CIBL is proud to host the Chinese New Year celebration in the Headquarters of Barclays bank on 5 February 2019. Barclays is one of the biggest banks in Europe, drawing over 100 staff from the bank into the cultural show. The event was organised by Zhao Lihui and her team in Barclays, and the opening speech was delivered by Laura Padovani, the compliance officer.
Working with the team from Barclays, the Institute brings traditional Chinese culture to the people of Barclays through language tasters, Beijing Opera, Chinese paper cutting, Chinese music/dancing and Chinese calligraphy. The lion dance performed by the dragon and lion dance team was vivid, and the actors' skillful and flexible skills won the audience's warm applause. The "Suo Lin Nang" performed by Dr Amily Guenier from CIBL was the masterpiece of the Peking Opera. Teachers from CIBL also demonstrated Chinese calligraphy, 12 Chinese zodiac and traditional Chinese paper-cutting for the bank's employees. Prof Hua Jing also performed the dance of “Zizhu Lingfeng” with its ethnic characteristics. Traditional costumes, beautiful melodies and cheerful dances brought the atmosphere to a climax. Finally, the New Year celebrations came to a close in the song of joy.
One participant of this event, Dyria, the deputy general manager of Barclays Bank has also been a student of CIBL. With the scholarship from the Confucius Institute, she went to Tsinghua University for a summer study trip. After only 9 months of studying Chinese with CIBL, she has passed HSK3.
Barclays Bank was founded in 1690 and is headquartered in London, England. This year is their first collaboration with CIBL in the celebration of the Chinese New Year culture series. The performances brought by CIBL teachers were well received and enjoyed.
当地时间2月5日中午，中国的大年初一，伦敦商务孔子学院的老师和学生应邀为英国巴克莱（Barclays）银行举行2019年中国新年庆祝活动。
舞龙舞狮队表演的舞狮活灵活现，演员们矫健灵活的身手赢得观众热烈掌声。伦敦商务孔子学院的老师表演的《锁麟囊》是京剧程派的代表作，使现场气氛一下子热闹起来。随后，伦敦商务孔子学院的老师为银行的员工们展示了中国书法，12生肖以及传统的中国剪纸。伦敦商务孔子学院的老师又表演了极具民族特色的舞蹈《紫竹聆风》，美丽的服饰、优美的旋律和欢快的舞姿将现场气氛推向高潮。最后，新年庆祝活动在欢乐的歌声中落下帷幕。
值得一提的是，此次活动中，巴克莱银行的副总孔代雅也是伦敦商务孔子学院的学生，获得孔子学院奖学金后赴清华大学暑期学习，在学习汉语仅仅９个月后就在ＨＳＫ３级的考试中取得了好成绩。
据了解，巴克莱（Barclays）银行成立于1690年，总部设于英国伦敦。今年是双方在中国新年文化系列庆祝活动上的第一次合作，孔院教师带来的的表演广受好评。