Laurie Horam never thought of himself as musical. At home, his dad never listened to music, while one of his boarding school teachers labelled him tone deaf. But last month he started to play the harmonica (口琴)on the streets of Bradford. People clapped, danced and threw coins into his case for the local food bank. Horam caught himself thinking. “How, at the age of 79, do I come to be playing music to people on the streets?”

The question preoccupied him, because, some years ago at a family gathering, Gavin, his eldest son, said: “You know what, Dad? It can’t be coincidental. We must have got our musical abilities from you.” Horam has three sons and they cover a range of instruments. He was surprised. “There can’t be music in me, because I can’t play! ”he said.

Eight years ago, Horam, a retired civil servant, was on his way back from a trip with his family. Gavin stopped at a music shop. He walked out and said: “Here you are. I bought this for you, Dad. It’s a harmonica. I’ll try to show you how to play a bit.”

They went to a session at their local pub. Gavin played the guitar and Horam sat in the corner with his harmonica, trying to make a sound that no one would hear. After six months, he was invited into the group. He discovered a talent for improvisation(即兴表演),responding to a note within a millisecond without batting an eyelid. “I don’t play by ear. I play by heart.” Actually, Horam says: “My harmonica plays me-how I feel, what I am, what I’ve been.”

Music has enriched life with friendship and made Horam feel “part of something much bigger” than himself. “At a time when the circle of life might be shrinking, mine is expanding,” he says. “Maybe we never know completely who we are or what we can do.”

Having spent more than a decade on the dance floor, ROME — Niccolo Filippi, a 23-year-old Italian dance performer, recently decided to explore Chinese culture and its traditional dance forms and believes that this experience will not only boost his career, but also broaden his horizons beyond the world of dance.

His interest in diversifying his skills grew after he stumbled upon a short video of traditional Chinese-styled dance on YouTube. “I saw it as an art that combines tradition and modernity, which was mostly the reason why I liked it,” says Filippi.

Ever since, he has been closely following Chinese dance performers and watching numerous videos to learn more about the traditional style that he admires. “I prefer the traditional style because of its light movements. It also reflects my personality with elegance,” he adds.

Filippi’s chance came when he was invited to perform for a Chinese New Year celebration in the central Italian city of Florence. He has since fully committed himself to the art form, learning several pieces and putting his newfound passion into practice.

“The biggest difference that I found (compared to other disciplines) is the change of mood and emotional expressions among dances,” says Filippi, adding that he needed to shift from the dynamic moves of hip-hop to the graceful and fluid movements of Chinese dance. Despite various obstacles, Filippi’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Two of his friends shared videos of his performances on social media, and the response was overwhelming. One video garnered 500,000 views, while the other received 200,000 views.

Filippi believes that learning about different cultures is priceless, and he sees it as a means of personal growth. “I like to think of a person as a book,” he says. “Embracing different traditions and cultures, such as Chinese culture and many others, is like adding new chapters to my book, making it more diverse and wonderful.”

Hao Ruoqi is known for playing the heroic fighter “Hua Mulan”. She is one of China’s most popular female dancers of the post-90s generation.

In 2017, Hao Ruoqi starred in the lead role of the historical dance drama Hua Mulan. “The spirit of Mulan exists in everyone’s mind, expressing the power of women. I am fortunate to be able to spread the energy of Mulan through dance. I think Mulan was not only a strong person, but also a woman who was capable of great love and wisdom, and had the ability to accept everything.” Hao said.

Hao said that the first practices for Hua Mulan did not go very smoothly. However, she pushed her limits to get closer to the character. She described taking the role as a learning experience and a great challenge.

“During practices, I cried every night when I returned to the hotel, just to reduce the pressure.   At that time, I thought to myself that never again in my life would I want to dance after Hua Mulan,” she said, “but I grew up during that period, which took quite some time. I tried hard to act out every aspect of Mulan’s character very carefully. ”

When it came to the action scenes, she said “This was the most difficult because dancing is a smooth and beautiful art while martial arts(武术) focus on speed and strength. We struggled sometimes to deliver fast and correct hits while maintaining our attractive dance moves. I remember my body was covered in bruises(瘀伤) at that time.”

The production won the top award for dancing and has received admiration from audiences across the nation, having been performed on stage almost 100 times.

Hao’s talent may have been widely recognized, but she’s not resting on her laurels just yet. “I will keep moving forward with my career as a dancer. I hope I can tell more stories of famous figures from Chinese history through the power of dance, she said, “and I’m proud that I can contribute to spreading traditional Chinese culture. I’m not done yet. ”