On the evening of November 11th, the award-winning dance performance gala of the National Art Exhibition for University, Secondary, and Primary School Students, jointly organized by the Ministry of Education and the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), was held at the NCPA Opera House. The original dance The Drum Forgers, submitted by Guangxi University's Communist Youth League Committee, was performed as the only selected work from Guangxi and the sole entry from the non-professional group of national universities. It received high praise for its profound cultural connotation and exquisite artistic presentation. This also marks the debut performance of an original work from Guangxi University on the NCPA stage.

The Drum Forgers, under the creative guidance of Professor Fu Yiling from the School of The Arts of Guangxi University, is based on a true story and utilizes Zhuang dance as its core element. Focusing on the Guangxi Intangible Cultural Heritage—copper drum casting technique, the piece employs artistic narration to vividly portray the story of a Zhuang master and apprentice who successfully revived the long-lost Zhuang copper drum casting technique in modern times. It depicts a touching journey of exploration, failure, success, and inheritance, paying tribute both to the contemporary craftsman spirit of striving for excellence and to the enduring vitality of ethnic culture passed down through generations. The work conveys the young generation's reverence for traditional culture and their sense of responsibility in its transmission.

For a long time, the university has placed great emphasis on aesthetic education, adhering to the principle of concurrent development in all five domains of education ("Five Educations Simultaneously") and promoting the "Three-wide Education" model. Departments including the Communist Youth League Committee, the School of The Arts, the Academic Affairs Office, and the Graduate School have coordinated their efforts, fostering a new pattern for aesthetic education that is dynamic, collaborative, and efficient. The works selected for this performance were strictly chosen by the Ministry of Education from among the first-prize winners of the National Art Exhibition for University, Secondary, and Primary School Students. Only 13 original works from across the country were ultimately selected, fully demonstrating the solid results of the university's deep commitment to aesthetic education and the cultural confidence of its students.