The man who journeyed to the heart of Peking Opera

For Diab, not a single day of training was without a challenge. Five professional performers from the China National Peking Opera Company worked with Diab, collectively and separately, during training and practice spanning three months.

Diab started his 100-day training after meeting up with his mentor, veteran Peking Opera actor Liu Dake, who specializes in hualian roles (literally translated as painted face, referring to actors playing male roles with striking looks and high social position). Liu introduced basic knowledge about Peking Opera and closely followed up on Diab's progress, dispensing advice and guidance and helping Diab through difficult times by sharing his stories.

The first training session took place when Diab met Zhu Lingyu, a 25-year-old talented and diligent wusheng (male martial arts performer). Zhu, who started practicing martial arts as a child and later studied Peking Opera at the age of 10, was Diab's main teacher, accompanying him from the first day of training to the final performance.

Yu, an actor who specializes as a wuchou (martial arts clown), helped Diab better understand his stage character, perfect his moves, especially the ones that required coordination between them on stage, like sword fighting scenes and synchronous cartwheels at the end of the show. The others are actress Bai Weichen, who specializes in wudan (female martial arts), and He Yishan, also a wusheng actor.