Yesterday was Chinese New Year and we spent it in Chinatown. What a madhouse! Like Times Square in Chinatown. Incredible food, street performers, stuff for sale, and everybody in traditional red. Then of course there was the visit by the Princess of Thailand so I think you can imagine. One of the highlights was the performance of the Thousand Hand Guanyin. These are the performers about to do it. I wish I could say we actually saw it but it was performed for the Princess and we had no view whatsoever, except for the guy standing next to us who had a small portable TV. But oh man is this something. Note in the first photo the long finger extensions which they use to highlight the moves but see how the girls seem to be moving them as they stand there. They're not warming up. All the performers are deaf. They are signing. Durng the actual performance there is someone on the stage directing them so they are in time with the music. Remarkable. Check the youtube link in the next post to see an actual performance.
Very cool! Saw several troopes perform on YouTube, and apparently they start quite young.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the girl in the middle of the picture the only one with heels?
Very good catch. I have no idea but it is possible that everything has to be so exact, including their relative heights, that some are adjusted by heels.
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