On Thursday night, MSE hosted the event “Colorful China”, performed by Colorful China Dance Group, along with members of the Hopkins student body.
Presented by the Chinese National Museum of Ethnology, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, and World Artists Experiences, the show highlighted the dance, music and fashion of China’s 56 ethnic groups.
Although the performers were labeled as a dance group, what took center stage were the extraordinary costumes; at times it felt purely like a fashion show.
The performance consisted of 12 pieces. The first one featured 10 women wearing dresses of bright red, green, yellow and blue fabric, topped with ornate floral headpieces.
They walked slowly and steadily to over-the-top Hollywood-type music, arms held in front of the diaphragm elbows up, palms down.
At times they opened their arms in a welcoming gesture. Though lacking in choreography, the piece emphasized form, control, and presentation of the costume.
A singing duet featured a woman and a man, who also played an instrument. While the man sang tolerably, the woman sang in a high-pitched, nasally voice that was incredibly jarring.
The Head of the Committee for the group described the piece as “in harmony with nature”; unfortunately, what was performed was quite disharmonious and cacophonous.
After two more numbers showcasing more stunning costumes, this time with more muted and white hues, was one of few choreographed dance pieces.
A trio of women performed a piece with exaggerated hip and arm movements. Though the movements were often repetitive, it was nonetheless pleasant and charming.
Following that was a demonstration of men’s and women’s fashion by a current Chinese designer, modeled by the performers and select Hopkins students.
The formal menswear was tailored, crisp and clean, displaying familiar cuts and Chinese styles.
One particularly eye-catching ensemble was a mint-green shirt beneath a black jacket. Then came women’s formal-wear: turtle-neck, floor-length creations in bold colors that glittered on stage.
More fashion was to be seen in the next piece, with a hint of music. A woman seated in the center of the stage played another ‘plucked’ instrument.
Five women entered one by one wearing wide-bottom dresses of various colors and patterns. It was the first time the color pink was shown.
Displaying their wearable art, they waited patiently for the musician to conclude her piece, which also included a sound recording. It was refreshing to see music and fashion integrated in this way.
The ninth piece, another dance number, represented styles dating back to the Xin Dynasty. The dance demonstrated the joy a woman feels right before she gets married.
This trio featured a young woman, elegant and perfectly innocent, working on her embroidery. She was joined by two other females who dueted as the other soloed.
The piece ended with all three holding and dancing around the embroidery hoop with brilliant red cloth. When the dancers held it up it resembled a blood-red sun, with the dancers as planets circling around it.
Another musical piece followed, also with a sound recording, but this time performed by a man dressed in a crisp suit seated to the side. His technical virtuosity was astounding, and he truly felt the music he was playing.
The most entertaining piece was a militaristic-style dance number performed by eight women and four blocks of wood. Each block fit the feet of two women, like double-skiing.
Control, timing and rhythm were crucial to prevent falling, and the dancers did an excellent job dancing under the limiting circumstances.
After a showcase of Tibetan fashion was the finale, where all the performers gathered on stage, which was visually stunning. The show was rounded out with an ensemble song, conducted by the male musician.
As colorful as this show certainly was, the most exciting and ‘colorful’ parts were all in the costumes and fashion, and not in the theatrical performances themselves.
Although clothing is certainly an important part of culture, “Colorful China” relied too heavily on its costumes for entertainment value. It would have been nice if they had done more performing in their costumes rather than walking, standing, and posing, which seemed like a repetitive time-filler as the show progressed.
“Colorful China,” aiming to express Chinese culture, needed more elements of Chinese culture to express. The sound recordings made it difficult to hear the live instruments, though the melodies were delicate and beautiful.
The dances were sweet and charming, employing graceful movements and props. Though there were some nice moments, the music and dance pieces came up short, and were overshadowed by the vibrant elegance of the costumes.
