Clinton Students Celebrate the New Year with Chinese Acrobats During a Cultural Arts Assembly

Clinton Students Celebrate the New Year with Chinese Acrobats During a Cultural Arts Assembly

Shouts of “Hǎo!” or “Good!” in the Mandarin Chinese language rang throughout the audience as Clinton students were mesmerized by the breathtaking acrobatics and dances performed by the Dance China New York acrobats.

To usher in the New Year, Dance China New York presented two assembly shows celebrating the culture, customs and dance heritage of the People's Republic of China on Thursday, January 2, at Clinton School.

JiaYan “Jessie” Yong, a member of Dance China New York, encouraged students to say “Hǎo!” anytime during the performance if they enjoyed the many extraordinary feats performed by the acrobats.

Students were taken on a colorful tour of the Chinese culture and language. The interactive assembly opened with the “Lion Dance” where two performers dressed in a vibrant lion costume demonstrateda lion's movementsin the traditional folk dance with great skill, synchronization, and agility as Chinese drums played in the background.

Yong of Dance China New York explained the background of the Lion dance to students and spoke about Chinese civilization and culture. Students learned how to say, “Hi, how are you?” in Mandarin. Each phrase was broken down character by character for students to pronounce the phrase. Then children turned to the person sitting next to them and repeated the phrase.

Sheer physical strength and precise balance was on full display as acrobat Anna skillfully juggled spinning plates on a long pole with one hand while doing a handstand on a square block with the other hand.Students cheered and said “Hǎo!”.

As she performed her acrobatic routine, students were spellbound as Anna demonstrated incredible flexibility when she contorted her body and gracefully balanced each move.

Performers danced the mythical tale of the Monkey King Dance, an excerpt from the Peking Opera, and four students had an opportunity to come on stage and learn a dance with the “Monkey King”.

Dance China New York performers whirled long strips of silk ribbon through the air during the "Red Ribbon Dance", a thousand-year old dance typically performed during festivals and to celebrate the new year.

Students learned that the color red is considered good luck in the Chinese culture. Yong wrapped up the Cultural Arts assembly by wishing the children good luck in 2014, and taught them to say “goodbye” in Mandarin Chinese.