Lunar New Year entertains, but not without rough spots

By Anna Wilde     2/11/10 6:00pm

If last month's New Year's celebration is too hazy to recall, don't worry: You can celebrate all over again at this week's Lunar New Year festival. Vibrant choreography and diverse performances almost make up for so-so dancing in Rice's annual Lunar New Year show, which celebrates the Chinese New Year and features performances by all of the East Asian clubs on campus. The show offers a diversity of cultures represented - Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese and Tibetan routines are featured - and acts offered, as the program is composed of both traditional and contemporary dances, martial arts, a cappella singing, a fashion show, a magic show and, of course, lion and dragon dances.The show's opening act is a traditional Chinese fan dance, in which performers use large, beautiful pink and green fans adorned with sequins to emulate the fluttering of butterflies as "Serenity," a contemplative traditional piece, plays. The variety of movements and formations of the four dancers keep the routine interesting, and the performers execute fanned motions with strong arms while showcasing some nice leaps, but awkward turns and obvious blunders in arm and leg placement are impossible to ignore in such a small group of performers.

The dancers in the K-Pop routine embrace a hip-hop battle attitude from their walk-in entrance to their final stance. The performers incorporate dramatic stomp elements and a partner stunt - don't blink, or you might miss it - to break up the otherwise repetitive, choppy choreography. Even though the motions are stale by the end of the dance, the performers, especially the guys, end strong and leave the audience with a lasting impression of how the next Step Up should be performed.

The sassy girls in the C-Pop dance leave a different impression as they playfully flip their hair and blow kisses to songs by Britney Spears, the Pussycat Dolls and various Chinese pop artists. The girls strut and shimmy through an excellently choreographed routine, though they are also plagued by spacing and timing confusion and sometimes appear to just be going through the motions. They shine, however, in sultry solos, which showcase their individuality while adding to the all-girl music video flavor of the routine.

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While all of the choreographers should be commended for their fantastic creations, some of the dances' technical issues, glaringly obvious in the smaller dance numbers and easily solved with more rehearsal time, detracted from performances that have excellent potential.

The a cappella portion, which features two songs, was just as enjoyable, though it too bounced through some rough patches. The first song, in a mixture of Cantonese and Mandarin, is sung in a hopeful tone by female performers, while the second, a more dramatic song in Mandarin, is crooned by male vocalists. Each time, the rest of the group backs up the soloist beautifully: each singer's voice blends flawlessly into one collective sound, and it is easy to forget that this harmony is a combination of human voices rather than an instrumental recording.

Unfortunately, the solos themselves are hit-or-miss: While some soloists have beautiful, strong and soaring voices, others come across either too loudly, too softly or too hesitantly to realize the full potential of their performance. As in the dances, some timing confusion adds to the disappointment of watching a potentially incredible piece.

The free show is worth the effort of attending, if only to enjoy a diverse cultural performance on campus while cashing in on a cheap Saturday night dinner and getting your boba tea fix.

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