American, Chinese dance groups present Splendid China suite

A collection of Chinese folk, modern and classic dances to be performed by dancers from Shanghai and Houston will take the stage at the Miller Outdoor Theatre on Friday and Saturday nights.

Entitled Splendid China, the program was created by Dance of Asian America (DAA) nine years ago and has become a brand name locally. For the Shanghai Theatre Academy Dance Company (STADC), this will be the sixth time it showcases its talent for a Houston audience.

Another local organization, Mitsi Dancing School (MDS), will also join DAA and STADC in the performance. MDS, created in 1981, along with DAA, was selected to compete on eighth season of America's got Talentlast year.

"The City of Houston was taking bids from local performing groups to present programs at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, DAA successfully won the bid and now we present East Meets West with the Houston Ballet in the spring season, and Splendid China with STADC in the fall season," said Janie Yao, director of DAA.

Created in 2001, DAA boasts more than 20 dancers of professional caliber and performs more than 50 programs a year around Houston and other cities.

"We work with the Young Audience of Houston and perform at many Houston schools. We help local kids to learn Chinese culture through dance. This also helps our dancers to get in touch with their heritage," said Yao.

Bringing STADC to Houston for the yearly presentation of Splendid China was started by Mitsi Shen, director of MDC and co-founder of DAA.

"I realized how much progress China has made in dance during my visits back to China and I started to have this idea of bringing some over to the US," said Shen.

"I met Mitsi in Shanghai in 2005 at a local event and when she proposed the idea to me, I thought it's a great opportunity and grabbed it. We started to come to Houston since 2006," said Ling Guiming, the honorary dean of the Dance School of Shanghai Theatre Academy and chair of the Shanghai Dancers Association.

Ling, who played Wang Dachun in the famous ballet The White Hair Girl (BaiMaoNu) - one of the eight model plays - said that the program provides an opportunity for the young dancers to not only introduce Chinese culture to the US, but also to learn about various aspects of the US. "They get to learn something simply by coming here, for example, how people line up in an orderly and quiet fashion at the airport," said Ling.

Ling said after doing Splendid China for six years, STADC is considering expanding their exposure in the US by performing in other cities as well, and talks are underway. "We want to increase our circle of influence," said Ling.

Li Ying, vice-chair and secretary-general of the Shanghai Dancers Association, said she is very impressed by MDS and DAA: "They helped the Chinese dance to take roots in the US and have made great cultural impact in the US," said Li.

For this year's Splendid China, the five dancers from STADC will present five programs, including multiple award-winning Wind Mountain by Yan Xiaoxia and Life in Duet by Bi Ying and Xu Li'ang, with Exploring China performed by all five dancers to conclude the program. DAA and MDS will share the stage by presenting seven performances.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com