2/9/2014 Chinese New Year Appreciation Dinner

Some performers of Troy University Chinese Lunar New Year including me went to Renaissance hotel, Montgomery to give a performance at Confucius Institute’s 2014 Chinese New Year Appreciation Dinner hosted by Chancellor of Troy University Dr. Jack Hawkins Wednesday night. That was really a great night for all of us.

Chinese New Year was known as Spring Festival which is the most solemn of the Chinese people's traditional festival, but also a symbol of unity, prosperity, and new hope for the future sustenance of the festival. According to records, Spring Festival has more than 4,000 years in the long river of history. I am proud of the splendid Chinese civilization for thousands of years.

The vice-president Earl Ingram gave a beginning speech about conclusion of the whole year’s work in Confucius Institute. And then some teachers in Confucius Institute gave thanks to all the guests. One of the teachers made me surprised because of his fluent Chinese as an English speaker. He knew Chinese traditional culture even set phrase very well.

After all the speech, we began Chinese New Year Appreciation Performance at 7 P.M. Jasmine Yarou, the minister of arts department in Chinese Student and Scholar Association, was the emcee. The first performance was instrumental ensemble by bamboo flute and Guzheng, which is a traditional musical instrument of China. That music Xueshanchunxiao, which showed us people looking forward to happy life, was known to every family in China. Peacock Dance and Fan Dance were both Chinese traditional dancing, the first depicted a whole day life of a peacock and expresses minority ethnical people’s beautiful wishes of harmonious relations between human and animals and has a vivid depiction and profound meaning; The second told us when the Chinese New Year comes, it takes on a new look and a blissful atmosphere full of joyful activities.  

We did a good job and achieved great success that night. I was proud of all our performer because we shared our talent and traditional culture to people who didn’t know China very well. It was a wonderful experience for me. I believe that opportunities are always for the prepared mind. So we should just be ready all the time for any opportunity!