About
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China Dancing & Dramatic Troupe
About
Chinese troupe which made a world tour to raise funds for the China Dramatic Arts Institute in Nanking.
CHINESE STAGE TROUPE HERE – The China Dancing and Dramatic Troupe, consisting of 40 actors and actresses, arrived at Singapore on Saturday from Bangkok. The troupe, led by Mr. Ting Po, stage director and instructor well known in China, proposes to stage a number of shows in Singapore and the Malayan Union for the purpose of raising funds for the China Dramatic Arts Institute in Nanking. Most of the troupe members were formerly attached to the dramatic troupe organised by the Central Military Affairs Commission in Chungking and had staged numerous shows in wartime China for Chinese troops. The troupe staged a series of shows in Hong Kong before coming to Malaya via Bangkok. The troupe will make its bow in Singapore at the Victoria Memorial Hall on Sept. 6 with a three-act play. [Singapore Free Press, September 1, 1947, p. 5]
CHINESE OPERA IN AID OF CHARITY – On Sunday, a three-act opera called Patriots of Cathay will be staged by the Chinese Music, Dance and Drama Society troupe, who have just arrived from China via Bangkok… This will be the first Chinese opera in Western style to be staged here, with Chinese backgrounds… Aiming at introducing a revolution in Chinese music and dances, the Society, since its existence at the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war, has staged about 4,000 shows in all parts of China and Siam. In Singapore, they will stage big operas as well as short features of Chinese folk songs and dances. [Singapore Free Press, September 4, 1947, p. 5]
“The China Music, Dance and Drama Society, which entertained the forces behind the fighting lines in China and Burma during the Pacific War, is now in Penang on its eastern tour. The troupe consists of 43 members, 13 of whom are women. These Chinese entertainers gave about 3,700 performances to 2,000,000 members of the armed forces in the Hunan, Kwangtung, Kiangsi, Hupei, Kweichow, Yunnan, India and Burma fronts.” [Malaya Tribune, June 21, 1948, p. 5]
The troupe was variously described as on a “world tour” [Straits Times, September 6, 1947, p. 7] or an “eastern tour” [Malaya Tribune, June 21, 1948, p. 5].
The only known places where performances were staged are Bangkok and Singapore (1947) and Penang (1948).
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Media
The Chinese Music, Dance and Drama Society Troupe in Singapore (1947). Image provided by Ross Laird.
Sources
“Chinese Stage Troupe Here.” Singapore Free Press, September 1, 1947, 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
“Chinese opera in aid of charity.” Singapore Free Press, September 4, 1947, 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
“Malayan News Briefs.” Malaya Tribune, June 21, 1948, 5. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
Straits Times, September 6, 1947, 7. Retrieved from NewspaperSG.
Contributor
2025. “Chinese Music, Dance & Drama Society Troupe”. In Performing Archipelagos, edited by Kyueun Kim, Alvin Eng Hui Lim and Hedren Wai Yuan Sum. Singapore: National University of Singapore.
