Darleene Barrientos
Unfamiliar music and unusual dancing entranced Hoover High School
students Wednesday, when the Soon Ching Ling Performers from Wu Yi
School of Beijing performed.
Comprised of 71 students, ranging in age from 11 to 13, the group
played music, sang, danced and even painted in front of the high
school crowd.
"It's unique -- something different that we've never seen before,"
Sera Khaneshan, 14, said
The group's concert band played two songs, including a rousing
rendition of "Happy Birthday," which made the audience laugh as the
musicians began swaying and waving their instruments in time to their
music. Dancers performed in different costumes, and watercolor
artists and calligraphists painted while traditional instrumentalists
played.
"It was awesome," Tevan Asaturi, 16, said. "They're like the
Marines -- they're so disciplined."
The Chinese students are part of the United Nations' Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Education tour. They arrived Monday and will
leave Monday. The students have performed in Los Angeles, are
scheduled to travel to Las Vegas and San Diego, and they will visit a
professional recording session at Studio 56 and perform at
Disneyland.
The trip is a first for most of the Chinese students, such as
12-year-old Guan Chen Xi.
"I like [the United States] very much," she said. "I like
performing and dancing here."
Linda Maxwell and Jose Quintanar of We Care For Youth, a local
group dedicated to stopping youth violence, coordinated the
performers' stop at Hoover High.
"Cultural exchanges like this are the stuff of life," music
teacher Craig Kupka said. "For the kids of Glendale and Hoover High
to see these kids perform at the level they're at is an incredible
eye-opener. We love this stuff. Hopefully, this arts culture exchange
will help provide the world with a climate of peace."
* DARLEENE BARRIENTOS covers education. She may be reached at
(818) 637-3215 or by e-mail at darleene.barrientoslatimes.com.
