- Title: CHINA: Beijing's "celebrity factory" helps Chinese children dream a dream
- Date: 10th August 2009
- Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PARTICIPANTS PERFORMING A MUSICAL ON STAGE PARENTS LOOKING ON AND TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) CHEN RUIPING, FATHER OF CHEN XINYU, SAYING: "I think this is a good thing. At the very least, the children get more experience and gain confidence in themselves. This gives them a chance to have a bit of fun outside their s
- Embargoed: 25th August 2009 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China
- Country: China
- Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
- Reuters ID: LVA78XKRC19F2AH3HTT9TU6C1737
- Story Text: Beijing's "celebrity factory" which strives to breed young movie stars, is a hit with parents who pay big bucks in the hope of one day seeing their child on the silver screens.
Summer school has a whole new meaning for some Chinese children.
A "Star Camp" training programme aiming to teach participants the traits of movie stars is a hit among starry-eyed children, or, in some cases, their parents.
For seven days, the dream factory puts the children up in a hotel in the suburbs of Beijing and feeds them with acting classes eight hours a day.
The teachers are university students from China's top film and drama academies.
There are no painful auditions to pass to be accepted on the course - parents willing to spend 1,500 yuan (around $220 U.S. dollars) can get their children on the course.
In Beijing, $220 U.S. dollars is the amount many pensioners survive on for a month.
But for eager parents, it is a small sum to pay to give their offspring a head-start on the road to stardom.
The Star Camp was started by the Beijing Giant School, a private training institution which offers different types of courses and summer camps for children.
Every summer, hundreds of children crowd the school to become a "giant" in one way or another.
From Chinese Kung Fu classes, to singing instruction and weight-loss programmes, the school aims to offer the children to develop their skills while improving their confidence.
Chen Xinyu is eight-years-old and hopes the star camp will help her on her quest to become a popular child star.
"Part of the reason I came is that I want to become a child star so other people will like me. Part of the reason is my parents knew about my wishes so they wanted to fulfill my dream so they sent me here," Chen said.
According to Lu Jun, a 25-year-old TV programme host at China's state television and part-time acting teacher, parents and children walk into the classroom for different reasons and with diverse goals.
While some children come to fulfill their dreams, there are those forced to attend by their parents.
Unlike his classmates, six-year-old American-Chinese Anthony Zhang is a reluctant future superstar.
His parents decided to enroll the boy on the programme to improve his Mandarin language skills and to be acquainted with the Chinese culture.
The key is to get the children interested in expressing themselves, Lu explained.
"There are parents like this. They place a lot of hope on the only child of the family, wishing that their children could perform well and perhaps in the future become real stars. But some parents are different. Some children are very introverted. The parents hope that through participation in a summer camp like this, their children can become more outgoing and expressive. So the parents come with different hopes," he said.
Most of the children have never taken any acting classes but have picked up skills from the many hours spent in front of the television.
Zhang Mingyi spends all her free time watching soap operas and movies on television.
The 12-year-old primary school student says when her parents are not looking, she acts out movie scenes in front of the bathroom mirror.
Zhang says she might appear to be just a child but she has big ideas.
"There are countless famous actors in China, in certain provinces or areas but there are only a couple of famous actors who are active overseas, for example, Zhang Ziyi and Gong Li. So I hope I could achievement their level of success and fame," she said.
Zhang hopes to walk the red carpet alongside those internationally-known Chinese actors one day.
At the end of the training, students perform musicals, dances and plays to showcase their newly-acquired skills to their families.
Each participant also receives a DVD with video clips filmed throughout the camp and the final performances.
Chen Ruiping, father of Chen Xinyu, believes the camp is beneficial for the participants, even if they don't end up on the silver screen.
"I think this is a good thing. At the very least, the children get more experience and gain confidence in themselves. This gives them a chance to have a bit of fun outside their studies and broaden their views," Chen said.
With China's one child policy, many parents place big hopes and heavy pressure on their only child.
Private schools which charge thousands of dollars as tuition per year have been gaining fast popularity among eager parents.
From foreign language lessons to computer engineering classes and even golfing and horse-back riding, many parents believe that getting ahead at a young age can set their children on the right track to success.
But while the opportunities may be endless, the guarantees of success are few.
According to Lu, despite a number of years training determined wanna-be's, the Star Camps have so far failed to breed any new Chinese child stars. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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