University of South Carolina Libraries
1 Entertainrr Pr Ru inilM VAITr UAkl av?*iii nvjvjriini^ As*t. Entertainment Editor % "This is the first time I've < danced so hard," Liu J i ? M rvweiMg-v^iieiig laugneu aner || the show was over, "because j| there was no air con- r ditioning." p Liu was right, but the I temperature didn't matter to r the audience that filled a r stuffy Booker T. Washington I auditorium Tuesday night to I ? watch Liu and the rest of the Youth Goodwill Mission from Taiwan, Republic of China. What the audience saw was a superb performance called, "An Adventure in Chinese Songs and Dance," presented by the group that made USC one stop along its seventh U.S. tour. IN ADDITION to a r_> director and deputy director, the mission consists of 15 performers, selected from 104 rnllpOAS And univ*?rsiHf?s ? 0 ? ? ? in Taiwan. They are not professionals; the main purpose of the mission is to strengthen friendship between Chinese and American people. Despite this fact, it's a ^ little surprising to note that most of the students touring with this group are not dance or music majors, but are studying fields ranging from * HhhB ! ' '--- .7"~ '-!>>_ iL'^- -l~- \:' -; --; -;MKnffiflP:' I Graceful movements an of the student performe lent"" A A A Iv9v esen ZI:xve^^^W V.Z*i'^:;/-'T; ' T^'')^f.'f'iM-''." \:-jjB^>fJjf^-1 --7v' is Dr. Wang Chih-Kang of National Taiwan University. business to languages to zoology. It's surprising because of the quality of the 90-minute Derformance. The performers do not pretend to the dancing of, for example, New York's famed Radio City Rockettes; perfect synchronization is not what the mission's performance is all about. And so, while everyone on stage may -be making the same moves at a given point, everyone may not be doing it at the same split-second in time. But the show was excellent. The program opened with examples of Ch'uan (Chinese Boxine). a oer formance designed to introduce the audience to id dances often required th rs of the Youth Goodwill Mi UUUI (T g\ !!<& martial arts. Chinese martial arts began by imitating the flying and jumping of animals, and since then has been passed from one generation to the ? next and now has a variety of I schools. i ONE BY ONE, the entire group walked onstage, slowly demonstrating basic hand and foot c. ition as examples of "Tai Chi Ch'uan." They were accompanied by pre-recorded music and a narration describing the basic movements and their history as the group moved into Mantis (Jn uan, Crane Ch'uan," "Tiger Ch'uan," "Snake Ch'uan" and "Eagle Ch'uan," demonstrating fascinating movements associated with each animal. The first part of the show ended with a sort of "medley" of movements, wrapped up in the mission's own "Ch'uan Dance." The recorded music was provided throughout the first three parts of the show, and served itself as an example of Chinese musical heritage. The second part of the show featured highlights of Chinese classical and folk dance, presented in four Hewly choreographed dances. Each dance -represented differing regional cultures and provided effective opportunities to show off some t m tp e intense concentration SSIOn. SUM Photo* by C MIT IOWEU dwill ^ i W W MB H BBi H >lorfu of the most intriguing and j visually beautiful costuming j I've ever seen. j I THE FIRST featured j three lovely young ladies in a j dance called, "The Lass of Tribe Miao." The second and third each featured a couple, j with the boy portrayed ! chasing the "hard-to-get" I girl. They were named "Love Songs of Shin-Kiang," j and "Love Songs of KangTinrt " *"*o * j These two dances seemed to be designed especially for j popular appeal to modern American audiences, and the relentless suitor even flashed the "thumbs up" signal to the audience on several occasions. The final "Dance of the Lamp" featured six women in lavish silk costumes dancing with colorful hanging lamps. It would be almost impossible to overemphasize the breathtaking costumes here and throughout the show, as the group seemed to change clothes everv time thev were offstage for a moment. The third part of the show was called, "Taiwan the Beautiful," and followed a basic story line through songs and dance. The setting was the countryside of Taiwan, where the village people were shown in a leisure atmosphere, flying kites and singing, and then during work on the farm, miming their work with hoes and planters. Finally the work yields a harvest, and the people celebrate. THE CONCLUSION of the show was a time for the individuals in the mission to introduce themselves and to say a brief hello. Most chose to speak in both their native language and in English, expressing how happy they were to be here and to meet new people. After the introductions, x one of the members, Lin Min-Chong, led the group Ia.I_ _ _..!i ? wiui nis guitar as iney sang their theme song, another Chinese song, "It's A Small World," and a final native song called, "The Generations of Long." Lin played quite well and the students proved to be superb singers as well, harmonizing nicely. The message from the Youth Goodwill Mission was most clearly expressed over the course of the evening in their theme, which contained the simple verse: "No matter where you come from, it's a song for me and you to sing." nriissi '.^^>> ||| 1 ' r 7:7^- ^Z-T-\- V E. Mm 7aRh Is l: > ^RrvIC -'1 ' ^ ^ qjJHBP gjijpp^^ a v . wu 1 Beautiful silk costumes featured in the "Dance of [ Weekend En FRIDAY, OCTOBER Cameo and Bricl (tickets $9.50 and $ Dundee's, 2701 Rosew Zipper at Zack's 73< (nominal cover charg c a ttii a ir Anrrnn o/i i uivi;/\ i, ul i ud Fools Star at Dun Drive ($2 cover); Zij St. Andrew's Road (n< MONDAY, OCTOBEF Amateur night at charge). WEDNESDAY, OC T( Glen Phillips Band charge); The Brains Greene St. C$2.50 cov( ion w BMffiffiTMfr ' "firr 1' WF k1 I" Uwm ? t ... i) | N M i a** w;* jSlglig M fcvftlt'j ?.- - - % -:i and oriental lamps were the lamps/' ? I itertoinmenf 2 k: at the Coliseum j 8.50); Fools Star at rood Drive ($2 cover); 3 St. Andrew's Road e;. i ER3 dee's, 2701 Rosewood j 3per at Zaek's, 736 F :>minal cover charge) * a 1. %3 the Spur (. 50 cover viinn m inriiv t at the Spur ($2 cover at Greenstreets, 2009 ?r charge).