By: Randy Chow

Student dancers broke down cultural barriers as they spotlighted their heritage to a packed auditorium at the Hoff Theater in the Stamp Student Union on April 13.

The Tianyi Dance Team’s goal is to share Chinese culture with others through dance, said Evelyn Zhao, artistic director of Tianyi and junior computer science and immersive media design major.

This year’s showcase motif was the “Spirit of Vitality” and marked the student-run group’s 10th showcase.

“I really want people who see the show to feel they’ve learned and seen something they wouldn’t have been able to find elsewhere,” said Changwen Ding, Tianyi’s internal relations chair and sophomore public health science major.

At 7:05 p.m., the showcase began. Guest performers from Infinite Diabolo, Xuejuan Dance Ensemble, Moksha, Gina Ling Chinese Dance Chamber, TerpWushu and an individual singing performer participated in the night’s festivities.

When Tianyi selects a dance to perform, it also selects a story and history to explore, said Queenie Ma, president of Tianyi and junior technology and information design major. Each of Tianyi’s selected dances had a deeper meaning, including girlhood coming of age, stories of nature and the examining of emotions.

The first dance “Beauty of the Lake” blended slow and graceful movements with sharper ones to tell the story of a woman’s transformation from youth to maturity. Audience members in the back row rocked their heads rhythmically in tune with the music.

Infinite Diabolo, a two-person team, exhibited their expert diabolo, a Chinese juggling prop, handling and left the audience marveled. As the performers’ tricks escalated in difficulty, audience members’ vocal amazement escalated too. 

Tianyi performed “Painted Elegance in Misty Peaks” next. One of the dance’s seven performers, Lillian Zhou, Tianyi’s executive secretary and junior biology major, said dancing is her escape from the stresses of her academic responsibilities.

“At Tianyi … I can take a break and just dance and forget about everything else going on in my life,” Zhou said.

Six members of the Xuejuan Dance Ensemble, a Virginia-based group that provides education and performance opportunities in Chinese folk and classical dance, performed “Little Miao Girls” – articulating the culture of the Chinese Miao ethnic minority.

Being recognized by her friends and family in the audience was nice, but the most important thing was the feeling of accomplishment and pride the dancers felt from displaying a year’s worth of hard work, said Nicole Zhang, an artistic board member of Tianyi and chemical engineering and computer science double major.

“We put everything into it,” Zhang said.

Three dancers from Moksha performed a classical Bharatanatyam dance. Their every step jingled from an instrument affixed to their ankles called ghungroos.

“Eighteen Butterflies” performed by Tianyi’s featured soloist Jessica Wu, a junior computer science major, dressed in pink and yellow, depicted the rich changes in the circle of life.

The Gina Ling Chinese Dance Chamber peppered their “Symphony of the Red Fans” performance with feats of flexibility including backward cartwheeling, aerialing and two needle splits.

Angela Wu, an accomplished opera singer, shared her singing talents in her rendition of “Pear Blossom” – hitting countless high notes.

Blending fighting moves with careful weaponry techniques, TerpWushu held the audience’s attention with a captivating display of bo staff wielding, high kicks, blocking combinations and aerial maneuvers.

To close out the show, the Tianyi dancers performed the Mongolian-styled “Characters in the Melody” dance. Clad in dark blue and white costumes, the final performance had a night-high 22 dancers.

Their synchronized movements were sharp, yet soft. They stepped so delicately, as if they were gliding across the floor.

“I felt incredibly proud of my team,” Zhang said, “and was so thankful to have them next to me, supporting me, as I bowed. It felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders … everyone’s performance was amazing.”

Some latecomers watched the performance from the aisle – about 450 spectators turned out. This year’s showcase produced a higher turnout than last year’s, said Alex Wang, a Tianyi member and computer science and materials engineering double major graduate.

The draw of seeing Tianyi, Wang said, is the team’s “brilliant artistry, beautiful storytelling choreography and unique style” – things that make watching its performers worthwhile, regardless of one’s nationality.

Zhang said a lot of her non-Chinese friends watched the showcase and despite never seeing anything like Chinese dance before, they all loved it.

“That really speaks to our mission about using dance to break down cultural barriers and share Chinese culture,” Zhang said.

Featured Image:  Photo courtesy of Tianyi.