Chinese New Year Spectacular!

So, last Thursday night, I went to the Chinese New Year Spectacular, a show in downtown San Francisco. I waited too long to get the tickets though because when I checked, there was only one $38 seat left and William really didn't want to pay $60 each to go so he was kind and just let me go. He spent the evening doing coding and got home even after I did. Traffic is seriously such a gamble! You never know what it is going to be like. When we went to the SF Symphony on a Monday night in Dec., we got there smooth sailing- no problems at all. So, I left at 6:45 for the 8 pm show and traffic was totally stop and go and I'm so lucky that I finally found a parking spot at 7:45. But, I still had to run to the theater- and of course, they were late, which is fine since I had only just arrived.

I purchased my tickets online through this Chinese Television Station and so I picked up my ticket and I had thought that I was in the balcony, but I found out that they had given me a MUCH better seat in the first section of the orchestra, on the left side, for no extra charge! I had an awesome view- thanks so much! The show itself was incredible. They had a combination of dancing with musical numbers and both were top quality. The performing group is called the Divine Performing Arts and they are based in New York City and their primary purpose is to continue the legacy of traditional Chinese performing arts. They took this show on tour to Boston and a few other cities, including San Francisco, but they will be doing 15 shows in NYC. Since I come from a family with 2 sisters with careers in the performing arts, I have to say that I have pretty high standards for these types of events. My two big complaints about this performance was more about the background, than the actual performance. They had this big white screen behind the dancers that would show computer generated backdrops that looked really fake and didn't really relate to the dances. Or, it was super cheesy and had a certain performer swoop in on the screen and then appear in person and vice versa. I thought that this was a totally unnecessary addition that really detracted from the beauty of the dancing. The other problem was the MC's- they had a guy and a girl who would alternate announcing the numbers and giving some historical background and context (which I loved) in both English and Chinese (which is great) but the two MC's was just horribly super cheesy and over actors with the dumbest jokes. Again, I just think it detracted from a beautiful performance.

The costuming was INCREDIBLE- everything was perfectly designed to have maximum effect, such as the skirts having sequins that glittered when they moved their bodies. The singers had AMAZING voices- they were great opera voices- clear and powerful (I personally hate when there is too much vibrato). The orchestra was a great combination of "Western" instruments like the violin and trumpet, as well as traditional Chinese ones. The music was composed specifically for the performance and sometimes in traditional form. And then the dancing. The dancing is a combination of some typical ballet moves (but no pointe) but with some modifications and twists to give them a distinctive flair. It was so smooth and clean- just really beautiful to watch. They did a number where they danced with multiple cups stacked inside one another on their head, and removed the throughout the dance to prove they weren't taped on. Several involved dancing while beating drums, a swirling ribbon dance, twirling round cloths on top of both of their hands, chopstick dances, and then some more martial arts numbers from the men. One piece surprised me in that it was truly political. They directly stated that under the current dictatorship in China, they are not allowed to perform shows like this and they are silences, which makes what they are so motivated to share their culture with the rest of the world.

I really enjoyed it and can't WAIT to hear more about what my sister Sarah learns on her dance study-abroad this summer in China! I am sad though, that I won't be around for the San Francisco Chinese New Year Parade coming up in Feb- we'll be out of town . .. so it will have to wait until next year