All 132 children spent more than two months rehearsing for these performances, and it is commonplace to change a choreographed movement more than a dozen times, sometimes as many as 20 to 30. "When a director came up with a new dance sequence, the teachers had to explain it to the children and rehearse them at once. If the director was not satisfied, he or she would change to a new sequence. This has nurtured the children's adaptability," deputy director of the Children's Palace's Dancing Center Xie Jing said.

Children went to the Children's Palace after class every afternoon for rehearsals that went on till late every evening, but still had to get up at six o'clock for school the next morning. The oldest member of the troupe is 14 years old and the youngest is six. Despite strenuous training, no one quit. "There were no understudies. If a child could not perform onstage after all that hard training, it would leave an indelible scar on their consciousness," Chen Baihua said. "In the face of such dedication, the least we could do was to take good care of the children," Chen added. The art troupe arranged for more than 20 teachers to care for them and supervise their nutrition.

Among the young dancers is an American girl called Gillian, whose Chinese name is Li Xiaofeng. She is a pupil in class 5, grade 1 of the No. 1 Primary School attached to the Shanghai Normal University. She has been studying dance at the Children's Palace for four years. In the fourth part of the opening ceremony performance, three families of different ethnicities – Asian, Afro-Caribbean and Caucasian – appeared onstage. The three children joined hands, expressing human determination to unite and support one another and face future challenges. Li Xiaofeng played the child of the white family.

"I was very happy to be among Chinese friends, and wanted to study with them. I asked my mom if I could go to a Chinese school, and she agreed," Li Xiaofeng said in fluent Chinese. Although from a wealthy foreign family she rehearsed as diligently and as long as each of her Chinese peers.

"Dancing Has Taught Me Perseverance"

"When rehearsing the background dance to the song Star, the teacher told us to gaze at the sky as if at stars. I was so tired I actually could see stars," Sun Anni, a schoolmate of Gillian, wrote in her diary. When told that there would be another rehearsal the next day, Sun dissolved into tears and the teacher told her she could skip it. But she put aside her exhaustion and appeared on time as usual the next day.

"Dancing has taught me perseverance," is the conclusion all the children in the Little Companion Art Troupe have reached. It is the catch-phrase of Chang Shuai, a third year student at Shanghai Qibao Senior High School, who was recently enrolled in Harvard University. "I joined the Little Companion Art Troupe to learn dance when I was a first grader, and have kept at it for 12 years," Chang said.

Ding Dishu, a first year student at Shanghai Shixi Middle School, also joined the Little Companion Art Troupe while in primary school. She has taken part in performances at the SCO Summit Meeting and the Sino-British Cultural Year. She went to Russia as part of the bid to host the 2010 World Expo, and has also performed in Japan and Spain. Ding was chosen to welcome US President Barack Obama with a bouquet of flowers on behalf of the CWI Children's Palace when he arrived at Pudong International Airport on his state visit last November. The strenuous demands of rehearsals and performances have not affected Ding's excellent academic scores.