China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe (CDPPAT) dancers perform on the stage at River Rock Show Theatre in Richmond, Canada on Oct 4. James Zhu / for China Daily

The China Disabled People's Performing Art Troupe visited the Vancouver, Canada, area for two nights at the River Rock Show Theatre on Oct 4-5, presenting their world-famous show program My Dream.

The troupe was founded in 1987 as a subordinate body of the China Disabled Persons' Federation and entered the cultural market in 2002. The troupe now has more than 100 performers with hearing and visual impairments or physical disabilities. They have overcome those limitations to display unique skills, artistic abilities and strong spirits.

The troupe has visited more than 60 countries and regions in Asia, Europe, America and Oceania. It is the troupe's second time performing in metro Vancouver, after a visit in 2006. The two-night performance in Vancouver also marked the beginning of the troupe's 2014 North America Tour, which aims to highlight Chinese folk culture as well as to strengthen Chinese-Canadian and Chinese-American friendships.

Zhang Jingjin, troupe vice-president, introduced some of the singers and dancers to the media at a conference in Richmond on Oct 3.

Han Ning, the cultural consul of the Consulate-General of the People's Republic of China, in Vancouver, expressed gratitude for the event. Alice Wong, Minister of State for Seniors, also attended.

Performances include My Dream, a poem in sign language, a dance with sign language called The Code of Life, and the troupe's iconic dance presentation Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva (Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva). Tai Lihua, the troupe's president and art director as well as one of the most popular dancers in China, led the dance in Vancouver.

Many local audiences, including some first-generation Chinese immigrants, were moved by the performers' extraordinary skills and strength and applauded enthusiastically.

The event was sponsored by the River Rock Casino Resort and organized by Stardust International Productions. Profits from the ticket sales will be donated to the Rick Hansen Foundation — a not-for-profit organization in Canada — for future cultural exchanges between China and Canada.

In the next two weeks, the troupe will travel to the US cities of San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.