Jan 25: Chinese Fireworks

As you may or may not know, we're into the Chinese New Year now. Kung Hei Fat Choi to you! South Florida is a long, long way from China, which I can assure you from personal experience. Only a flight from Hong Kong to Florida can make you understand just how far. I'm already booked on another long flight later this spring back to China - Shanghai, specifically, then on to Beijing and other points in northern Asia. I love Asian cultures. Their food, their music, their history, their languages. And their dance. In this Year of the Dragon, you have the chance here in Fort Lauderdale to experience a striking piece of that culture. Shen Yun is a top classical Chinese dance company that will give three performances on February 10 and 11. Click here for more information. 

What better time of year could this troupe possibly pick to visit us? From our perspective, this stop coincides wonderfully with the Chinese New Year. From their point of view, it lines up perfectly with some of South Florida's best weather. Win-win, for sure. This should be an amazing show if you can swing the tickets.

Shen Yun draws on the traditions of a culture that is some 4,000 years old. You can expect not only classical dancing pyrotechnics but also Chinese songs, instrumental music, costumes and more. So over the next couple of weeks, why not get in the proper mood for Shen Yun's appearance at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts? The Chinese New Year celebration lasts until just a few days before the dance company arrives. Get some takeout kung pao chicken, perhaps. Learn how to correctly pronounce Kung Hei Fat Choi and say it to everyone you meet. Work the color red into your wardrobe at each opportunity. This is a time to have some fun. I've been in Singapore during Chinese New Year, Hong Kong immediately after the holiday ended. Those folks were having fun, believe me, and the party didn't stop with the sounding of the last New Year's gong either. I offer this tidbit of info to encourage you to carry your Year of the Dragon festivities right on through to the Shen Yun show. As someone born in another Year of the Dragon, I certainly plan to make the most of this joyful early 2012 holiday. And so I offer you one more Chinese phrase that you may find highly useful during this period: "Gan bei!" You pronounce it by saying, "gahn bay!" And you say it in a bar. And if you want to know any more than that, there's always Google.