Discovering Lunar New Year

Americans just don't know how to do New Year's right. One night of boundless revelry followed by an afternoon of football just doesn't compare to a 15-day celebration featuring music, dance and theater. That's how the Chinese do it, and last Sunday the celebrations began in Page Auditorium. Duke's Chinese Student and Scholars Association, along with similar groups from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and the Research Triangle Park organized the event, entitled "The Spring Festival Show." The four organizations brought together people of Chinese descent from across the Triangle for a night of extraordinary displays of artistic talent. North Carolina Representative David Price kicked off the show with a brief speech wishing festival goers good health and cheer in the New Year. Next, a spokesperson for the Chinese ambassador to the United States spoke to the crowd in Chinese, eliciting a roar from the auditorium. The MCs of the evening spoke in Chinese throughout, only translating the title of the sequential acts, so the entire event was a true tribute to Chinese culture. The first set of performers--the North Carolina Chinese Art Ensemble (NCCAE) and the Sunny Dance Club--collaborated with a traditional Chinese song and dance number. The costumes for this piece were striking--the female dancers wore red and held turquoise blue fans creating a picturesque display. But the standout event of the evening had to be the children's dances. The first routine featured little girls, who could not have been older than five, wearing tiny tutus and ballet slippers. The audience was bowled over when one little dancer took it upon herself to tell the others where to stand. The older girls' dances were all a bit more refined than the first and their brilliant costumes lit up the auditorium. A "Fashion Model Show" was the most offbeat event of the evening. With En Vogue's "My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)" playing in the background, 12 Chinese bombshells strutted their stuff in some cool clothes, bringing a little of Milan to Durham. With a music change to a Chinese song, the saucy catwalkers donned traditional Chinese dresses and walked with a little less sass. Then, Willie Nelson's "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" began playing and out came the girls in their sexy evening wear--very beauty-pagent-esque. Choral groups were also a favorite on the stage Sunday night. Groups sang many songs in Chinese and moved the audience throughout the evening. Soloists also performed both in song and on the piano. The violin and piano duo played a remarkable piece entitled, "Fishers Singing Home Delightfully" which jumped back and forth between the two and kept the audience enthralled with their mastery of the instruments. Theater was also a part of the evening as actors performed two short plays. The audience was in stitches after "Number 21," a play about a woman with a flat tire and her very pregnant friend. Comic relief was quite welcome between the dances and the rather serious choral numbers. The Spring Festival Show celebrated the beginning of the Year of the Horse with performances in all areas of the arts, from song and dance to theater and fashion. The festival marked just one of the many days of celebration for this Chinese New Year period, and the party is just getting started.