Education, fun mark Chinese Culture Night

Everything from fan dancers to martial arts experts graced the stage Friday night during the first annual Chinese Culture Night in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge. The program, which was free to the public, began with the loud clash of cymbals and bang of drums that set the pace for the traditional Chinese lion dance performed by the Hung Gar Kung Fu Academy. Chinese Students' Association President Vince Chan said the purpose of the culture night was to both educate and entertain. "Hopefully, after tonight [people] will find Chinese Culture more enjoyable," he said. Another prominent feature during the show was the traditional feather fan dance performed by several female students. The dance was originally performed only for the Chinese Emperor by women who were trained solely for that purpose. Wharton senior Janet Chang, one of the many fan dancers, said she was "relieved" when the show was over. "I think it went pretty well," she said. "Everyone was pretty tense before the show but after everyone was very relaxed." Chang added that she and the others had performed the feather fan dance before, so it was just a matter of "reviewing the steps" to perform it again. Wharton junior Penh Huynh not only danced in the feather fan dance, but also helped choreograph the steps. She added that in addition to this, she performed in two other dances and was the official show coordinator. "I've always wanted to start something like this [culture night] since my freshman year," she said. "It's something I always wanted to see and hopefully it will continue and be an annual event." Other performers were Kung Fu demonstrators from the Hung Gar Kung Fu Academy. There were also several musical peformances, including traditional Chinese music. Two professonal musicians, Elizabeth Moy and Kurt Jung, played two ancient Chinese instruments, the Zither and the Nan-hu. Afterwards, audience members said they enjoyed the show. "It was beautiful," College junior Jennifer Yu said. "It was very well put together. I think they did a really good job." College and Wharton junior Dan Moldenhauer said that he found the show especially entertaining. "It was really interesting for someone like me who isn't Chinese," he said. College junior Andrea Chen said the show was very uplifting. "I'm from Taiwan and the show reminded me of home," she said. "I felt proud to be Chinese. Sometimes you lose that [culture] at Penn." Chan, CSA president, said he was surprised at the "turnout and by the audience response" to the show. "I hope this can be the start of a trend," he said. "As a student I would like to attend Korean, black and Hispanic culture nights."