Club aims to change image of Chinese dance
By Megan Lester
May 4, 2005 9:00 p.m.
Many people do not know much about Chinese dance. It’s a
perception the Chinese Cultural Dance Club doesn’t like.
It’s also the very problem the club will address in its
sixth annual show, “Lotus Steps 2005: A New Chapter,”
on May 7 in Royce Hall at 7 p.m. For the CCDC, a few mental images
and the notion of a single Chinese nationality are not enough of a
public portrait of Chinese dance.
“A lot of people have a stereotypical image of Chinese
dance as a fan dance or lion dance, but not many people realize
that China has 56 registered nationalities, each with its own
distinct culture, customs and beliefs,” said Patty Ou, a
fourth-year psychobiology student and production manager, publicist
and dancer in the show. “We just want to share
that.”
The show represents many ethnicities, from Mongolian to Tibetan
to Korean, and the styles are wide-ranging as well. Royal Court,
Kung Fu and classical Chinese dance are all represented.
The sharing is done through more than just dance. While the
first act consists of traditional Chinese dances, the second act,
titled “America!,” is better described as a
show-and-tell of the plight of Chinese-Americans. Five stories
about issues such as identity, stereotypes and adoption of babies
from China will be told through dance, narration and orchestral and
choir music.
“The Chinese-American culture is different from that in
China,” Ou said. “We have our own culture and beliefs
that are distinct from our native land, so we are trying to
incorporate that component. We are creating another
culture.”
The CCDC truly holds all aspects of Chinese and Chinese-American
culture in high esteem, even having children from one of its
community outreach programs, Families with Chinese Children, an
organization that works with families that have adopted children
from China, perform in the show. For the children in FCC, the story
about adoption in the second act is close to reality.
“I think the kids come to us because we are able to
provide some aspect of Chinese culture in their lives because a lot
of their parents aren’t Chinese themselves,” said
Christina Chung, a third-year ecology of behavior and evolution
student. “They are a lucky group of girls. They have very
loving families who support them.”
Chung choreographed the Mongolian Bowl Dance for the children.
She also taught fellow students a Taiwanese aborigine dance, and
she performs in a flag dance, among others.
“Usually the flag dance is to prepare for war, but this
one is after the war,” she said. “It celebrates
victory, and it’s very martial-arts based.”
Ou, also a performer in the flag dance, deems it her
favorite.
“It’s filled with pride and intensity,” she
said.
The same may be said about the participants and show alike.
