Wednesday, February 10, 2010   


Blind pianist plays dream date

Carol Chung in Beijing

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A concert currently being staged in Beijing in conjunction with the upcoming Paralympic Games is entitled My Dream.

To 24-year-old blind pianist Jin Yuanhui, that is exactly what he will be living when he performs at both the opening and closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Hong Kong next month.

"My dream is to move the world with my music," Jin told The Standard.

He said that when playing the piano, his biggest difficulty is not finding the keys on the piano but feeling the music.

"Since I can't see, I try to touch, smell, listen and use my heart to feel what I play."

In his 16 years at the piano, Jin has yet to miss a key. He is one of several artists chosen from the internationally renowned China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe to perform at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics on September 6 and 17.

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The program is being kept secret but Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata is Jin's signature piece.

"It can best express my inner world of feelings," he said. "It tells me to break out of the darkness and head toward the bright and the positive."

The 153-strong Beijing-based troupe - made up of artists with visual, hearing and physical disabilities - is giving 30 public performances at the China Grand Theater and Poly Theater until September 16.

Artistic director and president Tai Lihua said the program and dance numbers were chosen by the performers who choreographed their own ideas.

"Our dream is designed to show our special value through art and we want to spread our dreams to every corner of the world."

The highlight of the two-hour show is the popular 1,000-hand Buddha performed by 21 hearing-impaired dancers with varied hand movements on a lotus-shaped stage. A combination of traditional Chinese and Western art forms from Peking Opera to ballet and Latin dancing are also showcased.

Founded in 1987, the renowned troupe has received standing ovations in more than 60 countries and cities around the world, including Hong Kong in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Tai said the Paralympic Games next month will further heighten the awareness of the lives of the 83 million disabled people in China - from their employment opportunities to education and rehabilitation.


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