On Friday 27th January, the state-of-the-art Tung Auditorium opened its doors to the community in celebration of Chinese New Year.
The Annual Chinese New Year Gala, one of the Confucius Institute’s most prestigious and anticipated events, with tickets sold out shortly after they were made available.
The Liverpool Confucius Institute New Year Gala has been running since 2016, but due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions, this year’s gala was the first since 2020. With performances from local schools, university students, and professionals, the audience was treated to over two hours of diverse and multicultural entertainment.
Firm favourites were the martial arts demonstrations and Lion Dance by Jinlong School of Martial Arts, and the performances by school children, whose talents truly wowed the audience.
The students of St Julie’s Catholic High School perform the legend of Hua Mulan through ballet.
The students of St Nicholas’ Catholic Academy perform ‘Gongxi Gongxi’ and ‘If You’re Happy and You Know It’.
The students of Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School deliver dramatised versions of two ancient Chinese stories: ‘Nian’ and ‘Nie Jingtai’.
The students of Caldy Grammar School perform ‘Shaonian Zhongguo Shuo’, a song about the power of the younger generation.
In addition to the school children, several university students performed in the gala. From classical piano music, British folk songs, and songs from China.
Liverpool Hope University student Anna Ho performed ‘Feux d’artifice’ (Fireworks) by Claude Debussy
Tian, a band formed by members of Pagoda Arts, delivered a stunning ensemble of Chinese-Western fusion music.
Finally, in a collaboration between the University of Liverpool’s Department of Music and Liverpool Hope University’s ‘Voices of Hope’, a group of university students sung a Chinese rendition of ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to close the show.
Voices of Hope’ from Liverpool Hope University and The University of Liverpool Department of Music perform ‘Auld Lang Syne’.
Dr Penny Ding, Deputy Director of the Liverpool Confucius Institute said: “It has been several years since we were able to celebrate Chinese New Year at the Liverpool Confucius Institute in person.
“Our staff and the Tung Auditorium worked tirelessly to prepare for the Chinese New Year Gala, and so we were all thrilled by the quality of the show. Every single one of the performers demonstrated incredible enthusiasm, and relished in the opportunity to show off their talents in a celebration of cultural exchange. It has been an honour and a privilege to be involved in such an event.”
We would like to give special thanks to the Tung Auditorium, and Allan Vaughan Williams and all his supporting staff who directed the event behind the scenes.