An audience of more than 1,000 helped celebrate the incoming Year of the Monkey at a Chinese New Year Spectacular show at McCarter Theatre.
The Feb. 6 show, presented by the Huaxua Chinese School at Plainsboro, was the 11th held by the school. The school, now in its 17th year, has over 700 students.
In addition to school president Changchun Zhang, school vice president Chen Hua and principal assistant Ye Sen, a number of educational and political members of the community were in attendance.
President of Mercer County Community College Jianping Wang, WW-P High School North Principal Jonathan Dauber, West Windsor-Plainsboro School District Board of Education members Yingchao Zhang and Yu Taylor Zhong and former Chairwoman of Distinguished Citizens Society Margaret Koo were on hand.
Also, West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh , Plainsbor Mayor Peter Cantu, state Sen. Linda Greenstein, Assemblyman Daniel Benson, Assemblywoman Elizabeth Muoio, constituent service representative Petra Gaskins of the office of Congresswoman Bonnie Watson-Coleman, and chief of office Joe Forte of the office of Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker were in attendance.
The show entertained the audience with gymnasts, singers, dancers, magic and drama.
The show started with “Golden Monkeys Ushering in the New Year,” where two dozens gymnasts from Jun Li Youth Gymnastics group danced on stage in celebration of the Chinese New Year.
The singer Sally Hu then performed the famous Chinese folk song “The Soaring Sound on the Plain.”
Princeton resident Emily Li was the 2014 Bronze medal winner of the show “Chinese Idol.” Her performances of “Hello” and “Give Me a Kiss” were well received by the audience.
Kung Fu masters from Zhao Changjun Wushu Team, students who have won numerous medals in international and domestic Kung Fu competitions, also put on an exciting performance.
Princeton resident Yubin Chen was a well-loved pop singer in China with a huge fan base. She sang an elegant song, “Royal Harmony,” accompanied by an duet dance and four backup singers.
The street dance performed by the Philly XXL Dance Troupe also pleased the audience.
Huangmei Opera is one of the five major traditional Chinese theatrical forms, known for its graceful singing and vivid body expression. Huangmei master Xiaofang Chen performed a segment of “The Female Consort” which is the most representative of the Huangmei repertoire. The last act before the intermission was a classical Chinese dance performed by young dancers from the Dongli Dance Studio.
After the intermission, the ZiZhu Ensemble opened the second half of the show with two popular Chinese folk music pieces, “Jasmine Flower” and “The Happy Year,” played by traditional Chinese instruments. Mo Liu and Grace Stern from KYL/Dancers of Philadelphia performed a contemporary duet dance, “Touch of Light.”
Xia Li, a West Windsor resident and a renowned Chinese soprano, sang two popular Chinese folk songs, “Little Backpack Carrier” and “The Mother River.”
At the Chinese New Year Show in 2015, the skit “Journey to the West” created and played by the Princeton Drama Club, was a smashing hit. Its sequel, “The Queendom’s IPO” was well received this year, also.
The high energy magic and comedy show put on by one of the east coast’s premier entertainers, Alex “Speed” DeTessieres, was fascinating and hugely successful. Tenor Yongdong Chen then performed two Neapolitan songs, “Torna a Surriento” and “O Sole Mio.”
Lanyun Dance Troupe presented to audiences a Tibetan dance, “Heartfelt Wishes,” which was packed with rich yet original ecology charm.
The show concluded with the all-star singing finale, “Let the World Be Full of Love.”
This event received generous support from local businesses, organizations, and individuals.
