2. “You are Incredibly Talented”
Fei Song is one of the pillars of the Dance team of the Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc. Those who have attended previous New Year Shows will attest to this statement. In the 2008 Show, when new leadership was urgently needed, she promptly shouldered the role of acting Artistic Director. This was her first time taking on such a heavy role. During those days of show preparation, she was attending university and was constantly had to meet deadlines. Yet she spent every last drop of her energy and spare time for the New Year Show. Only she can tell you how tough it must have been! She did not rest much…every weekend was spent doing rehearsals, one after another. She choreographed both the opening and closing ceremonies. The Hip-hop dance was also her work. Believe it or not, she also performed in “Jasmine Flower”, “Shao Dou Li”, “Farewell my Concubine”, and the Hip-hop dances. She was also active in prop design and production. She attended to the details of every single item in the program, including timing, lighting, costume, music selection and program order. When she produced a smooth program itinerary in front of the programming committee, everyone was in awe. Everything was there and not a word needed to be added or deleted. The perfectly smooth run of the program during the show was entirely the result of her meticulous preparation. Fei, you are incredibly talented!
3. General Manager who loves to e-mail
In the preparation of the 2008 New Year Show, organizers mainly rely on e-mail technology for communication. One of the busiest persons is the “Program coordinator” of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts and “Administrator” of Great Wall Dance Academy of Canada, Ms. Yilan Zhang. She was responsible for various aspects of performer-instructor-student-parents activities. Notifications of rehearsals, location change, and performance scheduling are her realm of work. Everyone received her daily e-mails which ranged from three to more than ten e-mails a day. We can imagine just the typing alone would occupy much of her time. These notifications were not necessary pleasing to everybody, and results were slow in coming. When it came to our turn to give her a title in the printed program, we felt that “General Manager” would be most appropriate. The future well-being of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc. will depend on such caring, selfless and considerate people like Yilan.
4. All-Round Goddess
Ms. Hairuo Guo? Everyone knew her as a flying Goddess dancer after the New Year Show. In reality she is an all-round genius. No question she is another pillar in the dance team of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc. In the 2008 show, she performed in “Apsaras the Flying Goddess”, “Manzu Dance of the Princesses”, Hip-hop, opening and closing ceremonies. She choreographed the Mongolian children dance “Auspicious”. Just imagine all the performances plus rehearsal time. She somehow found time to design the poster, the ticket, and the banner. If this was not enough, she made the slide show in the background and compiled it into a DVD for the show. She designed the layout of the printed program. She designed most of the advertisements. She edited the background music for the dance program….she did the measurements of costumes for all performers…and made alterations. Oh my Goddess!!
5. The most Elegant Stage Director in our History
Anyone in show business can tell you that a Stage Director is usually a fierce and tough extrovert. This is easy to understand because no good show can afford a lull. Ms. Mohan Peng, despite being a quiet and reserved young university student, was appointed Stage Director for the 2008 New Year Show. This was in addition to her roles as performers in the “Manzu Dance of the Princesses”, and opening and closing ceremonies. That night, you could see her hurrying from one corner to another, in costume, working as a stage prompter. When we watched her in the Manzu Princess costume going up and down the stairs prompting for the next number, her shadow reminded us that she was the most elegant Stage Director in the history of the New Year Show.
6. Did we “Brain-drain” him?
Did the show brain-drain this poor fellow? Mr. Gary Liu is the president of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts Inc. As president, he is involved in every aspect of the show. At the same time he has to watch out for his every move, for community work could be a fountain of misunderstandings. But he persevered without looking back. Other than his daily routines, he was the one who made connections with China regarding costume production, visa application, and arranged reception for the visiting performers. He said that since the show preparation started, he never went to bed before midnight. He was especially anxious after the visa applications were submitted to the Canadian Embassy in Beijing. By that time many tickets were sold, and the consequence would be severe should any of the visas be rejected. Working as a family, the members of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts never bothered him with local performance matters. We believe our consideration is our biggest support to Gary personally. He is good at the things he does best and he is the right person to be our president. Just like an old Chinese immigrant said, ”Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts succeeded in doing something that many generations of Chinese immigrants were not able to achieve here.” This is a high praise to our team leader -- our president; and is a great encouragement to the committee members.
7. The “Ticket-Master”
There is no shortage of work for a New Year Show, but selling tickets is the most difficult job. Many telephone calls must be made, and tickets may need to be delivered, and money will need to be collected. Many unforeseen situations may arise from misunderstandings. Having visiting performers from China in the 2008 show has increased the show’s budget substantially. For that reason we have cancelled the volume discount. Dr. Louis Leung Shing is a physician. His daily work is very busy, but he volunteered to market tickets for our show. He enthusiastically informed everyone about the show, and will deliver tickets almost any time of the day. Many times the phone would ring as he just returned home from a ticket-delivery trip, only to have him making another trip to deliver more tickets. Some days he would deliver tickets as late as 9pm in the evening, because he did not want to take a chance that the caller might change his mind. He single-handedly sold $1600.00 worth of tickets!! He is the “Ticket-Master” of the 2008 Manitoba Great Wall New Year Show!!
8. Volunteer Foreman Extraordinaire
Did you see that agile Terracotta soldier at the backstage the night of the show? His name is Xiao Liu. Volunteers knew he is their coordinator for the show; performers knew him as a performer; and the technician thought he is the stage set manager. He rehearsed the timing for changing of the stage settings, and worked until 4am the night before the show. The morning of the show, he was the first person arriving at the theatre, bringing with him as many volunteers as he could fit into his car. After the long day of the show, he was the last one to leave the building; again gave rides home to several volunteers. The amazing thing was that right from the beginning, once he accepted his multiple duties, no one ever have to bother him or look over his shoulder. No wonder Gary Liu, President of Manitoba Great Wall is trying to become his match-maker, “you girls should marry such a young man!” Indeed, to track down a responsible, accountable, conscientious, capable and sensitive young man as Xiao Liu is no easy task these days.
9. Team Spirit
The success of the 2008 Chinese New Year Show is a result of team spirit between the Board of directors and the programming committee. Members in these two committees understand that we are in the same boat. The president, Gary Liu has appropriately delegated the duties. Members promptly accepted their roles with enthusiasm. The vice president Rosana Leung Shing drafted the invitation letter and the sponsorship letter. She also contacted the local media and sponsors and received their support. Her success in inviting VIPs from the three levels of governments is a significant factor in increasing the publicity of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts. Dr. Hermann Lee is a busy orthodontist, but he is dedicated in promoting Chinese culture and our New Year Show. Because of his efforts, a substantial amount of monetary support was received, and the financial basis for the event is secured. He also in charge translating English scripts. Eva Luk is the legal advisor of Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts. She drafted the invitation letter to the visiting performers from Sichuan. With her business connection, she also invited many VIPs and sold many tickets. The programming committee is mainly consisted of performers and those with experience in performing arts. Yun Cheng, Fei Song, Yilan Zhang and Hairuo Guo were busy with many aspects of the actual performance. Suqing Chen, a Chinese student from Malaysia, is an excellent folk dancer. She also assisted in preparation of the printed program. Tao Wang is busy in her Ph.D. program, yet she spent time to write all the Chinese scripts, allowing us to recognize her unusual talents in prose.
Much more could be said, many others should be thanked….Qian Ge, Yu Su, Jian Sun, TianZe Xie, Jiwei Peng......and more. Nothing is impossible with such a great team. We believe Manitoba Great Wall Performing Arts is a significant force in the preservation of Chinese heritage in Canada society.
