Ever Closer to Tibet
Tuesday, September 18th, 2007After writing the last blog entry, I left the Internet cafe to head back to the hotel. While enroute, I was distracted by what looked like an orchestra setting up to play in a paved square by the river. I decided to hang around to see what was going to happen. The show started about a half an hour later and opened with a group of children dancing flamenco and salsa on the stage. Other acts followed involving various singers and dancers performing to Chinese music (with the exception of a couple waltzing to “May I Have This Dance”). I could tell the show was put on by local groups as they often made mistakes which led to laughter and corrections. If this wasn’t enough entertainment, another group soon set up very near them and began a saxaphone and trombone ensemble with a huge crowd of townspeople singing along with them. Next to them about 50 people began line dancing to their own music. A fourth group began doing exercises next to the dancing group. All this took place in a space of about 100 meters or so. I felt as if I were at a multi-ringed circus as I kept running back and forth between all the groups watching. The noise level was tremendous as they were all competing to be heard. [read on]
cjun