Going to the show
I had a rock 'n' roll flashback this weekend. On Saturday, we discovered that people were putting up a stage just outside of campus. There's this road, Shiji Lu, which ends at our campus gate. It's a big honkin' six lane boulevard--they were obviously building for the future here. Anyway, the last leg of the road is on a downward slope, so it made for a pretty good spot for an impromptu outdoor theater. We didn't know why they were building this stage, of course. We joked about it being for a revival meeting on Sunday morning, but really I figured it might have been some college thing. The only problem with that theory was that when they build stages for the college shows they usually commandeer the basketball courts.
Later that evening I found out that the stage was for a civic performance. Apparently there is or was some nation-wide talent contest on CCTV. (I'm a real old fogey when it comes to local pop culture, so don't ask me to supply details.) The fourth place winner was from our town here. She was coming home in triumph to give a concert for the folks. True, she only made fourth place, but that detail's unimportant when the competitor's from your home town. We decided that it would be worth checking out, just because it would be different, if nothing else.
So Sunday night rolls along and I found out that it really wasn't that different. We met up with some students and headed off to the stage. The show was festival seating and the street was packed with people. I switched my wallet to my front pocket and squeezed my way through the crowd. I had definite flashbacks to Chicagofest, 1981, where my friends and I waited in line to see Cheap Trick. The only big difference was that the haze of smoke above the crowd here was made from tobacco. (Well, that and I could see over almost everybody's head.) We tried to make our way to the seating area--a few hundred plastic stools--but then decided to head back uphill to the SRO section. The one student, Gail, who was hanging out with us said we could see more from back there. So we stood and waited as the crowd became thicker and thicker around us. The crowd seemed to be mostly younger, say age 30 and under. There were a few older folks, mostly escorting kids. It could be that the elders had already scored seats down front. Or maybe they just stayed home to watch it on TV. The local television station had set up its cameras. At one point a group of soldiers in dress uniform came marching up. It was obvious that they weren't there for security or as some sort of honor guard. They were just some guys coming to catch the show.
Finally about 7:30--a half hour after the announced starting time--the show began. (Hey, just like the States.) My exposure to Chinese performances has been limited, but it seems to be the practice that the emcees are an integral part of the show. The emcees took the stage here and spent a number of minutes welcoming all the visiting dignitaries. They then yielded the stage to a dance troupe who performed a big flowing dance number. I mentioned to Yau Neih that if they ever broadcast the show on TV, we'd have to try and watch it so that we could see the routine close up. After the dancers, the emcees came back and presented the girl of the hour. (I suppose if I had any shred of journalistic ability I would ask somebody what her name was.) She sang a couple of tunes--pop numbers, nothing that really grabbed me. Then the dancers returned, this time dressed in Dai minority costumes for another dance. This pattern continued with a couple of songs then a dance number (From the Wa minority this time) then a few more songs. This was peppered with a couple of presentations by some dignitary or another. Then, by 9:00, everybody got on stage and the emcees started droning on while confetti was shot into the air. The show was over and it was time to go home.
The next morning, the stage and all the equipment were gone, as if it was all a dream. Well, except for a bit of confetti scattered about on the ground...
posted by John @ 7:53 PM
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