by Jennifer Wesnousky, Explore Dance, February 16, 2007-
China’s Tang Dynasty between 618 and 906 A.D., explains the program for the NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION’S CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR, “is often called the highest point in Chinese history. Morality and education were highly valued and society was in harmony with nature.” Formed and named for this period by Chinese people living in the United States, the goal of New Tang Dynasty Television is to utilize American free speech to educate other Chinese people about world affairs in an environment free of the historic Chinese government restrictions. Its CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR, performed at Radio City Music Hall between February 14 and 17, 2006, paid additional tribute to the prosperous period, showcasing a mélange of traditional Chinese song and dance to the educational delight of folks from every ethnicity.
The SPECTACULAR was a spectacle from its very first moment. The curtains opened to a smoke-filled stage across which the scurrying dancers, dressed as angels, appeared to float. A screen in back of the swarm of performers projected what appeared to be genuine Chinese landscapes, which changed from scene to scene. Following the first piece and throughout the performance, a charming Chinese narrator and her male, American counterpart shed some bilingual light regarding many of the production’s depictions.
Representing different historical periods and traditions, the SPECTACULAR presented an array of diverse and delightful dances. The young performers in “Rainbows” burst in carrying mystery props that appeared like bouquets of flowers, releasing them to reveal beautiful, brightly colored garlands similar to those used in rhythmic gymnastics. With tiny steps and little body movement, the number’s focus was on musically moving the ribbons midair, sometimes creating creative shapes in the midst of spins or leaps. “Dai Ethnic Dance” featured tiny, beautiful young females whose slow motion, sensual movement and shimmying shoulders in front of a projection of a river and palm trees evoked a comparison with the Hawaiian hula. Another standout dance piece featured a barrage of male dancers in fur-lined headpieces, made to represent herders on the Mongolian plains. Their masculine dance was filled with flowing arms, jerky shoulder movements and Russian-esque toe-touches, cartwheels and airborne barrel turns.
Many of the SPECTACULAR’s dance numbers included eye-pleasing formations, flowing arms, small, scampering steps and serene, seemingly divinely inspired faces. The use of props additionally characterized several of the compositions. In addition to the “Rainbows” ribbons, the companies incorporated bright orange, parasol-shaped cloths twirling rapidly on their fingertips, flower-shaped candleholders held precariously like trays atop the dancers’ hands and, in “Victory Drums,” a plethora of drums and drumsticks meant, according to Chinese folklore to “ward off evil” as well as “bring in a happy and bright New Year.”
The show also incorporated a live orchestra as well as an assortment of vocal talent including piano-accompanied sopranos, a tenor and a contralto who displayed her incredible vocal range. While all of the performance’s vocal numbers were sung in their native dialects, their projected transcriptions and English subtitles across the performance backdrop revealed their themes, dealing often with historical movements and their devoted disciples.
Whether outfitting the singers or dancers, each and every SPECTACULAR costume was just that, incorporating a brightly colored, beautiful range of fabrics as well as intricate headpieces. Silks and chiffons abounded on outfits including dresses, skirts, pants and robes with sashes with extreme attention to detail on accessories from jeweled tiaras to flowers, bows and even butterflies.
For an hour and a half on February 16, 2007, various aspects of Chinese culture became accessible to such diverse audience members as Chinese and other Americans, including teachers and school children from a multitude of backgrounds who may otherwise never have been exposed. Through the meticulous portrayal of Chinese song, dance and instrumentation by a team of over two-hundred talented performers, the NEW TANG DYNASTY TELEVISION’s CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR left its audience with the tranquil sensation of having witnessed something both enlightening and resplendent.
By Georgina Hubbard, http://www.articledashboard.com -
The dazzling costumes in NTDTV’s Chinese New Year Spectacular are as much a part of each dance as the dance movements themselves. They are, in many ways, the palette on which the dance is performed. Clothes, hair, colors—this is what transports us to the Divine Land of ancient China.
