Do you think people generally prefer to go to a concert or to listen to recordings of music?
Generally, the majority would prefer to listen to recordings of music. It’s much easy to get and every one could afford the money and time. Besides, concert is concert. It’s live, and it’s one-time. You get there, you listen to it, and it’s over. Recordings can be listened to for many times. People choose to listen to their favorite recordings at any time, any place they like to.
The Performing Arts and Children
What is the value of watching artistic performance (or experiencing artistic activities) in relation to children's development?
Beauty education is important in children’s development. Watching artistic performance or experiencing artistic activities is a good way to have such an education. It helps children to build up their understanding of this world. They get to know what is beautiful and what is ugly, which is good for their growing-up. But there is one thing we have to be careful about. That is to choose the proper performance and activities, improper ones could only lead to a bad education.
What is the value of children learning to perform, such as learning to sing or dance in front of an audience?
It depends on if the child him/herself likes to do it or not. If it’s his/her own willingness to learn, it’s a hobby. Learning to perform will be a pleasant experience. Knowing how to perform could be a treasure for the child’s future development. Performing could be a well-paid occupation. However, if it’s not the child’s own wish to learn, it could be torture and I don’t think the child could get anything positive from the learning.
Do you think the performing arts should be included in school curriculums? (Why?/ Why not?)
Performing arts should be included in school curriculums as an optional course, but not a compulsive one. If it’s optional, students with interest can choose to attend the course and develop their performing talent. For students who are not that involved in performing, they can have enough freedom not to choose to attend the course. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time for those who don’t like performing.
Do boys and girls have the same feelings/attitudes about performing (or watching) an artistic performance?
For me, it’s a little blind to give a yes-or-no answer to this question. Well, if there is difference, I see it as the difference between individuals, but not between boys and girls.
But…well, yes, I guess it’s easier for girls to get involved and become part of the story. I remember when I watched the play Cinderella many years ago, I cried when Cinderella was being tortured, but the boy sitting next to me didn’t.
Who do you think is more suited to learning how to dance - boys or girls?
It’s hard to say. We have female dancers as well as many successful male ones dancing on the world stage. I mean male dancers can achieve as high as females dancers do. However it is a fact that more girls are learning how to dance at an early age than boys. The Chinese thinking is like this. Girls have to be pretty, and dancing girls are just fancy. But for boys people hold different expectations. Boys are expected to be playful and tough. It is not seen as a right thing for boys to learn how to dance..
