A dozen Duke dancers are having the experience of a lifetime this week half a world away from campus.
The group was part of the opening ceremony of the Shenzhen Universiade Aug. 12 with a series of shows scheduled this week. On Wednesday, they performed at halftime of the Duke basketball team's exhibition 77-64 victory in Kunshan over the Chinese Olympic Team. (Game two in Shanghai will be streamed live on Duke Today at 8 a.m. EDT Thursday, Aug. 18)
The trip arose from an arts-specific DukeEngage program last year in China.
The dance troupe's first performance was an eye-opener, said Spencer Paez, a dancer and third-year Duke student.
"It was a magnificent stage; enormous, filled with lights and crowded with people," Paez wrote in an email interview. "For this performance, we weren't dancing the program we'd choreographed, but a dance number featuring a remix of "Do Re Mi" from The Sound of Music. We did well, considering we had learned the choreography so recently. It was this number which was supposed to energize the audience, so it took a lot of effort and smiles on our part. In the end, I think it looked great!"
When not practicing or performing, the dancers have traveled, checked out the sights, and met plenty of new friends, Paez said.
"This is a while new kind of education," he wrote. "I've never been to a foreign counry this long without knowing some of the language or customs. Utter, obvious ignorance is challenging and refreshing at the same time.!"
Dancers are blogging about the trip. You can check that out here.