As I had mentioned earlier, this school is famous for its dance and ethnic music program. This is the third evening in a row that I have attended a performance. No, I am not tired out from this. In fact, this is what I have waited for the whole semester. I am glad the tickets are free.
I have adapted very well to living back in Asia. I now fully remember what it is to have free seating and have to arrive at a concert venue way in advance to get a good seat. It is also ethical to save seats for your friends if you arrive early. I get to the university auditorium at 6:50pm and the front door is already crowded with students. I stand on the top stair of the entrance, a fairly precarious position as I could fall anytime. At around 7:10pm, the ushers shoo us off and told us to let the teachers in first, else we would not be permitted in. I do not move all the way down the stairs as I know there will be a chance to sneak back into the crowd. I am successful, when they do not notice I make my way back to the front and this time I am the first person at the door. I begin to prepare for the "land rush" by removing my scarf and unbuttoning my coat. You may think this is all too funny to read, but I had no qualms about being obnoxious tonight.
The security guards unlatch the door and I have my game plan ready. As soon as I get into the hall, I head for the first row of the rear section of the hall. I fling my coat on the fifth seat, dump my scarf on the 4th, fling my purse on the 3rd and I sit immediately on the first seat and keep my arm on the 2nd seat. Yes, I have 5 seats in a row. I text Allison, Andrew, Dario and Matthew to come as quickly as possible, as I don't know whether I'll be able to hold the seats.
Our teachers arrive sooner so they see me and don't see the rest of the gang yet. Hahah I beat them to the good seats! Mrs Lee was all too proud of her Class no. 5 whom were all sitting in a row with legroom especially for the tall guys. :) She was a little giddy, as of course she does have bragging rights in front of all the other teachers. :) Our class asked for so many tickets that they didn't have any left to give. She said most other classes only 1 or 2 students wanted to go. We had 8 people who wanted tickets.
We can't wait for the performance to begin as this concert. I left my program at home but this time I brought an extra memory card and extra batteries to capture as much of the dance performance on video as possible. The dancers had won competitions recently in the national, regional, or city level. We had watched two of the dances performed tonight at the Yi festival. The men's Mongolian dance was much better than the previous performance. The women in the Korean drum dance was consistently good both times. I believe repeated performances just push the standards higher each time and that is true in this case.
I had watched a similar performance done by more mature dancers for the Genghis Khan show and it looked better. This is an interesting point in which I had discussed with my teacher. She was also at the Genghis Khan performance. The dance was performed by more mature men, hence there is more muscle build and strength there. A friend raised this question: this critique is like saying the girls aren't skinny enough so it didn't look nice? Yes, I revealed my bias.
The dances all lasted around 5 minutes each. The solo dances are challenging for the performers as they have to keep engaged and energized the whole time. It was evident that the dancers enjoyed what they do. I noticed this particularly with the Tibetan dancer. The Dai solo dance was also interesting as it was a reminder of Yang Liping's dance style but this dancer's costume was creatively designed. At first it was like a body suit pulled over her head, but at the right moment, it was pulled down and it became an overlay for her dress. I wonder who thought of this design.
A major critique I have of this performance is the audience behavior. The hall was packed to the brim with not an empty seat in the house. It was standing room only and some people thought the aisles were free game too, walking in and out as they so pleased. There were children who would also stand anywhere they liked even when they are obviously blocking everyone's view. I also thought this was the hardest crowd to please. The applause after each item was short, barely lasting long enough for the performer/s to leave the stage. I find this rather unacceptable. My friends and I clapped loud and long, just to keep the applause from dying too soon.If these dancers were performing in the USA, there would be thunderous applause and a few bows. Even before the finale was over, people started walking out. How sad! Are Beijingers always in a hurry?
Why is this so? In my opinion, I think Beijingers are spoiled with excellent performances. After watching too many excellent performers, one is desensitized to the amazing skills, talents, capabilities and hard work. There is always the need for something better and someone who can do more. There is this unhealthy craving of excellence and dissatisfaction in the Beijing audience. I am having to consciously guard myself against this now that I have been to almost a dozen concerts of high quality. I would not want to perform in Beijing to a jaded audience.
No comments:
Post a Comment