Saturday’s Parade of Nations ended with a beautiful performance by the China Gold acrobatic group. The auditorium was full of eager students and families, and the first several rows were full of young children, ready to watch. The show began with heart-throbbing music and a quick show of the different skills of the performers. Each had their own personality and specialty. One of the performers snapped a whip which sounded like fireworks going off within the auditorium. The show was comprised of individual acts, as well as a story that wove between them.
The show was enrapturing but entirely different from most Western expectations of what an acrobatic show would be. There were no bars that the performers swung on or any tricks like that, but the performers would spin in air from their own strength. There was a confidence in the way they moved and a strength in everything they did, that despite the show being different from expectations, it was still fascinating and worth the watch. The performers were very good about encouraging audience participation through clapping and yelling, which encouraged them to perform and do better.
Scott Svilend, a second-year chemical engineering major, said, “There were a lot of parts where it seemed uncomfortable or like I wasn’t sure when to clap and other times when we started clapping but I was still enjoying the performance.” The problem of when to clap, however, was not enough to make the show unenjoyable. He also said, “[The show] was extremely well done and the effects were really unique.”
A favorite portion of the performance was the light show. The auditorium was darkened and the different performers came on stage, one with ropes of lights that he swung viciously, and another with lights like a bouquet of flowers, gracing the stage. Still, another swung long chains of vibrating ribbons which sounded like bumblebees flying through the air. It was fascinating to watch the lights burn through the darkness.
Regrettably, the fog machines during the last act caused the fire alarm to go off and the audience had to evacuate. They gave the performers a standing ovation, and those performers who were not on stage came back on to do a couple more moves as the audience was leaving. Because the fire alarm went off during the final act, the show did not resume, but the performers came out onto the Rozsa lawn and brought several of the light props with them and allowed the children to experiment playing with them. They also took pictures with the event attendees and made the most of the situation.
Vienna Chapin, Parade of Nations Co-Chair, and the International Programs and Service Office Study Abroad Coordinator said of the performance that she, “loved the versatility of each performer. The music reminded me of a film, especially a song from Mulan.” The group performed a live version of the song “Make a Man out of You” where the female performer trained to become a warrior. Vienna Chapin also said, “It was really great to have a different type of group to perform for us for the Parade of Nations. I think the group really helped us portray the theme from this year: Think Globally, Celebrate Locally.” The performance certainly showed a certain unity to the audience and was entirely mesmerizing. China Gold came through despite the circumstances and provided a wonderful experience for adults, parents, children and students alike.
