GA / YEAR OF THE DRAGON

A group of close to 450 Chinese dancers, musicians and puppeteers are set to perform tonight (1 February) in the United Nations General Assembly Hall. UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:55
• Production Date: 1 February 2012
• Asset Language: Original
• Subject Topical: CULTURE; FINE ARTS; LITERATURE; MUSIC
• MAMS Id: U120201b

Description

STORY: GA / YEAR OF THE DRAGON
TRT: 1.55
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / CHINESE / NATS

DATELINE: 1 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

Shotlist

RECENT, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters, North Lawn Building

1 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Med shot, performers walking into GA Hall
3. Zoom in, performance by Guangdong Province Zhuhai Doumen District Experimental Elementary School
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ying Zhai, Hostess of the Performance:
“This year is the Year of the Dragon, and in Chinese, dragon, well dragon is not really an existing animal, but dragon means good luck, happy, healthy and everything good. So I guess people have a lot of ambitions and wishes to come true in the Year of the Dragon.”
5. Tracking shot, performance by Guangdong Province Zhuhai Doumen District Experimental Elementary School
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ying Zhai, Hostess of the Performance:
“Tonight’s event is more about to highlight the importance of the intangible culture heritage, I would say worldwide, but China is a very big country and it has a lot of different cultures, plus it has a long history of different cultures over five thousand years, and then currently in China there are lots of ethnic groups in different provinces and they have very unique cultures.”
7. Tracking shot, performance by pop group the September Miracle
8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Shi-Jun Zhao, Director of the Performance:
“It takes every generation to learn their heritage and we want to encourage youngsters to learn their heritage. This is the second time we put together this show and we are going to continue doing our work.”
9. Tracking shot, performance by pop group the September Miracle

Storyline

A group of close to 450 Chinese dancers, musicians and puppeteers are set to perform tonight (1 February) in the United Nations General Assembly Hall.

The performance - part of the Second Annual Festival Celebrating Chinese Culture - also commemorates the Chinese New Year and the incoming Year of the Dragon.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ying Zhai, Hostess of the Performance:
“This year is the Year of the Dragon, and in Chinese, dragon, well dragon is not really an existing animal, but dragon means good luck, happy, healthy and everything good. So I guess people have a lot of ambitions and wishes to come true in the Year of the Dragon.”

The aim of the festival is to highlight the intangible cultural heritage and traditions of the many ethnic groups living in the People’s Republic of China.

SOUNDBITE (English) Ying Zhai, Hostess of the Performance:
“Tonight’s event is more about to highlight the importance of the intangible culture heritage, I would say worldwide, but China is a very big country and it has a lot of different cultures, plus it has a long history of different cultures over 5 thousand years, and then currently in China there are lots of ethnic groups in different provinces and they have very unique cultures.”

The young performers come from different schools and universities from all over the country. Among them is the latest sensation in China, the pop duo September Miracle.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Shi-Jun Zhao, Director of the Performance:
“It takes every generation to learn their heritage and we want to encourage youngsters to learn their heritage. This is the second time we put together this show and we are going to continue doing our work.”

Other performers include a shadow puppet show by the Beijing Foreign Studies University Affiliated Foreign Languages School and a Guzheng (Chinese Zither) Ensemble performed by Wangzhou, Jinhai Jiao, Changyuan Wang and Shang’e Fan.