
Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) talks to International
Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven (L) as International Olympic
Committee Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch looks on before a
performance dubbed "My Dream" presented by China Disabled People's Performing
Art Troupe at the Poly Theatre in Beijing Sept. 11, 2008.
BEIJING, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- With the Beijing Paralympic Games under way,
Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top leaders watched a musical and dancing
performance staged by disabled artists in Beijing on Thursday night.
The grand show, titled "My Dream," was presented by the China Disabled
People's Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT) in the Poly Theatre in downtown Beijing.
Specially prepared for the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, the show has been
continuously modified and Thursday's was already its fifth edition.
Sitting among the audience were Party and state leaders Wu Bangguo, Wen
Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang and Zhou
Yongkang, as well as International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip
Craven and International Olympic Committee Honorary President Juan Antonio
Samaranch.

Chinese President Hu Jintao greets artists of China Disabled
People's Performing Art Troupe after their performance "My Dream" at the Poly
Theatre in Beijing Sept. 11, 2008.
The performance -- a mixture of music, dancing, Peking Opera, dancing drama
and music drama -- has been a hit since its debut on Aug. 10, staged for more
than 40 times in the Chinese capital.
The performance on Thursday night began with a poem titled "My Dream,"
which was presented by performers using the sign language.
"We are trying to hear sounds and rhythms in silence, to see light in
darkness, and to pursue perfection with disabilities," the poem goes.
In a classical repertoire of the troupe called the Thousand-hand
Bodhisattva, Tai Lihua, a deaf dancer with great popularity in China, led 20
other hearing-impaired dancers in golden costumes to perform in breath-taking
synchronicity.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, other top party and state leaders
Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He
Guoqiang and Zhou Yongkang, International Paralympic Committee President Philip
Craven and International Olympic Committee Honorary President Juan Antonio
Samaranch pose for a group photo with artists of China Disabled People's
Performing Art Troupe after the performance "My Dream" at the Poly Theatre in
Beijing,China, Sept. 11, 2008.
Other highlights of the show included singing by disabled vocalists,
playing of traditional Chinese musical instruments by blind musicians, and
rhythmic dances and Peking Opera performance by blind, deaf or amputated
artists.
Amazed by the spectacular show, the entire audience, including President Hu
and IPC chief Craven, warmly applauded time and again to show their respect for
the artists.
When the show ended, Hu, Craven and others also ascended the stage to shake
hands with the performers and congratulate them on the success of the
performance.

Artists perform the Thousand-hand Bodhisattva during a performance
dubbed "My Dream" presented by China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe at
the Poly Theatre in Beijing Sept. 11, 2008.

Artists of China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe perform in
a performance dubbed "My Dream" at the Poly Theatre in Beijing, China, Sept. 11,
2008.

Visually-impaired artists of China Disabled People's Performing
Art Troupe perform in a performance dubbed "My Dream" at the Poly Theatre in
Beijing, China, Sept. 11, 2008.

Artists with hearing impairment or physical disabilities from
China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe present a performance dubbed "My
Dream" at the Poly Theatre in Beijing Sept. 11, 2008.