IT Senior Technical Analyst: 'Chinese Culture is Mild and Graceful'

Of all the performances that evening, Katia confessed that she liked the Mongolian Dance the most. "I like the Mongolian dance a lot, it's the dance with all men, it was very majestic, but also very soothing at the same time. Whoever choreographed that piece was so talented," she said.

While Katia did not enter the theater knowing too much about Chinese culture, she learned about its different dynasties from watching the show. "They had different types of costumes for each era, which was interesting to see," she said.

A New York City resident for ten years, Katia believes Holiday Wonders is different from other Broadway shows. "One huge difference was that this show wasn't too noisy, perhaps because Chinese culture is more relaxed, even the Chinese dance is very smooth and gentle. It was only loud when the drums came in," she observed. "Broadway shows are usually very theatrical, and feature a lot of music, a lot of movements. This show is more graceful. I've learned that Chinese culture has a milder tone—very different from Latin culture which is very loud. I'm from Latin America so I can see a difference. We're a very loud people but we are a good people."

"It was very interesting to see this because we take our freedom for granted [here]," Katia said of the performance entitled 'The Power of Awareness.' "I really love this country because you can believe in anything and you're not persecuted. I'm really baffled by the whole thing. I didn't know that [in China] even women and children were beaten because of their spiritual beliefs. I think that's wrong. It was very moving and kind of a shocking to learn that."