Local expats now have a chance to learn the water sleeves dance seen in traditional Chinese operas at the Citizen Night School's autumn semester from the Shanghai Huaiju Opera Troupe, the night school said on Thursday.
Registrations will start at 10am on Friday on the page of the 市民夜校 (Citizen Night School), whose link is at the bottom of its WeChat account 上海市群众艺术馆 (Shanghai Mass Art Center) (in Chinese only).
For the new semester, the school offers a total of 38 offline courses and five online livestreaming courses at its main campus, the Shanghai Mass Art Center, including the water sleeves dance course for foreigners.
A total of 390 courses will be given at the main campus, 25 branches and 117 teaching points, covering various arts and skills. There will be 15 "Cloud Class" programs providing recorded courses.
A performer with the Shanghai Huaiju Opera Troupe dances with water sleeves.
Water sleeves, or shuixiu in Chinese, refer to white silk extensions to the cuff of performers' garment sleeves used in traditional Chinese opera.
After a series of 12 classes, the students will learn the movements of the water sleeves dance and can perform it on their own.
The tuition is 500 yuan (US$69) with another 50 yuan for the dancing shoes and 90 yuan for the water sleeves.
There will be volunteers for translation service at class.
The school has also opened a new sign language course which invites teachers from the disabled persons' federation to teach sign language.
It hopes that through the course, a volunteer service team can be formed to serve the disabled.
The Baoshan District branch of the school has also launched a new pet-related course which teaches pet owners how to raise and get along well with their pets.
You can go to the WeChat account of the Shanghai Mass Art Center (上海市群众艺术馆 ), click "Citizen Night School" (市民夜校) to sign up for the classes.