Young actors take center stage

Besides, she thinks that as a member of the group, especially in the main role, she has a lot of responsibilities to support her colleagues and ensure, as best she can, a high-quality performance.

CISB has a drama club called Stage Cats which regularly organizes dramatic activities for students to take part in and produces several stage shows every semester.

Li Jiayi, a Grade 7 student who joined the club last year, says that the time she and her schoolmates spent together was actually lots of fun and again stresses the team element.

"The key for a good show is to have energy!" says the 11-year-old, who adds that she and her friends memorize lines together, and they prepare set pieces, design costumes, and do transitions to set the stage for each new act. All this has helped them build good friendships and a great team spirit.

Although more and more international schools and public schools in China have begun to use theater and stage performances to help students develop a wide range of abilities and skills, musical-related education is still in its early stages.

Seven Ages Investment has been exploring approaches to cultivate musical performers via courses and immersion camps since 2017. It has by now offered musical classes to about 3,000 children, according to Fan.

Fan says the company has also helped kindergartens, primary, middle and high schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and other major cities in China to set up musical clubs and musical-related curricula.

He points out that China's musical education providers should figure out a well-rounded curriculum featuring solid course content. They also have to overcome barriers like lack of musical teachers and platforms to display children's talents while staging musical works.

"We hope that more Chinese parents and their children will get to know musicals and develop an emotional attachment to the art form," Fan says.