Video becomes essential in staying fit and healthy

The home front is a vital component in keeping people's spirits high amid the outbreak.

Support can come in many forms but keeping fit and upbeat while confined to your home is crucial, and Vince Virr, an associate artist with Barrowland Ballet in Britain, knows the importance of exercise and optimism.

His support for China's fight against the epidemic is evident in a self-made video clip called Wuhan, Jiayou (Stay Strong, Wuhan), produced with the aim of calling for artists and netizens worldwide to join his efforts.

It's a body-building exercise that people can follow when at home, says Virr, also a residential artist of A.S.K., a Shanghai-based international theater organization committed to introducing international productions for a young audience to China.

Virr says he will edit all the followers' videos and upload them online. Virr and four other international artists of A.S.K., who are now living in China, are also making a video clip, with self-produced music, about washing hands to ensure personal hygiene.

Their efforts are a follow-up to a video clip made by A.S.K featuring 61 artists from 13 countries expressing their support for China's fight against the novel coronavirus.

A.S.K. had planned to introduce top-notch performances to the Tianjin Grand Theater in February, but they were postponed due to the outbreak.

In the A.S.K. video, the artists from leading theater organizations, including the Edinburgh International Children's Festival and Australian Windmill Theater, show strong confidence in China. "Stay strong! We are with you, China!"－is a sentence they keep repeating in the video.

Yvette Hardie, president of the International Association of Theater for Children and Young People, which is affiliated to UNESCO, took the initiative in responding to the campaign.

Shona Reppe, who starred in The Curious Scrapbook of Josephine Bean, a popular children's drama from Britain, says she expects the epidemic will soon be surmounted and she is keen to come to China. Ian Cameron, who starred in White, another internationally acclaimed classical piece from Britain, says: "My heart is with you, China."

Helene Ducharme, director of Elisapee and the Northern Lights from the Canadian troupe Motus, while making a coproduction in Africa, led a group of local friends to shoot a video in different languages to encourage China's efforts to combat the virus.

Tony Mack, chairman of the Slingsby, an Australian performance troupe which is renowned for its performance of the children's classic Emil and the Detectives, says: "The medical workers: you are heroes. Thank you so much for standing on the frontline, and you are not only keeping China safe but also the whole world!"

The A.S.K. team says it will keep active in connecting with followers by spreading online content to enhance energy, courage and creativity. In the past five years, up to 5,500 performances from 19 countries have been introduced across China through 12 A.S.K. studio theaters and its cooperative venues.