Shanxi Drama Vocational College will train 50 dance students from Laos from Dec 1 to Jan 15, 2017, in a learning exchange program supported by China's embassy in Laos, the Shanxi Provincial Department of Culture and the Laos government.

The students, from the Laos Mekong River Troupe, will be taught by Chinese art directors Xia Dao and Wang Fuying, both renowned for creating large scale productions for television shows and art galas.

Following completion of the 45-day program, an elaborate show will take center stage at the Songkran Festival of Laos in April 2017. The play will unfold a quintessential story of Laotian culture.

The exchange will further the cultural communication between Shanxi province and the Southeast Asian country of Laos.

"The training forms part of the Belt and Road Initiative, which benefits Shanxi's cultural cooperation with regions and countries along the Belt and Road," said Zheng Zhongxia, vice director of Shanxi Provincial Department of Culture.

Trainees of Laos Mekong River Troupe perform a traditional folk dance at the launch ceremony for exchange training in Taiyuan on Dec 2. [Photo/sxrb.com]

Students of Shanxi Drama Vocational College perform a dance at the launch ceremony of exchange training in Taiyuan on Dec 2. [Photo/sxrb.com]