New Year show, old traditions preserve Chinese culture
Ying Chen spends her days managing. At work, the Sicklerville resident manages four departments for PHH Mortgage. In the evening, Chen is in New York where she manages performances of "Holiday Wonders" a celebration of Chinese arts and culture performed at the Beacon Theatre.
This week, Chen's commute is less strenuous. She will be managing "Chinese New Year Spectacular" during five performances Friday to Sunday at the Merriam Theater in Philadelphia. The show is presented by the Greater Philadelphia Asian Culture Center and New Tang Dynasty TV.
"Yes, I have good managerial skills," explains Chen. Her skills are so good that she also has time to play in the orchestra, led by her father, Rutang Chen. In the pit, she joins her mother, flutist Ningfang Chen, and her brother, bassoonist Gang Chen.
Chen talks excitedly about the two-hour show which celebrates Chinese history and cultural traditions. More than 100 costumed dancers and singers enact traditional Chinese myths and legends stretching back 1,400 years to the Tang Dynasty.
She says "Chinese New Year Spectacular" showcases "the best of the Chinese heritage" with "world-class artists" like tenor Guimin Guan, called the Pavarotti of China, and Erhuist Xiaochun Qi, a virtuoso on the traditional Chinese double-string instrument.
The show is a blend of the traditional and the modern, says Chen. Authentic costumes, dancing and singing are featured, but technology adds animation and allows set changes to occur with lightning speed.
Chen notes the irony that while "Chinese New Year Spectacular" will dazzle audiences in the United States, Europe and Asia, the Chinese government will not allow a performance in her homeland.
The communists have spent 60 years erasing the country's 5,000 years of culture, she says.
"If you visit the Forbidden City in Beijing," Chen explains, "all you will find are empty rooms. The art and furnishings have all disappeared."
Chen's parents were proud members of the Central Philharmonic Society Orchestra in Beijing for many years. During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, they were allowed to perform only music that glorified Communism and the government's political goals. During a thaw, Western music returned to China.
In 1987, Chen came to the United States to study flute with Murray Panitz, one of the legendary musicians in the Philadelphia Orchestra. A year later, her studies came to an abrupt end when Panitz died unexpectedly. Instead of continuing her musical studies, Chen decided to broaden her horizons.
Inspired by another musician who held degrees in chemistry and physics, she enrolled as an economics major at the College of New Jersey in Trenton.
Chen says Chinese expatriates around the world have made the New Year show possible. They have kept their country's cultural traditions alive in Taiwan and cities in Europe and the U.S. in spite of the Chinese government's attempts to stifle their work.
Chen's parents and brother joined her in the United States after they were persecuted in their homeland for being followers of Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that encourages its followers to reach perfection by improving their minds and bodies.
Her mother and brother were arrested in the middle of the night and placed in a detention center. After 18 months of hard labor and torture, her brother joined his family in the United States.
"We are very proud of our Chinese heritage," explains Chen. "That is why we are preserving our music and dance and presenting it to audiences around the world."
Chen says "Chinese New Year Spectacular" was first performed in 2004. The audience has grown each year. The 2008 show celebrating the Year of the Rat will play in more than 50 cities.
"The communist government has done away with all authentic traditions," she says. "We are trying to bring our culture and our history to the world stage.
"We have a sense of pride in our show. We are simply trying to celebrate the positive values of our culture."