The Oriental Song and Dance Ensemble was founded in January 1962 at the request and guidance of late Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice-Premier Chen Yi.

The ensemble strives to introduce Chinese traditional folk art, as well as the dances and songs that represent and depict the modern life of Chinese people, to audiences both at home and abroad.

The ensemble insists on implementing a colorful diversity of art forms and contents. Both foreign and domestic music and dance works of different styles are brilliantly reflected with a special, artistic flavor of the Ensemble through the vivid interpretation of the artists.

With the successive hard work of several generations, the ensemble has brought up a team of sophisticated artists of notable achievements, and accumulated hundreds of Chinese and foreign dances, thousands of songs and pieces of instrumental music. The ensemble has performed in more than 70 countries and regions in the world, making great contributions to the enrichment of Chinese people's cultural lives and promoting international cultural exchanges.

Representative performances of the ensemble include four evening parties of foreign songs and dances, such as the Sri Lankan "Jar Dance," Bangladeshi "Foot-bell," Argentinean "Festival of Plateau" and Ethiopian "Heyaja"; two concerts: "The Magic of Oriental Music" and "Voice of Oriental"; classical music opera: "The Sound of Music"; two Chinese national folk song and dance parties, such as the dance numbers "Walking in Qing Court," "Long Tassel Flower Drum" and "Music of Heaven"; foreign cultural Glamour Party, such as the "Brazilian Samba" and Hawaiian "Hula-Hula"; "Hello, My Friend," "Beautiful World" (which received 8th Wenhua Prize from the Ministry of Culture of China); Oriental Flower Evening Party, including the Egyptian dances "Happy Nile" and "the Young Holiday".

The ensemble is a haven for sophisticated artists, with more than 80 of its staff members with senior professional titles and 12 with special allowances from the State Council. Some of the ensemble's famous artists include Wang Kun, Li Guyi, Lin Wenzeng, Mode Gema, Ayi Tula, Cheng Fangyuan, Liu Weiwei, Mu Xuanpu, and Zhou Wei.

Address: No 4 Dongsanhuan Beilu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Postal code: 100027
Tel: (010) 64674754
Fax: (010) 64674754

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