I get the feeling that going to China for Lunar New Year is a bit like tourists coming to New York and sitting in Times Square for the ball drop on December 31st. The folks here are in to it, but I get the feeling that none of them are local. That being said, they put on a pretty impressive show for the celebration. Around mid-day the lion dance teams started performing. I caught a show at the Excelsior hotel completely by accident (right place at the right time, I suppose) and these guys did some amazing work. They were leaping all over the place, including up on to those platforms that were about 6 feet above the ground, and then jumping between them with coordination and accuracy that was quite impressive. The same troupe was also at a department store a couple hours later and in the annual parade at night.
Speaking of the parade, it was definitely interesting. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but for some reason Salsa dancers from Spain werent’ part of my expectations. Neither were the San Francisco 49ers cheerleaders nor the UCLA marching band and dance team.
I think I was expecting a bit more of this sort of stuff – local folks dressed up and dancing for the crowd.
Not quite local, this group is from Thailand:
It is the year of the rat, after all, so Mickey & Minnie were right at home in the parade.
Another local dance troupe.
And one last dragon to close out the show.
Happy year of the rat. May it be prosperous and joyous (at least I think that’s what they were all saying).
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Looks awesome. Sigh. =)
Yeah…it really is that awesome!