Supported by the Centre for the Study of Contemporary China, Prof. Kim Hunter Gordon has been developing the presence of Kunqu in DKU’s curriculum and cultural offerings. This includes an expansion of regular weekly singing classes, which have seen around a dozen students sign up so far, PE classes that offer basic training in the movement discipline employed by Kunqu performers for both the female dan role and male sheng role, classes in the bamboo flute accompaniment and the launch of a Wechat social media channel where interested students can find out about campus activities and theater trips.
In keeping with DKU’s community-based learning aims, he has also developed two translation courses in which students will translate subtitles for the local theater, the Kunshan Contemporary Kunqu Theater. Kunqu performances often have a translation board at the side of the stage in Chinese and English that helps the audience understand what is being sung about. In return the theater will put on performances at the university.
DKU students have already put on several performances. In October 2021, three of them participated in the first National Universities Kunqu Gala, held in nearby Bacheng. Qiu Ziyu, Chen Qinghua (both Sophomore students) and Qian Yang (a senior) all sung classic arias from the genre at the event. Others recently performed a famous scene from the Peony Pavilion on campus for fellow students.
