Feature: Back to stage, foreign dancers look back at time during epidemic in China

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, September 28, 2020
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HANGZHOU, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- When the curtain of night fell and the lights came on, Mariano Fredes, an Argentine acrobat who now lives in China, started performing with a rope under the spotlight at the center of the stage, sending the audience into loud applause.

Several months ago, there were no performers or visitors around, leaving the theater deserted. COVID-19 had taken its toll on performances.

Mariano, together with his 56 dancer colleagues from 19 countries, works at "Longemont Paradise," a theme park located in Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province.

When the epidemic broke out, Mariano was overwhelmed by uncertainty and fear for being in a foreign land. However, he chose to stay in China.

During quarantine, Mariano and his colleagues lived in a hotel provided by the company. To be in top physical form, they stretched themselves inside their rooms.

What impressed him most was the way the company looked after them.

"They provided food and water everyday," Mariano recalled. "They even offered a list of supermarket goods for us to choose."

"There was no performance at all, but we received our salary. We are grateful for being taken good care of all the time," he said. "China is the country that best controlled the pandemic, and I feel blessed that I stayed."

Anna Terentyeva, a dancer in the theme park, left her homeland Ukraine for China over three years ago. Several months ago, her grandmother contracted COVID-19, but fortunately recovered.

"It was very scary, especially because we were far apart," said Anna.

Despite the bleak situation, the foreign dancers didn't feel lonely in China. Sharing films, music and being together helped them during the hard time.

"It's amazing that we struck a strong bond. Sometimes we just needed a place to share our feelings and thoughts. People were there for one another," said Anna.

Many of the foreign dancers do not speak Chinese. However, they say when the lights and music come on, they can interact with the audience through their eyes.

"I can see it when they get impressed or sometimes feel edgy during the show. The best moment for me is when I finish the feat in the sky and land safely, hearing the cheers and applause in the dark," said Mariano with a smile. "That is the time when I feel really connected with the Chinese audience." Enditem

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