The Spectacular’s wardrobe designers put great effort into creating just the right effect. A costume starts with a concept of the dance. The dance may have a powerful story or be found in a specific dynasty. Designers pore over paintings, frescoes and even statues to find the right look. Accessories then come into the design—hair, shoes, hats, belts. Next come sketches. Designers must consider not only how an outfit looks but also its flexibility for dance movements and whether it is durable enough to withstand over eighty performances.
Then the sketch goes to the sewing workshop. Here garment makers select just the right fabric, make the pattern and produce a sample. If it’s not just right, the whole process starts over. If the sample is approved, the task of making the clothes begins. Multiply this countless times. A single dance in this year’s Spectacular, the dance drama of General Yue Fei, required more than 100 costumes and accessories.
For Amy Lee, the principal designer in New York, this effort is well worth it. “When I came to the United States, I saw it was very difficult to find any expression of traditional Chinese culture. Through this show I see the hope of being able to preserve my culture for the benefit of my daughter and the next generation.”
Ms. Lee has worked in the fashion industry for more than twenty years. She was a professor of fashion design and fashion history in China. Although her costumes take inspiration from different dynasties and ethnic regions, her favorite dynasty is the Tang. She says the Tang Dynasty reflects the zenith of Chinese culture—artistically, economically and politically. During this time China was very open-minded. Prosperous and peaceful, the Tang Dynasty drew on influences from India, the Middle East and Europe.
According to Ms. Lee, all this is reflected in the clothes. “The clothes were rich and confident. They were uplifting,” she said. “Women wore large, open sleeves, sometimes up to two and a half feet wide. They wore see-through materials and gowns with high waists that were decorated with large, open flowers.”
Each dynasty had its own characteristics that were likewise reflected in the clothes. In general, Ms. Lee says everything can be found in the clothes—even the ancient people’s morals and values. “Clothing isn’t just a way to cover the body. It also reflects a person’s thoughts, culture and respect for the gods.”
Ms. Lee and her team use costume design to make ancient Chinese culture come alive today, to help the audience understand that traditional Chinese culture has much it can teach us today. Ms. Lee knows that through her efforts with NTDTV, these positive aspects of ancient China will not be forgotten.
Georgina Hubbard makes costumes from different historic periods by hand, and especially loves the fashion designs from China’s Tang Dynasty era.
Chinese New Year Show returns back to Radio City Music Hall, New York !
7 shows will be performed from Feb 14-Feb 17, 2007. With a full orchestra and original choreography and music, it’s time for you and your loved one to rediscover the essence of true, traditional Chinese culture, and experience its pure goodness and beauty.
Chinese New Year Spectacular Schedule 2007 Radio City Music Hall
1260 6th Avenue, New York, NY 10020
Feb. 14 (Wed.)
8:00pm
Feb. 15 (Thu.)
11:00am
8:00pm
Feb. 16 (Fri.)
11:00am (Group Ticket only)
8:00pm
Feb. 17 (Sat.)
2:00pm
8:00pm
Youtube Video: 2007 Highlights of Chinese New Year Spectacular
It’s a snapshot of the millennia of artistic China, a global cross-cultural pageant of a concert that in the next three months will be seen by 100,000 people globally.
It is the Chinese New Year Spectacular, a highly-charged, vividly-coloured entertainment of dragons, drums, dance and costumes, plus vocals and instrumentalists. And, true to its multi-cultural mission, it also includes some ballet of the western variety.
In Vancouver for a second year, a matinee has been added to the one-day event at the 2,500-seat Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The aim of the show’s sponsor, New Tang Dynasty TV, is to expose society to traditional cultures, according to Patrick Dong, show coordinator and NTDTV executive director in Vancouver.
“It is a truly cross- cultural event suitable for all the family,” he added. Central to the show is the belief that China’s ancient culture was a gift from the heavens and so deserves its “land of the divine” accolade underscored by the themes of love, compassion and virtue in the triumph of good over evil.
The Chinese New Year Spectacular is at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre tonight with a 2 p.m. matinee and evening performance at 8.
Tickets, from $30, at 604-683-2202 and www.ticket.ntdtv.com/Vancouver.
