Myths & Legends: New Tang Dynasty TV's Chinese New Year Global Gala lands in Vancouver 

The New Tang Dynasty TV Gala
touring ensemble landed in Vancouver today and put on a media
conference at the Vancouver Art Gallery with a mini-show.  This is
the first time that NTDTV has brought its Gala show to Vancouver. 
There will be 11 shows in North America plus Sydney, Taiwan, Seoul and
Paris.
http://gala.ntdtv.com/2006/en/cities/van/
The Vanouver show is Tuesday, February 7th, 7:30pm, at Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Hamilton and Georgia St.

Over
the past two years I have been attending more of these Chinese event
shows.  Growing up “North American”, I generally stayed away from
things that were “Chinesey” – except for Bruce Lee movies and other
kung fu movies in Chinatown.  That was then, this is now. 
Chinese productions used to be marked by tackiness, and low production
values.  But an opening up of China in addition to event producers
taking on a willingness to push the envelope of both traditional
Chinese and mainstream cultural shows, has resulted in a number of
Chinese cultural shows being marketed into the mainstream.
Check my reviews for Terracotta Warriors, Senses and Chung Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu.

Today I talked with one of the volunteer organizers, and she was very pleased to learn that the Gung Haggis Fat Choy
is very much about building cultural understanding between East and
West, which is also the mandate of New Tang Dynasty TV.  While
GHFC has taken a decidely fusionistic take on inter-culturalism,
leaving behind the multi-cultural folk fest pastiche, it is interesting
to see how new Overseas Chinese create their perception of
“multi-culturalism.”  Last year, I attended Lily King's Spring
Concert, and was amazed by the efforts of local immigrant Chinese,
wanting to embrace and learn about North American and European
culture.  European opera arias, may be old hat to North American
audiences, but it is new to many Chinese and Asian audiences.

I
am very truthfully learning more about Chinese culture, as well as a
Chinese-Canadian identity  untainted by 62 years of legislated
racism due to the Chinese Head Tax and Exclusion Act.  While these
shows may be unaware of the more than 150 year of Chinese Canadian
history, the shows draw on 5000 years of continuous Chinese
culture.  New Tang Dyasty TV is named after the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) considered the peak of Chinese cultural and artistic achievements.

Below are links and information to :

Please visit http://qz1.sytes.net/art/gala.htm
to view the 5-
minute intro video online. New Tang Dynasty TV (NTDTV) is the world
largest independent, non-profit
Chinese-language television network.

Headquartered in New York City,
NTDTV currently has reporters and
correspondents in over fifty cities around the
world. The worldwide viewship covers North America, Australia, Europe and
Asia
via satellite, cable television and the Internet. Please visit http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/eng/aAboutXTR_e.htm for more information
on NTDTV.
On November 24th, 2005, NTDTV Canada was approved by Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunication Commission ( CRTC ) to be on the lists of eligible
satellite services for distribution on a
digital basis. NTDTV's aim with the Gala is to celebrate
China¡¯s magnificent heritage and foster cross-cultural understanding between the
East and West.

For
more info on the global gala. NTDTV's 2006 Chinese New Gala :
http://gala.ntdtv.com/2006/en/

See highlights from the show:
http://gala.ntdtv.com/2006/en/hi/

Review of the Boston show by OperaOnLine
 http://www.operaonline.us/mythslegends_001.htm.