Beijing Opera, a typical theater form in ancient China, is a performing art the combines singing, recitation, dancing and combat.  It’s being lost in transition to the modern world and times. DCBBO aims to keep the tradition alive through our effort.

DCBBO has four major categories of work programs on an annual basis:

1. Annual Gala (Grand Performance). The activity cluster directly supports DCBBO’s mission by providing fully costumed, live-band accompanied performance for the general public. Consisting of selected acts of classics or full play, the Gala's creativeness is demonstrated through its spontaneous interaction between audiences and performers. A narrator provides brief introduction on the story line and gist of performance conventions prior to each act. Bilingual subtitles and brochures are provided to the audience. Audiences are invited onto stage to try costumes and props during the curtain call.

2. Seasonal Concert. This activity cluster resembles the annual gala that it features spontaneous interaction between performers and audiences throughout the performance. The only difference is that it is on a relatively small scale. That is, a seasonal concert has shorter duration than the annual grand performance, and usually presents a combination of famous arias and acts from a classic play and acts, rather than only selected acts or full play. Last but not least, performers' presentation in such a concert could be accompanied by a hybrid of recorded instrumental music and live band.

3. Workshop and demo performance. The Workshop/demo cluster consists of lecture, demo of basic performing skills and classics, and interaction with audience. Depending on the requirements from event organizers, it could be either standalone or in conjunction with other community events such as New Year celebration. In addition, each workshop and demo are tailored towards the audience demographic data on the basis of intensive consultation with the event organizers and dry run on the event site prior to the formal delivery.

4. Learning Center. The DCBBO Learning Center offers a suite of training classes for Beijing Opera fans who are interested in a deeper dive into this ancient theater form than the aforementioned activities. Participants receive basic skills training on singing, dancing, stage movement and speech for various types of roles; outstanding trainees are selected to showcase their learning result on stage. In addition, the curriculum is developed based on surveying the targeted audience for a particular year. Contact: contact@DCBBO.org