On October 20, the opening ceremony of the World Drama Education Alliance 2025 International College Student Drama Exhibition was held in the framed stage theater of the theater center of Changping Campus of the Central Academy of Drama.
Hao Rong, Secretary General of the World Theater Education Alliance and President of the Central Academy of Drama, George Sharutashvili, President of the National University of Drama and Film of Georgia, Cornelia Kravuczyk, Vice President of the Ernst Busch University of Performing Arts in Germany, Nicholas Holden, Vice President of the School of Music and Dramatic Arts in London, Konstantinos Alvanitakis, President of the Academy of Music and Drama in Athens, Greece, Jerome Stevenson, Vice Dean of the School of Drama of the University of Austria in the United States, Alexei Blokhin, professor of the Russian Academy of Dramatic Arts and People's Artist of the Russian Federation, attended the opening ceremony as a representative of the member institutions.
Representatives of various countries participating in the drama performance, members of the leadership team of the Central Academy of Drama, heads of various departments, and representatives of teachers and students attended the opening ceremony. The ceremony was presided over by Li Hong, professor of the performance department of the college. The theme of this year's International University Student Drama Exhibition is "Dream" or "Love". According to the relevant provisions of the alliance's constitution, 6 outstanding performance awards, 6 best performance awards and 2 best repertoire awards will be selected for the exhibition and performance. The final results will be announced at the opening ceremony of the Guilin Arts Festival to be held later.
Georgy Sharutashvili delivered a speech on behalf of the teachers and students participating in the drama performance. Talking about the differences in theater creation in various countries from the perspective of all mankind, he said that in fact, the differences do not exist, and all real theater artists are essentially exploring two fundamental questions: why do we exist? Why do we live? For these two questions that plague everyone, creators from all over the world try to find answers through different forms, genres, traditions and texts, but each person's goal remains the same. The world is a big family, and the dramatists are sincere, integrated into it, speaking "Esperanto", searching up and down, and the real artist has gained pure happiness and the joy of creation.
He also talked about his expectations and prospects for the younger generation, hoping that the new generation of theater workers can deeply root in the fertile soil of tradition, pass on the most quintessential drama traditions, create new dramas, and write their own future dramas. Finally, he concluded his speech by quoting a Georgian director, "When I think, what gives drama its mysterious charm and makes it so prosperous? I have come to the conclusion that drama will live forever, because the original intention of human beings to find themselves in the souls of others will never be extinguished. ”
In his speech, Hao Rong first extended his warmest welcome to all the guests, experts and scholars and all students participating in the performance exchange of the World Drama Education Alliance 2025, and extended sincere greetings to people from all walks of life who have been committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation in world drama education for a long time. He said that this year's drama exhibition will take "dream" or "love" as the theme, providing a broad space full of poetry and tension for artistic exchanges. This is not only an exploration of the eternal emotions of human beings, but also a return and tribute to the essence of dramatic art. At the same time, he hopes that the young creators participating in the competition will show their skills, exchange ideas, collide with inspiration on this valuable international platform, interpret the diverse aspects of "dreams" and "love" from the perspective of youth, and tell stories belonging to this era with sincere performances.
He said that the Central Academy of Drama, as an important center of Chinese drama education, has always been committed to promoting exchanges and cooperation in international drama education. He hopes that in this era full of challenges and changes, theater people around the world can believe in the power of drama, connect with each other, and inspire the future. Subsequently, Hao Rong announced the official opening of the World Theatre Education Alliance 2025 International College Student Drama Exhibition. Students from various departments of the Central Academy of Drama brought the opening ceremony theatrical performance "Drama Makes the World a Better Place".
The whole performance takes "the beauty of harmony" as the core, aiming to show that young people from all over the world work together to build a diverse world of exchange and mutual learning through the medium of "drama". Drama allows each other to see the common emotions of human beings, transcend national and cultural differences, and make the world a better place. The performances mainly include the situational dance "The Beauty of Harmony", the song "Beijing Blesses You", the musical "You and I Are Light", the dance "Beauty and Beauty", the narration of "Drama Makes the World a Better Place", Peking Opera "Zhong Kui Yingsfu", the chorus "Youth Dance", the chorus "Let the World Be Full of Love", etc., from the performance department, musical theater department, Peking Opera department, opera department, dance drama department of the college performed passionately. The students presented their surging enthusiasm and youthful vitality in front of audiences from all over the world through picturesque and wonderful performances, highlighting the youthful demeanor of literary and artistic workers in the new era, and also showing the integration and collision of excellent traditional Chinese culture and modern elements.
In the special session, students from eight countries jointly "lit up" Kongming Lanterns. Those lamps, like letterheads flying from the depths of history, write the heart of "harmony" and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
