More than just a Dragon dance

Chinese New Year is perhaps like our Songkran, or Christmas in many countries. Many people take long vacations,

travelling with their families or returning to their hometowns to spend time with their families. Airports and flights are

packed while many restaurants and businesses are closed and those that are open are packed. In other words, it’s

probably not a right time for performing arts events, which require people to leave their homes.
In fact, that’s a total misconception, especially in Singapore where only last Monday and Tuesday were public

holidays.
The first major festival in the 10th anniversary season of the Esplanade—Theatres on the bay, “Huayi: Chinese

Festival of Arts” kicked off last Friday with lion and dragon dances outdoors at the Forecourt Stage.
In the Theatre, the play “Crosstalk Travellers” was staged by Taiwan’s Performance Workshop, and in the Concert

Hall, Singapore Festival Orchestra performed selections from “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hero” and “The

Banquet” under the baton of China’s most famous composer Tan Dun. There were also puppet performances outdoors

by Fujian Jinjiang Puppet Opera Troupe from China at the Waterfront Canopy, in addition to traditional and modern

Chinese music miniconcerts by Singaporean and Chinese artists at the Outdoor Stage and the Concourse. I spent a few

hours at a caf