Author: Soo Jin Kim
Numerous posters promising an exciting night at the Chinese Cultural Club’s Chinese Folk Dance performance could be found stuck on various walls around campus days before the actual event on Saturday night. It’s a good thing that once the night came, the performers delivered on their promise.
Beginning at 7 p.m. in Lower Herrick, students from the Shin Dance Company-whose studio is located in Temple City-danced for an hour with an agility and skill that anyone would envy. The youngest in the group is seven years old, while the eldest is 15.
The performers danced their way through eight dances, each at about seven minutes in length. In her solo titled Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Nicole Wei leaped and twisted her body with control that could only be accomplished through tough training and endless hours of practice. A mark of her ability to focus on her dance was seen when she hardly paid attention to one of her boots as it rolled down her leg.
Fifteen-year-old Amy Zhang’s performance of Festival Overture-said to have originated during festivals in Northern China-transformed her body into a smooth, flowing red flash. Her talent was as blaring as her beautiful costume.
Fly Peacock required two dancers, whose green-and-blue costumes-complete with sparkling headdresses-made the wearers resemble beautiful, proud peacocks. The girls, Jacqueluene Lin and Krisstina Lin, both mimicked the actions and movements of a peacock, spreading and fluttering their arms as if they had wings.
The performance was followed by a question-and-answer session as well as an opportunity for audience members to mingle with members of the Company.Co-founder and director of the Company Shin Yue Wang is well aware of the rare talent the group fosters.
“You can find a hundred other jazz and ballet schools, but you can only find one Shin Dance Company,” she said.
A non-profit public benefit organization, the Company has been to Beijing three times in the past, winning several competitions and releasing a DVD and a CD there.
CCC executive board member Elizabeth Chang (senior) learned about the group from member Josephine Lau (sophomore). Planning for the event took place starting late January, with help from the Asian/Pacific Islander Association and ASOC. Chang said her main hope for the event was “to give students the opportunity to interact with communities outside of Oxy, to practice the language and to learn more about the Chinese culture.” She really wanted to do “something original” for the students at Oxy.
Chang was pleased with the results of the CCC and APIA’s efforts.
“The energy of the dancers was great,” she said. “Shin really demonstrated her knowledge and expertise as one of the superb dance teachers from China.”
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