Last week, Principal Anthony Bowne, along with colleagues Victoria Stretton, Dr Naomi Lefebvre Sell and Luqian Zhao, returned from a busy and inspiring visit to China, where they deepened existing partnerships and forged new opportunities for international collaboration.
A key part of the visit included time spent at the prestigious Beijing Dance Academy (BDA), China’s leading dance institution and widely known as the nation’s “cradle of dance.” Trinity Laban and BDA share a partnership that spans more than 20 years, built on shared values and a commitment to excellence in dance education. During this latest visit, the two institutions worked together on joint curriculum development, aiming to prepare dancers, dance scientists and musical theatre performers for globally connected, future-facing careers.
Principal Anthony Bowne commented: “I sincerely thank President of Beijing Dance Academy, Xu Rui, and his wonderfully talented team for their warm welcome and visionary collaboration.”
In addition to their work with BDA, the Trinity Laban team marked an exciting new chapter in international engagement with the completion of student exchange agreements with two further leading institutions: the Shanghai Theatre Academy and the China Conservatory of Music. These partnerships will create opportunities for students across all disciplines to engage in intercultural learning and artistic exchange with peers in China.
The visit concluded with a special honour: an invitation from the Vice-Mayor of Beijing to a celebratory dinner at the historic Friendship Hotel. The occasion served as a symbolic celebration of Trinity Laban’s growing relationship with BDA and a shared commitment to artistic and educational exchange.
This trip reaffirms Trinity Laban’s position as a globally engaged conservatoire, dedicated to nurturing the next generation of artists through innovative, international collaboration.