Outside of the university environment, arts-based strategies for corporate learning also flourish. Research shows that art-based learning, taught by artists to entrepreneurial teams in the business sector, can often strengthen teamwork, self-awareness, and connection with the environment.

From 2005 to 2015, professor Peng Yongwen from the Shanghai Theatre Academy researched the role of arts-based models in corporate learning. He explored how to teach performance, drawing, music, and movement/dance to business employees.

Between 2011 and 2015, more than five professors from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, including Yongwen, conducted corporate training sessions in diverse businesses. They aimed to use the arts to improve the employees’ skills for problem-solving, emotional management, and social/expressive performance so that they can attract more investors and clients.

For example, YIN Yili, a Shanghai music facilitator, created a music workshop for a corporate client. The participants made music with African drums; the sound of the drums became a force for collective motivation and action. Another trainer used a Guqin, an ancient Chinese instrument, to teach entrepreneurs how to remain calm in the face of serious decisions.

In Shanghai, dancers at the Ting Ballet School developed dance courses for corporate employees to teach them to connect their mind and body, to help them release physical energy, and to encourage them to express their thoughts through their bodies. In these workshops, the participants were asked to pay close attention to their movements, to feel how each body part connected with another, and to imagine the dialogue between the body and the mind to achieve harmony in their movements.

For more examples, see Peng Yongwen’s article “Art-Based Learning in Business in Mainland China.” Creative Arts Educ Ther, Vol 1, no.1 (2015):41–52. DOI: 10.15534/CAET/2015/1/6 https://caet.inspirees.com/caetojsjournals/index.php/caet/article/download/7/12?inline=1#r8