Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts 2013 华艺节 Esplanade - TheWackyDuo.com - Singapore Wacky Digital Underground Outpost

Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts 2013 华艺节 Esplanade

Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts 2013
Liondance has been associated with Chinese New Year for centuries. In our quest to catch at least one Liondance performance for CNY, we found out that there will be one for the opening of Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts 2013 华艺节  at the Esplanade.

Liondance
It was raining in the evening, we were afraid that we may not be able to catch the performance as it was to be held outdoors at the Forecourt. Luckily the organisers decided to bring the lions indoor instead.
Huge crowd
It's a good thing we were early, we managed to get seats in the front row. The main reason why we decided to come is because Louis was obsessed about Liondance since Chinese New Year Started. He had been watching Liondance shows on youtube , effectively replacing his old favourite Chugginton.
The Lions
The Lions finally appeared at 7pm!
.
The performance last no longer than 3 minutes, but to see the majestic lions prance about the stage made the trip worthwhile.
Blessings from Lions
As it was the start of the Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts, we decided to partake in some of the shows that they have in store during this period.

Huayi 华艺节 is celebrating its 10th year anniversary , having launched in 2003.
It aims to showcase the works of Chinese artists of all genres, be it traditional or contemporary, mainstream or cutting edge. Programmes include a mix of ticketed and non-ticketed events across various art forms including theatre, dance, music, visual arts and more.

Chinese orchestra performance
Festive Pulses 鼓震铃响武动滨海
15th to 19th Feb, Forecourt, 745pm, 9pm, 1015pm (Fri/Sat only)

A main draw the opening of Huayi is the Festive Pluses.
It comprises  of Wufang Singapore, Diabolo Art, ZingO Festival Drum Group (15 – 17 Feb) & Drummer Studio (18 & 19 Feb) (Singapore/Malaysia)

ZingO latest fan
The main attraction for us would be the drummers from ZingO 惊鼓人
Having been introduce to ZingO since May 2009 , officially becoming their youngest fan then. Since their concert in 2010, I had not been able to catch their performances for over 3 years! Hence when the opportunity to get reacquainted arises, we did not hesitate. As for the youngest fan tag, Louis would probably take that title from me now.

Zingo Drums
Initially, we had wanted to catch an earlier performance but it was cancelled due to rain. Luckily the rain stopped and we caught the performance after our dinner.


Peformances by ZingO
Ready
It was worth the wait. From the first beat of the drum to the last, we were totally  in awe.

Pose
They say pictures are worth a thousand words, so we would let the photos describe their performances.
Poise
They have a total of 2 sets each lasting about 10 minutes. The performances itself is worth a trip down to Esplanade. Somehow seeing the energy on stage and listening to the enchanting drum beats would soothe any listless spirits. We were so in awe that we hardly fidget or move during the performances. In fact, Louis had even insisted and stayed on for a later performance so he can watch them again!
Poetry
For this performance, they had also included the next generations of ZingO drummers, seeing the affectionately term 'Drum Sprouts' perform would inspire the young kids to pick up drumming. I am sure after this performances, Louis would be home to practise his drums ( we do have a mini drum at home)
I was delighted that Roch the founder of ZingO Drums still remember his 'youngest' fan!
Passion
If you intend to catch their performances, do note that they will only be there till 17th Feb.
The next generation
Watch their performances here!


For more of the performances you can visit our youtube page


Wufang Singapore

As it was a triple billed night, we caught Wushu Performance from Wufang as well as Chinese YoYo from Diabolo Art . Both acts are equalling entertaining and new to me.

Performance by Wufang


Diabolo Art
Performance by Diabolo Art
The evening of Chinese art performances was a delight, we were glad that we had made it to the event in spite of the heavy downpour earlier ( it has been raining almost daily since the Water Snake arrived)

However the evening was almost marred by an unpleasant encounter at Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ (Esplanade Outlet). We had intended to take a meal there by ordering their ala carte ( most other places are packed so we choose this place). However we were told what we ordered was too little and the waiter refused to take our orders. We ordered 2 dishes (total about $50-$60) and was seated in a table for four (2 adults and 2 kids), however apparently this is insufficient and we must order more before they can take our orders!

Jang Shou Korean Charcoal BBQ - Bad service, avoid at all cost!
This is the first time Daddy had encountered such discrimination and bad service in Singapore. Daddy was so appalled by the attitude that he decided he would rather have dinner elsewhere. This is probably the last time we would step into such an establishment. Apparently we are not the only one having bad experiences with this particular restaurant. It's no surprise it was only half full given that most other eateries are packed that evening . It is disturbing that such an establishment can exist in one of Singapore iconic attractions.

Naturally we choose not to eat there and it is definitely not on our recommended place to go.

Back to Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts 2013.
It you want to catch the performances, the festival will be on till Feb 24th.

For more Chinese New Year celebrations around Marina Bay, do visit
Spring Celebrations @ Gardens by the Bay
River Hongbao @ The Float


The Little Details
Huayi : Chinese Festival of Arts 2013
Esplanade - Various locations, various timings
15th Feb to 24th Feb
The full performance timing and details can be found here


No comments

Powered by Blogger.