Lloyd Dykk, Vancouver Sun, Tuesday, January 02, 2007-
CHINESE NEW YEAR SPECTACULAR
Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Wednesday, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
$30 - $80
604-628-0303 (Chinese)
604-628-1620 (English) or 604-280-4444 (Ticketmaster)
- - -
According to the Chinese calendar it is the Year of the Pig coming up, which signifies good fortune, kindness, honesty and tolerance. And you may want to feast on the entertainment of the second annual Chinese New Year Spectacular when it comes to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for two shows Wednesday.
It sounds like the sort of extravaganza you’d normally see just a few blocks away at the Centre for Performing Arts in Vancouver: A celebration of what’s known as China’s golden age, the Tang Dynasty, a remarkable time in China’s 5,000-year history.
The three-century-long Tang, with present-day Xi’an as its then most populous city in the world, reached a high point of cosmopolitan culture and prosperity, largely the result of military exploits. From this show, purportedly based on the Tang, you can expect epic tales, dragons, drummers and beautiful dances from about 100 young performers in all, most of them overseas Chinese who live in New York. But it might be a good idea to try to see the Tang through a 21st-century filter.
In its four years of existence the show seems to have been a success, growing from appearances in five cities at its beginning to this year’s 28 cities across four continents, a run that will total 67 performances. (In Canada it goes to Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto after the Vancouver appearance.)
It’s put together in New York in a production by New Tang Dynasty Television, based in New York. It was ranked No. 7 in Billboard magazine’s top 10 shows in 2006, based on shows that ran last year at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. (… read more fromVancouver sun’s report )
Audience responded in loud applause as curtains fell upon the last of nine performances of “Holiday Wonders” presented by New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) at the Beacon Theatre on Broadway. Nearly 30,000 diverse spectators witnessed and experienced endless amazement, inspiration, wonder, and fantasy.
A Rare and Grand Occasion
During the last performance, Neil Feltz, assistant general manager of the Beacon Theatre, praised NTDTV’s “Holiday Wonders” as a great success and a rare grand occasion at the Beacon Theatre. People of different ethnic groups and ages all enjoyed and praised the performances. Feltz said, “Everyone walked out of the theater wearing a smile on their face.”
Audience’s hearts rode along with the waves of unexpected climaxes of performances as they experienced a Christmas wonder characterized by eastern and western elements. Among Chinese spectators, some felt that “Holiday Wonders” conveyed the traditions and profundity of Chinese culture and gave the audience a sense of harmony and ease.
NTDTV President Lee Zhong was pleased with the success of “Holiday Wonders”. Lee said, “This is the first time such performances have been presented during the Christmas holiday. This is also the first time such performances have been offered exclusively for students. I am touched by the generally positive feedback from the audience, by sincere smiles on people’s faces as they exited the theater, and particularly by the roars of ‘Encore!’ among the children and the elderly.” Lee specifically expressed thanks to everyone and concluded that support from the community was the key to the show’s success.
A New Culture Emerging from Traditions
Ambassador Andrew Hsia, head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, acclaimed, “From each performance, we can see the efforts made by NTDTV. We also see a new culture emerging from traditions. This is something very amazing. We hope that NTDTV can keep up their great work so their gala may become a tradition.”
Mr. Chang Chingnan, director of the Cultural Center of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, commended that the performances were marvelous and appropriately presented the spirit of oriental and western culture. Chang believes “Holiday Wonders” highlighted the essence of ancient Chinese culture such as China’s deeply rooted spiritual beliefs and ethics.
Unlike other performing groups from China, NTDTV’s performances are not affiliated with the communist party. Instead, it bases its performances on the spirit of ancient Chinese culture. Mr. Chang considers this a point of great importance.
Professor Luis Barrios, from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the University of New York, and his wife are very interested in Chinese culture. He not only used “excellent” to extol performance, he also said, “Most of what Americans get from Hollywood movies about China is negative. They have the wrong impression. When I sat there watching how positively Chinese culture can be displayed, I realized that I didn’t know much about the true nature of Chinese culture either.”
Chinese with Different Backgrounds Gathered Together
Many Chinese from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and from different social backgrounds gathered at the show. New York writer Linda Smith described the show as “an unbelievable artistic display of human values.” Ms. Smith said what moved her most was seeing, for the first time, so many Chinese from different social backgrounds gathered together.
