Members of the H.T.Chen and Dances Company performed at the school in a week’s-end celebration to welcome eight Chinese students to their community. The 11^th-graders have come here—along with two faculty members, Wu Guolin and Yang Junfeng—from Chengdu Experimental Foreign Languages School West Campus to experience life, culture and education in the United States. In March, BCD will send 12 students to Chengdu.

The dance performances were part of H.T. Chen’s two week itinerary which also includes trips to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington. “It was a nice surprise to see this here,” said Junfeng of the welcoming performance. “It was very professional.”

Yesterday’s multi-media program, “heart of the lion,” incorporated dance, video, music, live stage combat and slides. A study guide of vocabulary, geography, history and mythology relating to the performance also was provided by the dancers. According to Dian Dong, associate director of the company, the program is meant not only to give students a better understanding of Chinese dance, but also to offer insights about the country. “Students can cross culture barriers very quickly,” she said.

The Chengdu exchange students have been taking classes at BCD’s Winthrop campus and will attend other local schools. Including Pittsfield High School. They also will take field trips to Stockbridge, Great Barrington and Williamstown.

In addition, the students are looking forward to visiting colleges in the region and going horseback riding and shopping. Earlier in the week, they were officially welcomed to Berkshire County by Pittsfield Mayor James M. Ruberto and the Pittsfield City Council at the council meeting Tuesday night.

Before arriving in the Berkshires, the students spend a night in New York City. Xin Can, who has adopted the American name of Eric, during this visit, said the city was beautiful, but cold. Li Qainran, also known as Hady, said that she had expected Lenox to also have tall buildings and skyscrapers. “But it has a more beautiful landscape… and fresh air, ” interjected Wang “Artemis” Wenyu. Yang Junfeng said that students studying different cultures and languages often adopt a name inherent to that culture to “create a relationship between the person and languages”

Carmen Docyery Perkins, assistant head of the secondary school, said she has enjoyed the opportunity to welcome the students into the community. Although BCD has done several international exchange programs, this is the school’s first time working with China.