Feature: Namibian dancers cherish training experience in China

For Ester Neshani and Michael Matheus Tuhafeni, the recent two-week training programme in China was really a fruit-bearing experience that widens their horizons.

"I learned of different things not just the music but the way of life and the Chinese spirit of hard work and doing things on time," said Tuhafeni in an interview with Xinhua.

The two students from the Windhoek College of Arts went to China as part of efforts of strengthening cultural exchange between China and Africa. They were in a group of six Africans, two of them from Zambia and two from Congo Brazzaville who attended the two-week course at an arts and cultural school in Nanjing, eastern China.

"The training I got there has already helped me a lot with composing of music because I was introduced to different music genre, and their teaching methods helped," said Tuhafeni, who aspires to become a music educator after graduation.

According to Tuhafeni, the course was very "hands-on" because of the short time they had and the material they had to cover which was mainly based on Hebei (one of Chinese northern province) folk songs and Jiangsu (one of Chinese southern province) folk songs.

"we also learned a popular song called 'The Moon Represents My Heart.' And I also taught Namibian folk songs so it was a busy two weeks for me," Tuhafeni said.

While Neshani described the Chinese people as being "very curious about African culture," he got excited when he saw Chinese female dancers perform African dances he taught them.

"These are fond memories I will relish for the rest of my life, " he said.

They taught Chinese students African singing and dancing, which is participatory and is performed both at festivals and at funerals or is used to recite history.

Apart from Tuhafeni and Ester, the popular Namibian cappella group Vocal Motion 6 (VM6) also had a tour to Beijing, Tianjin, Chengdu and Hefei in 2013 and between 2012 and 2013 two Namibian painters where also in Hangzhou and Nanjing for the project of "African Painters Come to China for Guest Creation," as part of the two-way cultural agreement.

This year marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Namibia and China.

Over the past six months there were a series of cultural exchanges that included the Chinese art troupe the Nanjing Little Red Flowers Art Troupe performing at the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN). Endi