The Chinese Student Association presented the seventh annual Chinese New Year Festival (CNYF) at Edison Theater last weekend, incorporating dance, song and skits.

This year the Chinese New Year falls on February 12 in keeping with the Lunar Calendar. Each year a different animal in the Chinese zodiac is represented; this year is the year of the horse. “Galloping on the Mongolian Prairie” was one dance that demonstrated the carefree spirit of Mongolian women, riding on their horses throughout the prairie.

According to CNYF 2002 co-coordinators Steve Mar and Herman Mao, the festival “aims at educating the Washington University and Saint Louis communities to the continual evolution of Chinese culture and arts.”

The festival opened up with a traditional “Lion Dance.” The performers put a comic spin on the traditional dance with humorous gestures and physical stunts. Later, the “Silver Plate Dance” added a touch of laughter through gender bending and physical comedy.

In between the various traditional dances and martial arts skits, a drama about forbidden love, intrigue and betrayal unfolded. The tale of forbidden love between Princess Ming and Captain Zhen Zhi Liang, acted by Tina Kwan and Nick Tsai respectively, was a serious yet humorous story that provided variety to the numerous skits of traditional Chinese culture. Supporting cast members, including the evil and lascivious General An Lu You (Nelson Liu) and the clueless-but-well-meaning father of Princess Ming, Emperor Tang (Steve Mar), complemented and
complicated the plot. The crowd was in an uproar several times during the night, laughing at the plot twists in “Ming’s Dynasty” and slapstick during the martial arts skits.

There were also touches of innovation at CNYF, evident in the fashion show, set against the backdrop of a popular Chinese tile game Mah Jongg, and the Hip Hop dance sequence complete with a modern soundtrack. Yearly favorites such as the Chinese yo-yo and fan dance were performed with grace and skill. Various musical performances by Vincent Lee, Michael Wong, Ricky Fong, Lisa Xu and freshman Becky Leong, playing a song on a Chinese zither, rounded out the night.

For Pamela Lee, one of the programming chairs of CNYF 2002, “seeing the show go well and hearing that a lot of people enjoyed it” was one of the most fulfilling aspects of the working on the festival.

Contact Jen at [email protected]

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