New York Red Apple Art Center Chairman Mr. Song said, “Having lived in China for many decades, I never saw the true culture of the divine land. ‘Holiday Wonders’ really moved me. I must come up with a way to let my relatives and friends in mainland China watch this show.”
Seven Performances of Chinese New Year Spectacular in New York
Lee Zhong stated that the unprecedented success of “Holiday Wonders” has made him more confident about the upcoming Chinese New Year Spectacular that will show in New York in February.
All nine performances of “Holiday Wonders” came close to selling out, especially the performances for students and senior citizens, and the weekend showing. After watching one performance, some could not get enough and purchased another ticket to watch it again. Audiences expressed the desire to see the Chinese New Year Spectacular and promote it to their friends and family.
Looking forward to the Chinese New Year Spectacular shows, Lee Zhong said, “All seven performances at Radio City Music Hall will have completely different programs than ‘Holiday Wonders’. The show times will be during the month of the Chinese New Year, and there will be tours to 28 major cities around the world. We hope friends can pass around the good news. Book tickets early to get good seats and enjoy the show! ” (article from ntdtv website, photo from Chinese News The Epoch Times website)
The following story can help to shed some light on the mystery:
Once there was an art dealer who had a painting that depicted a young farm boy leading a horse across a bridge. The boy was facing the horse, his body leaning back, and he looked like he was exerting great effort.
One day a buyer came in and had to have this painting. However, he didn’t have enough money on him to buy this rather expensive artwork right away. So he asked the dealer to hold the painting for him while he went home to get the funds.
As the seller took the painting down, he noticed it was missing the rope the boy should have been using to lead the horse. Without much thought, he picked up an ink brush and added a rope to fix this apparent flaw in the painting.
When the buyer came back and saw the new rope, he was terribly upset. He told the dealer: “I was only willing to spend so much on this painting because of the rope that wasn’t seen but could still be felt!”
Asian-themed performances like NTDTV’s Holiday Wonders or the Chinese New Year Spectacular offer an entirely new experience for many Westerners, partly because they are so different from the more typical, narrative-driven, performing art forms. They ask something different from the audience – a slight shift in expectations, a shift in sensibility.
The appreciation for what is implied rather than what is in plain sight sets Asian art apart from Western art. Traditional Chinese dance, for example, is less precise and strict in form than its Western counterpart, ballet. It is because it attempts to evoke a different sort of feeling. Like a glass of claret with its subtle undertones, this kind of dance leaves room for the imagination while leaving a lasting impression.
The more something is described in a concrete way, the smaller the range it covers. For example, the phrase “hot water” describes not only water but its temperature, so although “hot water” is more specific than “water,” it precludes “warm water,” “cold water,” and other kinds of water and is therefore more limited. Perhaps this is why so much of Chinese art seems to speak in generalities. Ink landscape paintings with their broad brush strokes and wide swaths intentionally left blank are particularly hard for the Western eye to grasp. These paintings can often seem vague and unclear, but to the discerning viewer, each brush stroke speaks volumes.
The same holds for the Chinese language — known for being extraordinarily concise and yet also rich and descriptive precisely because it is so succinct. Indeed, many Chinese words and proverbs contain concepts that could take paragraphs to explain in another language.
The NTDTV holiday shows seem to have struck a balance between the more refined traditional dance forms and the simple pleasures of rousing music, impressive large scale dances with dozens of dancers moving in synch, and, of course, gorgeous costumes and backdrops.
The shows offer enough new flavors to be intriguing without being overly foreign. The more subtle elements may be lost on many in the audience, but their presence nonetheless enriches the entire performance for everyone.
Ultimately, stories of grace and virtue told through song and dance will speak to us all forever. ( Original from NTDTV website )
Following photos are of 2006 Holiday Wonder Show in The Beacon Theater, New York City, which was happened during Christmase time from Dec. 19 to 24, 2006, hosted by NTDTV.
