by Sherif Awad
-I was born and brought up in a small city called Linhai in Zhejiang province on the east coast of China, south of Shanghai. My parents are still living there and I have an older sister and nephew who are living in the neighboring city.I have had great interest in dance since I was little, maybe at the age of five. I remember that I could help standing up and copying the movements every time when there was dance showing on television; my mum told me that I liked to show off and dance in front of others then.
-Madam Yang Liping for sure. She has been my role model in dance since I was a teenager. She is a well-known folk dancer from China and gains the title ‘Princess Peacock’ for her beautiful signature peacock dance. Her elegant and organic dance styles captured my heart and also her passion about arts and culture really inspired.
-I studied Town Planning for my first degree, nothing related to performing or arts. But I followed my heart after I graduated and enrolled one-year full-time dance course in an arts college. I worked in a Chinese restaurant over the summer full time to save money to pay the tuition fee. I really enjoyed the course. The course consisted of Ballet, Contemporary, Jazz, Choreography and Improvisation. Coming from Chinese dance background, there were new for me, exciting but challenging at the same time.
-I am ambitious, but also happy and positive person. I think it is good to be aspirational in this industry but to me fame is never on top of the list. I just want to do my best in whatever opportunities I am given and the rest is just let it be.
-Not so much in the UK or Europe I frequented challenges because I am a female artist. But when I went to China a year ago and I stayed there for two months, I found that mid-aged or older female actors including myself were lacking opportunities as not many roles were written for us and actresses were discriminated and disrespected compared to male peers. I appreciate all the opportunities offered to me and like to challenge myself with different projects. If the projects are against my moral ground, then I will turn them down.
-Right now, we are under lockdown so the creativity industry has been halted, as theaters, shows, productions have been stopped. But on the other side, online classes and meetings are blooming which have created new opportunities for artists from all over the world to collaborate and meet over the internet. Hopefully the coronavirus will clear soon and things will be back normal. I think the industry will bloom again after that.
-I am very proud that I co-starred in the Chinese film ‘Operation Red Sea’, which was No. 1 box office in Asia in 2018. It was my first Chinese film, and I was very lucky to work with top production team, director and actors in Asia and the world. On the personal side, I was very glad to see my family and friends in China were very excited about and proud of me being in the film.
-Chinese dance is normally repertoire based so a certain piece of choreography goes with set music. It depends on the nature of event, the venue and audience, then I decide which choreography and music I perform.
-It is not an easy industry, keep learning and polishing your skills, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Go after your dreams and don’t give up. As a performer, I am put in front of cameras or audience most of the time in my professional life and the competitive nature of this industry can be very stressful, but I like to keep my personal life private and simple and I am very lucky to have family and friends to keep me grounded and calm. I also like to keep myself active mentally and physically by doing sports and taking on new activities and go traveling when I can in my spare time.
-Currently I am working on some online Chinese arts and culture classes during this special situation with my company China Pearl. Acting wise, it is quiet at the moment but I did recording for a BBC radio drama 3 weeks ago and it will be broadcast soon. I am hoping for a lot of castings and filming opportunities once this is over.
