Chinese New Year Spectacular (NTDTV)
February 7 is the start of Chinese New Year. Now technically that has nothing to do with movies but... This year is the Year of the Rat, which makes it my year, since the Rat is my Chinese zodiac animal (I'm a metal rat if you want to be specific). So I figure that gives me some leeway to do as I please for the whole year, right? Well, that's my explanation for why I wanted to highlight a non-film event. Tonight through January 17 New Tang Dynasty Television presents the Chinese New Year Spectacular at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
Mixing music, spectacle and acrobatics, the Chinese New Year Spectacular takes audiences on a journey back to Chinas Golden Age of the Tang Dynasty. The San Diego and Los Angeles engagements are part of a global tour of 50 cities during the Chinese New Year Season. The show features traditional Chinese dance, music, song, martial arts and mini-dramas, as it celebrates China's rich cultural past with a series of thematic vignettes designed to inspire and educate audiences about authentic Chinese culture.
New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) is an independent, nonprofit Chinese language TV broadcaster that began broadcasting via satellite in North America in Februrary 2002. According to their press release, "NTDTV is the only Chinese language station broadcasting uncensored information into China. The Network has gained an international reputation for its objective and timely reporting of political, economic and cultural stories in the Chinese language, and for multi-faceted educational and entertainment programs that bring together the finest in both Eastern and Western cultures."
Their mission statement, as outlined on their web site, includes providing viewers with accurate information to enrich their knowledge and lives; fostering understanding between Chinese and Western societies; assisting Chinese people outside China to adapt and assimilate to mainstream society; and contributing to pluralism and free flow of information in the Chinese-language media.
If you enjoy Asian films and martial arts as I do, then you should check out this Chinese New Year Spectacular where you can see performers live on stage do some amazing things.
For films that look at the Chinese performance arts, check out Painted Faces, King of Masks, or Farewell My Concubine
