1 . Having spent more than a decade on the dance floor, ROME — Niccolo Filippi, a 23-year-old Italian dance performer, recently decided to explore Chinese culture and its traditional dance forms and believes that this experience will not only boost his career, but also broaden his horizons beyond the world of dance.

His interest in diversifying his skills grew after he stumbled upon a short video of traditional Chinese-styled dance on YouTube. “I saw it as an art that combines tradition and modernity, which was mostly the reason why I liked it,” says Filippi.

Ever since, he has been closely following Chinese dance performers and watching numerous videos to learn more about the traditional style that he admires. “I prefer the traditional style because of its light movements. It also reflects my personality with elegance,” he adds.

Filippi’s chance came when he was invited to perform for a Chinese New Year celebration in the central Italian city of Florence. He has since fully committed himself to the art form, learning several pieces and putting his newfound passion into practice.

“The biggest difference that I found (compared to other disciplines) is the change of mood and emotional expressions among dances,” says Filippi, adding that he needed to shift from the dynamic moves of hip-hop to the graceful and fluid movements of Chinese dance. Despite various obstacles, Filippi’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Two of his friends shared videos of his performances on social media, and the response was overwhelming. One video garnered 500,000 views, while the other received 200,000 views.

Filippi believes that learning about different cultures is priceless, and he sees it as a means of personal growth. “I like to think of a person as a book,” he says. “Embracing different traditions and cultures, such as Chinese culture and many others, is like adding new chapters to my book, making it more diverse and wonderful.”

2 . Music is present in any part of the world, and it is appreciated and felt everywhere. Without its presence, life could be boring. Studies show that music is good for your body and mind.     1    

Music can increase pain management. Listening to music can help increase your pain tolerance (耐痛性).     2     Listening to music can help you gain a sense of control over your ability to deal with pains. If you have a certain pain, for example, listening to music that you enjoy can help reduce the pain that you experience.

●    3     Listening to certain types of music, such as relaxing music, can naturally reduce both your heartbeat rate and breathing rate. Additionally, music has shown promising results as a treatment for heart disease. Whether it involves listening to music or composing music, the calming effect that music produces further improves your heart’s health by supporting it throughout the healing process.

●Music can reduce anxiety and depression     4     When it comes to anxiety and depression, music treatment can help to reduce the amount of stress hormones. For example, listening to music that you enjoy can naturally decrease the amount of cortisol (皮质醇) that your body releases.

●Music can improve self-expression and communication. Self-expression and communication are an important part of the human experience, especially when it comes to basic emotional and mental health needs.     5     By listening and singing along to music, kids who struggle to interact and communicate with others can practice using the very skills needed to do so.

3 . For over a decade, Zubin Kanga, a pianist, composer and technologist, has changed the limits of the forms of musical performances. He has both organized and performed shows that have pushed barriers, with motion sensors, artificial intelligence (AI), live-generated 3D visuals and virtual reality among the technological advancements used to unlock new possibilities of music and performances.

Kanga’s approach to employing cutting-edge technology was first informed by the relative limitations of his chosen instrument. “The piano is a very accurate technology,” he says. “From the early 20th century till now it hasn’t really changed at all. It’s an amazing instrument, but it does have certain limitations in terms of the types of sound you can create.”

One of the early works is Steel on Bone, composed by Kanga himself. He performs the piece using MiMU multi-sensor gloves. “I can put up one finger, and that’ll produce a particular sound,” Kanga explains. “And then I can control that sound just by moving my wrist through the air — I can do that with lots of different gestures.”

“For Steel on Bone, I’m actually playing inside the piano with these steel knitting (编织) needles, and getting all these interesting effects on the strings. Then I’m using samples of them. Sometimes I’m using live delays and operating them. The sound can change depending on how my hands are moving. It allows me to make a very theatrical piece, and people can see this immediate connection between how I’m moving — these very big, almost conductor-like gestures through the air — and the way the sound is changing,” said Kanga.

This is just the start, and Kanga goes on to be enthused with the use of motion sensors to make music, the possibilities that AI offers composers as a tool, and how virtual reality could transform performances and more.

7 . Kairo McLean was waiting for his mom to pick him up from school. She arrived with the car windows down, playing Kairo's song Easy Now as loud as the sound could go. That was when she informed him that he was nominated (提名)for the Juno Awards, one of Canada's most influential music awards, for Reggae Recording of the Year. At age 13, Kairo was the youngest artist ever nominated for Reggae Recording of the Year at the JUNOS. His Juno- nominated single Easy Now appears on his first-ever album(歌曲专辑)of the same title.

“I’m so glad that reggae music, which is originally from Jamaica(牙买加), is being rec- ognized and appreciated here in Canada, ”Kairo said in an interview. “It's really exciting that all my efforts have been recognized in spite of my young age, and it motivates me to keep struggling hard to realize my musical dream, ”he said.

“Kairo would try to play the keyboard before he was tall enough to reach it. He wanted to learn how to play the guitar before it could even fit on his lap, ”Kairo's mom recalled. “Listening to music from reggae music artists like Cocoa Tea, Yellowman and Bob Marley is a normal thing in our household. Apart from that, he really put many efforts in his interest, ” she added.

As a Canadian reggae artist outside of Jamaica, Kairo feels that music should spread a message about love and peace, not things like violence and hate. Kairo’s music is about bright light in the world, though we might be always caught in the darkness such as bullies(仗势欺人者)at school or crime in the society. “I bring up the injustices that I see in the world and I talk about them because they need to be spoken about and they need to be heard, ”said Kairo.

8 . The Health Benefits of Music

Music can have a big impact on your mental health.     1     But it can actually do more than just change your state of mind—music has an impact on you physically, too. Here are just a few of the transformative effects of music on your health!

It improves the cardiovascular (心血管的) health. Good music may just help your heart to be healthier.     2     One study found that music reduced the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in people’s systems, and reduced blood pressure.

    3     If you’re looking to take your exercise performance to the next level you may want to consider doing it with the help of music. Studies have found listening to music as you exercise improves endurance, productivity, power, and strength. If you’ve ever wondered why professional athletes don’t listen to music during a race, it’s because they aren’t allowed to— for this very reason!

It boosts your immune system. With cold and flu season on the horizon, you may want to make sure you’ve got all your favorite songs downloaded.     4    

It helps you sleep better.     5     A study showed that students who listened to relaxing classical music for 45 minutes before turning in slept significantly better than before. If you’re having trouble sleeping, try listening to a little soft music before bedtime.

It’s safe to say the next time you need a little pick-me-up, turning on your favorite tune is the smartest option—and the healthiest, too!