The dragon swoops Stateside
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China Daily, January 19, 2012
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The Empire State building in New York is hosting a Spring Festival window exhibition, featuring displays about traditional Chinese New Year festivities. Provided to China Daily |
"There is no better way to convey the friendship between two nations, to experience and celebrate a rich tradition of Chinese culture," a representative of the Sino-American Culture & Arts Foundation (SACAF), which helped organize the event, says in a statement.
"It is a unique opportunity to experience rich Chinese culture and the performances of three fine Chinese artists."
The Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development and the Beijing Performance & Arts Group Co are also sponsoring the event. According to SACAF, it will be broadcast to millions of viewers in China.
On Jan 24, the New York Philharmonic and the Inner Mongolia Children's Chorus will perform at the Lincoln Center with Chinese cantor Yu Long and Chinese pianist Lang Lang. They will be performing both Chinese and Western pieces.
"This concert is interesting in that it's a sign that Chinese can also present Western culture back to Americans," Li Li, from SAFA, says.
SAFA helped organize the concert.
"This is a new angle for our association to promote this friendship to the US," Li says.
"They will be performing with Western musicians and they will be presenting Western culture. But the American musicians will also be presenting Chinese culture. So it's a great mix."
New Yorkers will also be able to attend performances of Shanghai Tango by Jin Xing and her dance company, the Jin Xing Dance Theater, at the Joyce Theater on Jan 31 through Feb 5. The engagement will mark the first time Jin has performed in the US for 20 years.
The timing of the show was unintentional, Jin says.
"But as a superstitious person, I take it as auspicious to begin the Year of the Dragon with performances in the US," she says.
"The audience will hopefully be able to get a view of the differences between Chinese and Western dance art, especially how cultural influences are expressed through body movements and emotions."
Other events across the US include the Southwest Airlines Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco, an exhibition entitled Dragons, Nagas and Creatures of the Deep at Washington DC's Textile Museum, a Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey's circus show called Dragons, and an evening gala for Chinese expatriates hosted by the Asia Cultural Center in New York.
The Chinese consulate recently hosted a seminar about introducing Chinese culture to the US market.
Zheng Wen, says, "We're hoping we can promote the Chinese culture industry in the US and further improve Chinese cultural exchanges here. 2012 is a new period for Chinese culture, and we're looking for new models to promote Chinese culture in the world."
Ma Yunfei from the Chinese consulate in New York agrees, but stresses that a Westernized approach is often necessary in introducing Chinese culture to US audiences.
"As China grows stronger in its economy, it expects the world to understand its culture," Ma says.
"These cultural activities abroad are part of the program to promote the soft power of our country. But in a globalized market economy, our cultural products need to live up to the expectations of the consumers to withstand the test of the market. So we have to promote our culture with an American approach."
