Zhang Yanhua, a teacher at Tsinghua University Primary School, brought her 9-year-old son Liu Zicheng to the show. Zicheng was deeply impressed by the creativity.

Another audience member, Dorothy Jiang, a mother of two girls, says that the play can easily grab children's attention with the energetic body language of the actors coupled with the frequent audience interaction.

Ke believes that to develop the ability to spot and savor beauty, people have to start by discovering themselves.

Life's different stages

Kong Minxing, 10, a student at the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences Elementary School in Beijing, has been attending Dashanpai's aesthetic education courses for two years. Last year, he joined the cast as a part-time actor, and his performance in March playing Manolin, the little boy from The Old Man and the Sea, earned widespread acclaim.

Minxing describes the art courses as "compelling". He says: "Ke let me see sounds. He tapped a bowl filled with water and I saw splashes and waves. I felt the expansion of my own body by walking on people's backs, as they created stairs for me to climb and reach for the roof."

He benefited from these exercises, saying that his "ability to concentrate has been hugely improved".

His father, Kong Weimeng, claims that his son used to be an introvert. "My son used to spend too much time playing video games. Learning to perform drama and interacting with the art center's crew opened a window into creativity for him," he says. "Ke uses artistic language to allow people to notice what's easily ignored in daily life. To 'see' sounds, to act, and to 'paint' with a voice－it soothes and comforts your soul."

Contact the writer at [email protected]