CNY 2008: Long Sleeves

Just goofing around with more motion studies at the CNY performances inside TSB Arena. This was a traditional Chinese Long Sleeves Dance.

CNY 2008: Random Stuff and Cute Kids

Just some other random photos from the parade and performances on stage afterwards at Frank Kitts Park.

From what I've been told by an ex-Dragon dance team member, this stuff is hard work! If you're working the mid-section of the dragon, it's not all that bad. But running the head or the tail sections is work for the seriously fit only. Along the parade route and even during the performance on stage, it wasn't uncommon to see substitutions for the "head" person.

No this isn't a limbo contest. These guys had some funky tricks in their bag...crazy spiralling formations that involved them jumping the body like skipping rope, and even lying on their backs!

It wasn't all fiery dragon type stuff though. These little guys and girls stole the show with their cuter than cute appeal :)

They were also good for some totally funny expressions.

Look at those cheeks!

How busy was it? ....pretty packed...until it started to rain and everyone ran back inside the Arena.

CNY 2008: Shaolin Monks

The Shaolin Martial Arts group is in town to perform at the Michael Fowler Centre this Saturday. They also took part in the Chinese New Year festivities on Sunday with three short performances on stage...teasers from their full show.

Since the indoor lighting was terrible, and the stage and backdrop weren't very aesthetically pleasing, I decided to try some motion studies...basically using shutter drag (slow shutter speed) and a second curtain flash setting. I'm fairly pleased with the results having been hand held. This is a good technique when you want a little motion blur from an action shot, to impart the feeling of motion in your image.

I've never seen one of the Shaolin Monks' performances before. Whenever they came to Toronto, tickets were always fairly expensive...in comparison to tickets for concerts or musicals that is. But the brief performances were quite entertaining. Filled with precision martial arts befitting a group of 25 monks on stage at the same time, all doing their forms in unison is a site to see and hear. Some performances are like Chinese Acrobats meets Bruce Lee...a combination of extreme flexibility and martial arts. The below photo shows the strength and mental aspect you'd expect from Shaolin Kung Fu...the breaking of a long staff on the outstretched arm of another monk.

So I was pretty surprised to learn that tickets to their show were only $28!! Wow, that's got to be the first 'bargain' in New Zealand! But online tickets are already sold out, there's only one performance. However, thanks to Lei (Lonnie's girlfriend) and her inside connections, I've managed to score choice seats that weren't available to the public! Aw yeah...props to the hookups baby! Should be good...but I'm attending because I want to watch the show, not take pictures...I'm leaving the camera at home.

CNY 2008: Singers & Dancers

The "New Clothes For The New Year" event also featured numerous musical and dance performances. Mostly by locals and some out of towners. This guy above, David Tsai is from Taiwan I think? Mandarin hip hop/rapper, he was actually decent. In the background is the cHip cHop cRew, a local group of hip hop dancers. All chinese but they also belong to the Virtue Dance Crew which is a larger group and a mix of different ethnicities, and perform many styles of dance.

More of the cHip cHop cRew. I think the average age of these girls was 14 years old. They were all pretty good hip hop dancers...definitely the new age of Asians that have rhythm and can dance...excluding of course Chinese-Jamaicans :P

The girl on the left in the above image is Jessica Loh, one of the dancers but also a budding singer. She sang a few solos throughout the weekend. 14 years old on stage singing alone in front of a large audience, pretty brave. Her voice isn't bad either...maybe one day she'll be the next Wellington pop star.

Bettuh Recognize...I think that's they're spelling and not their "chinglish". Larger hip hop/breakdance crew. Like the cHip cHop cRew, I was pretty impressed with the moves on them. Just like any RnB music video you'd see on tv these days. Give it up for the Asians with rhythm! :)

In addition to the breaking, Bettuh Recognize also did a hip hop routine featuring more guys and girls. And one last one, processed a little differently cause I'm on a Velvia kick right now. Kind of mimicking the 'look' that you get from Velvia film. Very punchy and saturated.

Natalie Foy, I think she was one of the volunteer models, but was also one of the musical talents at the show, evident from the photo.

CNY 2008: Sophie Voon Bridal

This weekend was Part Two of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Wellington. Part One took place last Sunday at Civic Square. This weekend being the bigger of the two saw festivities on both Saturday and Sunday.

Following the CNY tradition of wearing new clothes for new years, Saturday was the "New Clothes For The New Year" show (fashion, music, and dance performances), held down at Queen's Wharf on the waterfront. Among the designers this year was Sophie Voon who had two runway shows, one for her regular collection and another for her bridal collection. Apparently she's well known for her custom made bridal dresses.

All of the models were volunteers and you may even recognize some of them as dancers in the other pics. I don't usually associate bridal wear with CNY, but I guess if you're going to put on a show, you might as well show what you're good at.