Through half a year's efforts, artists from China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT) successfully brought their new show, "My Dream" to audiences both at home and abroad. In May, they performed in the United States and Canada, and were well received in both countries. On June 3 and 4, the new show was staged in Beijing , and it was again a hit.

CDPPAT continued to produce different editions of My Dream starting in 2000, with the second edition in 2002 and the third in 2005. The unremitting efforts of the disabled artists and their brilliant performances have earned the troupe names like the "Great Cultural Messenger", the "Image Ambassador of the World Disabled" and the "Ambassador of Beauty and Humanity".

"We have made improvements on items such as the Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva Dance and created six new programs including Butterfly Lovers, and thus produced the fourth version of My Dream this year," said Tai Lihua, the art majordomo of the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe.

The Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva Dance had its debut in the CCTV (China's Central Television) 2005 Spring Festival Gala. Following the leading dancer Tai Lihua, about 20 hearing-impaired girls come together to become one multi-armed goddess. Their performance became a nationwide sensation.

In the forth edition of My Dream, improvements were made from the original Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva Dance, in that performers were able to move their hands more quickly and constantly. The change of the hands' movements is discernable at the very beginning of the performance. The improvements turned out to be a great success.

The leading artists of CDPPAT Tai Lihua and her partner Zhang Ligang performed Butterfly Lovers. It's a dance depicting a tragic love story, and radiates with fantastic color during its show. In addition to the Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva and Butterfly Lovers, the new show of My Dream also presents other wonderful performances to viewers, including a poem in sign language by the hearing-impaired Jiang Xintian, the Green Seedlings dance led by Huang Yangguang, an armless young man, the song Edelweiss by Zhang Jiahuan, a wheel chaired girl, and the accompanied performance of musical instruments by the visually impaired.

Also, the Beijing opera Three Forks in a Road is performed together by the visually impaired and the hearing impaired. It is amazing because of the tacit and excellent cooperation in movements and instruments between them: the visually impaired become the ears of the deaf, and the latter, the eyes of theblind.

 Performance abroad wins big applause

The magic of My Dream was performed in Los Angles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver during 7th to 23rd May, with each performance garnering big applause for the artistic and spiritual beauty it had embodied.

The Washington government announced 18th May 2006 as the Day of China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe, the same day the troupe set foot in the office building of the Washington government. They were amazed to see the national flag of PRC (the People's Republic of China ) flowing over a government They were further flattered upon remarks made by Jones, a senior official with Washington government: "Let's show great thanks to China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe for your outstanding performance, your confidence and artistic ability . They are a big encouragement to Americans." Afterward the troupe was invited to visit the departments of the government and the head workshop of Boeing Company.

 A would-be art film

The news conference on the shooting of My Dream as a stage art film was held at the Beijing Film Academy on 25th May. The film would be made under cooperation of the China Federation of Literature and Art, the China Journalists Association, the China Disabled Persons' Federation, the Beijing Film Academy and the China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe.

"After a close look into the hardships and struggle the troupe had experienced, we decided to put their moving stories onto the stage" said Wang Honghai, the master director of this project, and professor at the Beijing Film Academy. The school leaders in the Beijing Film Academy promised to put their most advanced equipments into the project in order to exhibit the artistic beauty of the disabled. The project has been carried out for a month and is said to be finished in September, It will be shown early next year.