After the Holiday Wonder Show, the 3-month-long 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular global tour show, which is also hosted by NTDTV, will begin to perform first in Vancouver, Canada, in Queen Elizabeth Theatre, on Jan. 3, 2007, and then go to other 29 cities around the world.
(All above photos are from Chinese news website epochtimes’ webpage here)
Chinese culture created a close and binding relationship between color and ceramics, murals, paintings, and poetry…even city planning. After the Ming Dynasty, only the Emperor’s relatives could have homes with red walls and yellow roof tiles. His subjects lived in houses with blue bricks and roof tiles. However, carved beams and columns used rich hues. Many buildings used black tiles and white walls.
In the Dun Huang Caves, dating back 1500 years, there are more than 10,000 mural fragments of various dynasties. Each dynasty used different color combinations. Murals of the Northern Wei Dynasty incorporated red and brown, supplemented by blue and black. Tang Dynasty murals featured yellow. Song Dynasty murals were dominated by blue and green.
Highly-skilled Chinese paintings express the artist’s idea through the ink’s thickness and thinness. The practice is described as “ink holds five colors” and “shinning brilliantly without the usage of bright colors.” “Ink holds five colors” refers to five ink shades—charred, thick, ash, thin and clear. In a painter’s eye, the color of water is clearly different in each season. In “Lin Quan Gao Zhi” (A Book about Paintings), Guo Xi wrote, “The color of water is green in spring, bluish green in summer, aqua in autumn, and black in winter.”
As recorded in “Selections of Famous Paintings of the Tang Dynasty”, Emperor Xuan Zong praised Li Si Xun’s landscape paintings with their strong green and blue hues as “the best landscape paintings in the nation.” The ancient Chinese people were good at extracting colors from minerals and plants. This type of painting is often outlined with brilliant paints extracted from various minerals such as Shi Qing (azurite), Shi Lu (mineral green), Shi Huang (mineral yellow), Zhu Sha (cinnabar), Yan Zhi (cochineal), Qian Fen (lead powder), and Ni Jin (golden paint). With these advances in painting, the result became bright and rich.
Chinese poems and paintings share the same origin. The relationship is described as “a painting recites a poem and a poem draws a painting.” Poets could expertly describe color and poems often alluded to vibrant colors. Poet Cui Hu created wonderfully colorful scenes as shown in two lines from his poem, “Ti Du Cheng Nan Zhuang (“For the Southern Village in the Capital”). These lines express the beauty of colors for people to ponder for thousands of years: Last year inside this court, peach flowers reflect each other in red.
Poet Bai Juyi wrote in “Verse on River Mu,”
Paving in water is a streak of the setting sun, turning red is the rustling river
A“silk radical” character attached to another Chinese character can describe different shades of the color of silk. According to “Shuo Wen Jie Zi” (Explaining Characters and Expressions), 24 characters describe colors of silk fabrics including red, green, purple, deep red (crimson), bright red, dark red (dark purple), light blue, orange red, white, and so on. From this, we can surmise the variety and richness of silk fabrics from the silk manufacturing industry in ancient China. During the Warring States Period, lacquerware decoration reached a highly skilled level. The state of Qi was especially well-known for its brightly colored silk products. Many of the silk goods unearthed from ancient tombs have maintained their original colors of brown, red, black, purple, and yellow.
Chinese pottery and lacquerware uses rich color even more extensively. The formulation of richly colored glazes infuses these pieces with a brilliant and lustrous appearance. From the renowned tri-colored glazed pottery of the Tang Dynasty (Tang San Cai) to five-colored glazed pottery, from the celadonware to white glazedware, from white and blue porcelain to ceramics with lustrous glazes, color plays a key role in the creation of pottery. Ancient Chinese pottery-making reached its zenith in colored and black pieces. Chinese lacquerware had exquisite patterns and dazzling color.
Ancient Chinese people understood that color feeds the spirit and expresses the depth of human experience. The 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular celebrates color in all it intensity and richness through lighting, costumes and scenery and harkens back to the traditional meanings of color.
Celebrate color! Celebrate a spectacular Chinese New Year!
- For the Celebration in Vancouver, Canada, please check out this post:
