Toeing a joyful line at summer dance school

ISTD chairman Christopher Bannerman with student Zhou Qianqian.

That kind of need is what brought ISTD to China, according to its chairman, Christopher Bannerman, who has had a long career as a dancer and choreographer.

"We have been planning this summer school in Beijing for a long time. I am happy to take ISTD to China on the occasion of its 110-year-old birthday," says Bannerman. "We have more than 7,500 members in over 75 countries around the world. We hope China will become our next member."

From ballet to ballroom, the organization covers the full spectrum of dance genres and has provided training for teachers and examiners.

Thanks to his father, who researches Chinese philosophy, Bannerman has been interested in China since childhood and he learned Chinese in Beijing a year ago.

"I've watched some Chinese folk-dance performances in Beijing, and I am thinking about introducing Chinese folk dance to ISTD and having more people in the world learn it," he says. "We believe that dance is a universal language and it has the power to break down the barriers of language and culture."

As an educational charity, ISTD offered a scholarship for a Chinese student, Zhang Bozhi, for the summer program.

During the past three years, the 20-year-old Zhang, who comes from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and is studying dance at Beijing Normal University, has been giving ballet classes to migrant children near Changping district in Beijing. Before taking part in the ballet classes of ISTD, Zhang had just returned from Daliangshan Mountain, Sichuan province, after teaching a 15-day ballet class for students of local Yi ethnic group there.

"Everyone should have access to dance. That is one of the core values of ISTD, and I cannot agree more," she says. "I hope more people will find happiness from dancing."