Chinese New Year to be celebrated in Wilmington
By Kevin Barrett
Community News
Staff Reporter
Jan 06, 2006
A celebration of the Chinese New Year involving numerous acts, including dancing, music, martial arts demonstrations, and acrobatics will be held January 24th at the Grand Opera House in Wilmington. More than 80 performers from around the world are expected to use their art form to interpret the event’s theme which is “Myths and Legends,” said Cindy Wang, vice president of public relations for the Delaware Asian Culture Center. Wang said each act will present a deeper meaning of either Chinese myths or the myths of the performers’ respective culture.
The Delaware Asian Culture Center is the local host for the event. Similar Chinese New Year celebrations are planned in 16 cities throughout the world, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Paris, Sydney, and London. The event will be the only one of its kind in the greater Philadelphia area.
This will be the first year the event will be held in Wilmington. The NTDTV Chinese New Year Global Gala, the celebration’s official name, was started in 2004 and is sponsored by New Tang Dynasty Television, a Chinese language television network based in New York City that broadcasts programming via satellite to North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. A show was held last year in Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City last year and drew a crowd of more than 5,000. Performers at past galas have included the Empire Brass Quintet and the American Ballet Theatre.
Wang, 34, of North Wilmington, said the Tang Dynasty, which began in 618 and ended in 907, was the most economically and culturally prosperous time in Chinese History and that the gala tries to encompass the rich culture of the time period. During the Tang dynasty, China traded heavily with other countries and was a world center for cultural exchange. Wang said the gala tries to incorporate the cultural tolerance of the time period by including performances from various cultures.
Wang, who in addition to her work with the culture center is also reporter for New Tang Dynasty Television, grew up in China and moved to the U.S. in 1997. She said there is often a detachment between the Chinese community and the rest of the population, and that one of the goals of the gala is to bridge the gap between the two groups, as well as educate people about traditional Chinese culture.
Wang said that, growing up in Communist China, she didn’t have much of a connection to traditional Chinese culture and actually learned more about it after moving to the U.S. “I was amazed by how rich Chinese culture is,” Wang said. “I feel my culture is valuable.”
Ping Cai, of Wilmington, who does marketing for the gala, said she volunteers her time to make the event successful because she wants to share her cultural roots with the community where she lives. Cai, who also grew up in China, said that traditional Chinese culture has been tainted by Communism and that people living there don’t have the freedom to celebrate those traditions and beliefs. Cai said that, in addition to celebrating the beauty of traditional Chinese culture, she is hoping that, through the gala, more people appreciate the value of freedom.
The actual date of the Chinese New Year is January 29th. It will be the year of the dog.
New Tang Dynasty Television programming can be seen on WYBE, a public television station based out of Philadelphia that broadcasted the 2004 and 2005 Chinese New Year galas. New Tang Dynasty television began broadcasting in 2002 and reaches over 200 million viewers worldwide including mainland China.
According to the company’s website, the network’s goals are to provide viewers with accurate information, foster understanding between Chinese and Western Civilization, and contribute to the free flow of information in the Chinese-language media. The network openly discusses human rights violations in China, such as the persecution of Christians and the suppression of labor and democracy movements.
In May of 2005, the Chinese government pressured Eutelsat, the company who owns the satellite over Paris that broadcasts New Tang Dynasty Television to mainland China, to terminate the network’s contract. This would have shut down the network’s ability to broadcast to Asia said New Tang Dynasty Television spokeswoman Carrie Hung. Hung said that because of support from organizations such as Congress, members of the European Parliament, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Federation of Journalists, a long-term contract has been signed that will ensure the continent will continue to receive the network’s programming.
Ticket prices for the Chinese New Year gala at the Grand Opera house range from $35 to $75 and can be purchased by calling (302)-222-9590, (302)-222-9591, or (215)-528-1711