, and then copy the movement, or phrase of a song. This would be followed by the student repeating the movement upwards of 10 times, as perfection, or as close too, was definitely the aim here.
Despite the lanuage barrier, the relationship between tutor and student was quite strict. One tutor in particular got really quite exasperated and shouted at us a lot, though most of it was lost on us as it was said in Chinese. I wondered if this was mainly founded in the frustrations of a language barrier, or if it was just a style of teaching I wasn't used to. Throughout the three weeks I had my hair pulled and arms slapped into the correct position - all in relatively good humour for the most part I must add - but still such a contrast to anything I'd find or expect in my University workshops. Really I expect it was that they wanted us to really acknowledge and appreciate how hard Jingju is!
Despite this one tutor, I did find a very special relationship with the female tutor teaching my part. We couldn't really communicate via language at all, but we still managed to understand each other through physicality and expression, and often found ourselves having a laugh with each other.
The discipline and aim for 'perfection' was overall an admirable thing in my eyes, and something I think all the students took away from the experience.
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