NTDTV Celebrates Chinese Culture
By Liza Young
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NTDTV Celebrates Chinese Culture
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A regal opportunity to celebrate the richness of Chinese culture is currently available through New Tang Dynasty Television’s (NTDTV) Holiday Wonders, a show which made its debut four years ago,andwhich will be featured at the Beacon Theatre December 19-24.
Education Update recently met with the production team and cast members of the show in addition to viewing highlights of this wondrous production, at the lavish Essex House in New York City.
The show is an extension of NTDTV’s mission of reviving the art and culture of ancient civilization, with a focus on what is considered the highest point in its succession of dynasties, The Tang, which flourished between 600 and 900 AD, when there was a pluralistic convergence of various ethnic groups. In Holiday Wonders the beauty of The Tang dynasty is recreated through restoration of traditional costumes, music, and dances, but with a modern spin, as explained by executive producer, Maria Tai.
Performers we spoke with exhibited a dedication to the mission of sharing the magnificence of Chinese culture, undergoing intense training for performances over the course of three months on a volunteer basis. Performer Amanda Huang, who grew up China, and there studied piano, dancing, and painting, is a transfer student from Australia who is now majoring in computers at Queens College. Shirley Dai, a graduate from Berkley with a major in marketing who at age ten immigrated to California with her family and joined the Holiday Wonders tour, with the goal of preserving her Chinese roots. Born in China and immigrating to the States at age 4 and 1/2, Seluna Nien expressed a love of dance, from early childhood, and while teaching dance South Dakota, she heard about the NTDTV program and decided to become a part of it. Li Sun, who has a BA in chemistry education from China, and an MA in political science from Bridgeport, also has embraced the art of dancing from childhood, and joined the troupe to share Chinese tradition, and help people learn about the history of China.
NTDTV will soon open a special performing arts school to continue supplying a “new translation of the Chinese arts to world culture, ” stated Ms. Tai.#
For Holiday Wonders ticket information visit www.shows.ntdtv.com, or call (888) 260-6221, and stay tuned for the Chinese New Year Spectacular performance in January 2007.
