On Saturday
January 8th, 2005, the Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc.
(MGWPA), in collaboration with the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and
Community Centre (WCCC), held its 3rd annual Chinese New Year
show at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre. And what a SHOW it
was!!!!
The event started at 7.00 p.m. with opening remarks from Mr.
Philip Lee of the Winnipeg Chinese Cultural and Community Centre
and MGWPA's President, Gary Liu. We couldn't have asked for a
better turnout. The theatre was packed with approximately 1,400
spectators of all ages. To welcome the New Year, a demonstration
of the "Lion Dance" was performed by the Manitoba Sport Wushu
Institute. The ethnic dance and instrumental performance were
absolutely magnificent! On the youth side, the talented dancers
gave us an outstanding performance from the classical ethnic
dance to modern Hip Hop dance. The colorful costumes of the
different provinces of China were also show cased.
We were honored to have the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance perform the
Hopak Dance. The dancers demonstrated their ability to perform
flamboyant, lively and physical and artistic feats in a
"show-off" dancing style.
On the media side, we had reporters from A-Channel, Global TV.,
and the Winnipeg Free Press. Part of the show was televised on
the Saturday night news. A preview of the show was also
televised on Shaw-TV.
Here are some of the comments made by the audience:
"The show was excellent. I only wished that my sons had come as
well." said the owner of Maxim's Bakery.
"You did an amazing job on the show. I spoke to many in the
audience, and they thought it was great. Thanks!" Said Malinda
Lee.
From Mr. Sametz of the Rusalka Ukrainian Dance Group:
"Congratulations once again on a wonderful show at the Pantages
on Saturday night. We enjoyed it thoroughly and we certainly
realize the countless number of hours, which go into making it a
success! We couldn't help but smile when we saw the Rusalka
dancers up on stage when we realized that our two cultures
really are similar in our love of song, dance and lively
celebrations complete with beautiful national costumes. You can
be proud of all your hard work in planning such an event and for
your vision in reaching out to another vibrant ethnic community
in our province. This is what makes our province and our country
what it is! Best wishes to you and your family in the new year
of the ROOSTER!"
Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc. and the Winnipeg
Chinese Cultural and Community Centre would like to sincerely
thank
the sponsors for their generous donation. And to all the
performers and
volunteers of the event, we extend a heartfelt Thank You for
your hard work and dedication. We wish you all the very best in
the Year of the Rooster!
Reported by Rosana Leung Shing
On behalf of the Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc.
