Young performers improvise by performing kungfu moves set to ballet music at the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing on October 15 (TAO XING)  

What kind of spark can you expect when China's dynamic martial art of kungfu meets the gracious subtlety of Russian ballet? The answer was unveiled on October 15 when students and dancers of the Chinese Wuyue Kungfu School and Russian FUETTE dance studio were invited to showcase their talent and skills at the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing, capital of China. Highlight of the show came when all the youngest performers were invited to improvise by performing kungfu moves set to ballet music.  

Kasyanova Tamara Leonidovna, the center's director, said that both kungfu and ballet are outstanding examples of time-honored performance arts. "We hope this type of activity can facilitate the communication between kungfu and ballet, as well as a profounder interaction between the two countries," she said. 

Tian Jiajun, founder of the Kungfu School, said, "We hope to travel to Russia to continue our dialogue there in the future."  

Vitaly Shhepinin, executive director of the Russian Cultural Center, and Tian shared some lesser-known facts of Russian Ballet and Chinese kungfu, respectively, with the guests in attendance.  

Kungfu and ballet aside, the event featured several other performances, such as a recital fusing piano and guqin, a plucked seven-string traditional Chinese instrument. 

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon  

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