Chinese Culture is by no means proprietary to the Chinese people. Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada (established in 2007), is a vehicle where Chinese culture might be introduced to the people of Canada. The school had arranged locally born children to take on the task of the Chinese dance “Utterance of the Umbrellas”. Seeing how the costumes fit, the way the children moved and posed on stage, and their skillful manoeuvre of the umbrellas, their exposition of this Chinese dance was very authentic. Do you know their mother tongue is English? Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts has had many attempts of multi-cultural activities. Canada is a multi-cultural country just like China. Both our countrymen are friendly and warm towards others. Therefore it was befitting that organizers of the New Year Show invited the dancing group from the Manitoba Mex Y Can Association to perform. Their fiery moves and spicy twists and turns certainly helped to warm everyone up from the frigid weather. This was another perfect example of the possibility of co-operation and generosity in a multi-cultural society.
Chinese Wu Shu was encompassing. The next act was an amalgamation of fan dance and sword dance. It combined the harsh discipline of Chinese Wu Shu and the gentle art of folk dance, by performers from both Canada (sword) and China (dance). This sharp contrast in form was intriguing to the audience, and was a first attempt choreographed by the Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada. The success was well received and was witnessed by everyone at the show.
The next program in the itinerary was “Hand Shadow Magic” by Xu Chen from China. Chen is a graduate of the Sichuan Opera Academy, and this was one of her exquisite acts. Her manual dexterity was transformed into a world beyond description. It might be noteworthy to mention that the China CCTV also included “Hand Shadow Magic” and “Apsaras the Flying Goddess” in their 2008 New Year Show.
Hip-hop is a dance style originated in the USA and spread into China. This has given the Chinese dance professionals after the 80s much more freedom and creative space. Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada has choreographed a touch of Chinese elements into this next number. “The Little Witch” was a fresh look of the hip-hop dance in the hands of Great Wall’s supreme choreography.
Programming in the second half began with “Shao Duo Li”, a dance of the Dai minority of China. Three gorgeous young damsels from the Manitoba Great Wall passionately showed off their talents, and unreservedly expressed the hearts of the Dai young women in front of the audience. They were rewarded with a huge round of applause. This was followed by duet of saxophone and piano playing “North Wind Blowing”. Again one cannot believe they are just high-school music lovers. “North Wind” is a symbol of the arrival of the Chinese New Year. Another familiar tune was heard; a group of young princesses in Ching costume entered the stage. This was the authentic Ching court! And how elegant they paced forward in those special shoes! That night we were witnessing the charm of the Ching princesses. The costume was donated to Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. Following that, Lili Peng from China performed an acrobatic act called the “Flying Fork Maneuver”. Those who sat in the front row, please take special precaution!
The Chinese people are a multi-cultural population. Cultures, language and dietary habits vary from sub-group to sub-group. Mongolians, who make their living in the northern prairie of China, has their unique culture as a result of geographic limitations. Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada had successfully choreographed folk dances from many sub-cultures (including Han, Dai, Sun, and XianJiang) in the past. In 2008, they have prepared the Mongolian dance “Auspicious”. It is worthy to mention that the sole young lad in this dance was performing on stage for the first time; yet his interpretation of his role had won him many praises from his dance teacher and the audience. This dance was followed by the renowned Chinese flautist Xiao-NanWang performing “Graceful Orchids Welcoming the New Year”. Wang is a frequent guest of the Great Wall New Year Show. His short pieces are often the most beloved numbers in the New Year Show program. The folk song “Jasmine Flower” is well known in all walks of China, and now it can be heard in our show in Canada. Performers in the Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada moved in unison onto the stage as Wang steps aside. The song was now superbly choreographed into this elegant dance. With a little imagination we could smell the fragrance of the Jasmine flower in the theatre……..
In 2007, Manitoba Great Wall invited a “Face Changing” Magician from Szechuan Province of China to the New Year Show with overwhelming acclaims. Audience asking for his return, and MB Great Wall Performing Arts had invited not one, but two “Face Changing” magicians to the New Year Show this year. On stage, the pair took turns at their consummate act, and promptly carried the night into a climax. This was witnessed by the unending applause of the audience. The male magician went off stage to shake hands with the VIPs in the front row. He shook hands with the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, and with a quick swing of the head, he was now in a burglars’ mask!! His Honour was taken aback, and gasped with admiration for quite a while. “Amazing! Incredible! How is that possible??” Her Honour Lenore Berscheid demanded an answer. Another round of applause assured, and took the show onto cloud nine.
The amazement of “Face Changing” still fresh in our minds, a dozen ancient warriors in ancient armor emerged on stage. Waving a rectangular flag in their hands, and their solemn stance and countenance, made us wonder if we have traveled in time into that ancient era. The “Face Changing” master Mr. Jin Jiang reappeared in his warrior armor. Only this time he was a magnificent singer. With the heartrending tune “Farewell my Concubine”, and the mesmerizing dancing of Fei Song, the tragedy of unfulfilled love of Conqueror Chu was lamented. Who cares if this number was only rehearsed for two hours, or if the ancient warriors were only overseas students on stage for the first time! Their performance was immaculate and convincing. No sooner than the last note faded, the singer Mr. Jiang had removed his outfit, and changed into a youthful rock star! Singing the Olympics promotional tunes, he did an excellent job in stirring up the crowd by inviting them to beat time together with clapping. The show immediately went into another climax. Another popular song “Tomorrow will be better” followed, striking yet another chord in the audiences’ hearts – together we yearn for new hopes in the New Year, and offer our prayers for the Summer Olympics.
The audience still in a daze, the music “Jasmine Flower” could be heard loud and clear. The damsels of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts hopped on stage once again with the best fragments of their individual programs. Such reinforcement in our already sweetened memory will certainly engrave the evening deeply into our psyche. The show finally ended with great hopes and great expectations for the future. We hope to see all of you (readers) in the show next year. We wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Sichuan Province of China, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Guangdong Province of China, Canada-China Friendship Association of Manitoba, the Winnipeg Chinese Community Foundation Fund, the WCCCC and all local business sponsors for their generous support. See you in the 2009 Chinese New Year Show.
