Life of Guangzhou - Sino-French Cultural Festival Freshens the Spring

Au revoir La Francophonie Festival at the end of March, Guangzhou welcomes another cultural program in this spring and will last for the coming 3 months.

Croisements/Jiaoliu 2008, a Sino-French festival composed of music, theatre, dance, visual art, and literature, held a press conference at the Guangdong Museum of Art on April 8. [Schedule]

At the press conference (lifeofguangzhou.com)

Deputy Consul General Mme Laurence introduced that, started from 2006, the annual festival provides a good platform for the public to see and experience popular creations at their best in China. They also invite creatives and Chinese experts to visit France – and reciprocally – hold seminars, classes, workshops, spectacles and exhibitions in France.

This year over 100 events are being organized in China's 18 cities like Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Qingdao, Chengdu, Shenzhen, ect.. The opera "Le Roi d'Ys" (The King of d'Ys) opened on April 3 at the Beijing-based National Grand Theater and the festival will continue until June 15.

In Guangzhou, the events cover fields of photography show, blending dance, performance art, design exhibition and jazz music. The opening show is "Récital" which merges Hip Hop and modern dance on April 11.

Stage photo of the "Récital"

Mr. Pierre Jean, art director of the festival said that the program in 2008 is much better and more interesting than before – much more participating cities and greater quantity of participants with higher passion of participation

He also added that France's Lyon, Breast and Montpellier are sister cities of Guangzhou, Qingdao and Chengdu respectively. In additional to the Croisements, La Francophonie Festival in each March, French-speaking Documentaries Festival and French Reading Festival in each December help to enhance the communication between the two countries.

Website: www.festival-croisements.cn

(By Jessie Hwang)

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