Elaborate dress, acrobatic stage movements, detailed makeup and music. In traditional Beijing opera, short scenes from various traditional stories are performed on minimalistic stages in which most information concerning the opera’s setting comes from the actors’ abilities to evoke the written actions. Beyond acting and dancing, singing is also a central aspect of Beijing opera. Yanli Cui, a mathematics teacher at White Station High School (WSHS), sings and dances traditional Chinese opera in addition to her teaching job.
“I’m teaching [Advanced Placement] Precalculus, AP Calculus BC and all the rest are three Dual Enrollment [classes] — multilinear algebra right now currently, and last semester was multivariable calculus,” Cui said. “Last year, we did differential equations, and it’s all with the University of Memphis.”
Before working atWSHS, Cui worked at the University of Memphis (UofM) for three years as a full-time instructor, and then she accepted a position at Crichton College that she held for 10 years. Prior to working in the United States, Cui taught physics in China for 12 years. She has been teaching at WSHS since 2014, making this year her 11th year of teaching here.
“It was the first time ever in [Crichton College’s] history that they needed a math professor,” Cui said. “My daughter was getting a training for a summer mission trip, and [when] I picked her up — when I was still full-time at the UofM — I got to talk to the provost, [and] they said, ‘[We] want to give this offer to you;’ I didn’t even apply.”
Cui began singing and dancing traditional opera during her childhood. Her late mother highly regarded such a traditional art, and her passing has influenced Cui’s love and dedication towards it. In addition to this art, Cui also sings in her church’s choir.
“I basically like singing and dancing,” Cui said. “It’s not typical [for] people who also are doing math, [but] I just loved doing that from [my] childhood. At the Chinese church, I sometimes do solo [performances], and [I perform for] the Chinese Society at the Rose Theater sometimes. Right now, because of my mom passing, I just [fell] in love with the Beijing opera, because she introduced me to that.”
Cui performs her art at several venues, including Grizzlies basketball games at halftime and Chinese New Year celebrations. She has been nationally recognized and awarded for her performances and is often invited to large-scale events to dance or sing.
“[I perform] at every Chinese New Year, and also I participate at Washington D.C.,” Cui said. “Since my mom’s passing, all the things [are] like a way to show my love for her. I went to Washington D.C. to do the singing, [sing and] I got an honorable mention. There [was] also an online singing Beijing opera competition, [and] one time I got [an] honorable mention — that’s worldwide. [I] just love Beijing opera. During the pandemic, every day after teaching six classes or seven, she [would] be sitting in front of the screen waiting for me.”
Group traditional dances require extensive collaboration and synchronization between members, necessitating regular practice. Cui’s rehearsals with the dance team she is on are typically held on weekends.
“We have a dancing team; with this teaching role, you’ve got to keep yourself energetic,” Cui said. “That’s a way for me to do exercise, just like you [would] go to the gym; I don’t go to the gym, I don’t have time.”
Cui’s mother was also a teacher, and she was recognized as one of two outstanding teachers in their state in China. Her mother’s dedication to her students has impacted her attitude toward her current students, motivating her to work hard for their learning.
“[My mom] was a wonderful teacher in China,” Cui said. “She loved her students with all of her heart, and she put all of herself [into] her teaching. She’s always told me that there’s no child that cannot learn, there’s just a teacher who cannot teach. Every child can learn. That’s why, when she was in China, they gave her the worst class, and she’d turn it [around] in a day to the best. It’s a miracle.”
Every year, CollegeBoard hosts a week-long “grading camp” in the summer to grade AP exams. On account of her qualifications, Cui was invited to grade exams last year; she has already been invited back to do it again this year.
“Last year, I [did] the AP Calculus grading in Kansas City,” Cui said. “Worldwide AP Calculus teachers got there — to get there is a big honor. They asked me if I did dancing, and I danced one [in honor of Father’s Day] … There’s an old saying that ‘once a teacher, you are a parent forever for students.’ That’s the saying in China … Yesterday, I got the news that I am going to go there again, and [they said], ‘You’ve got to dance for us.’”
Beyond her arts and teaching, Cui has also participated in an international beauty pageant in Dubai. She was unable to stay for the entire competition because of her needing to get back to teaching.
“I was at the international pageant,” Cui said. “They had a worldwide pageant … [with] the finals in the U.S. in Houston, but I had to take our [math] team to [Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament] at Harvard at the same time, and they said, ‘Even if you didn’t attend the U.S. final, we’ll still give you a ticket to go to Dubai to do the worldwide international finals.’ I got a ‘Wisdom’ award.”
In the past, Cui and her daughter had rented a resort suite for her dancing and, while there, they saw two people be overtaken by a large wave and fall into the water of a large lake nearby. There was nobody there besides Cui and her daughter, so they rushed to call for help.
“There [was] nobody, but [we] managed to call the ambulance, but they couldn’t come because we were in the pandemic,” Cui said. “So we just [ran] to different people’s houses, and finally my daughter — her friend’s friend’s cousin rode a [motorboat] to get to the center of the lake and saved their lives. It was the same dance that I danced at the AP teachers’ awards ceremony.”
Through all her efforts and dedication to her students, Cui finds substantial value in her work and the effect she has on her students’ learning. The moments when students truly appreciate certain concepts and show excitement for them are particularly important to her.
“Seeing students learning, seeing students [having] a bright face and smile on your face [is my favorite aspect of teaching],” Cui said. “When you enjoy [it], I can tell; that’s my biggest rewarding moment. I feel like teaching is really the calling for me. I love every bit of it.”
