The Chinese Students and Scholars Association organized the Mid-Autumn Festival Gala in Foellinger Auditorium on Sept. 28. In Chinese culture, the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the day when the moon is at its fullest and often evokes feelings of homesickness. The gala, held from 6-9 p.m., featured 21 performances.
The performances included traditional Chinese dance, singing, folk instrumentals, pop music, light and shadow performances and Chinese language-based acts. The audience, composed of individuals from within and outside the school and from various backgrounds, filled the seats.
According to CSSA Chairperson Yuzhou He, the association spent five months preparing for the event.
“We need to approve all programs, submit program approval documents, recruit hosts and performers and assemble our own project team before all other steps,” He said.
Performers devoted significant time and energy to rehearsals, especially since the gala coincided with midterms. Members of the local dance team rehearsed every evening for an entire week. He mentioned he only slept three hours the night before the event.
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A group of older Chinese faculty members formed a dance ensemble and performed a classical dance from the Tang dynasty, dating back a thousand years. It was their fourth time performing at the gala.
“We invited a professional dance teacher from Central University for Nationalities in Beijing to teach us online,” said Wang Ning, head of the dance team. “We are excited to celebrate Mid-Autumn with the next generation, who are talented and skillful enough to organize such an amazing gala themselves.”
Unlike previous Mid-Autumn Festival galas, this year’s event was promoted to English-speaking communities. CSSA posted information about the event on Instagram to attract more people learning Chinese culture.
However, their goal wasn’t fully met. The number of non-East Asian attendees in the audience was quite small, and portions of the Chinese script were not translated into English.
“Given our lack of previous experience promoting to an American demographic, we didn’t manage to introduce a substantial amount of diversity,” He said.
Nevertheless, some people from other nations attended the gala. Leo Kirkwood, University alum, was interested in Chinese culture and watched the entire gala.
“I really enjoyed these amazing performances, which are very different from what I’ve seen before,” Kirkwood said. “They gave me a better understanding of Chinese culture.”
One of the most surprising performances of the evening was two K-pop shows. K-pop is popular among China’s younger generation, though it is not part of traditional Chinese culture.
Local enterprises sponsored the event, and students could purchase tickets on the event website. Throughout the evening, local businesses held four lotteries, offering prizes like a brand-new MacBook Air and a PS5.
Kathy Hu, education consulting company CheersYou employee, explained why they supported the event.
“The Mid-Autumn Festival Gala is a great opportunity for us to connect with Chinese students who gather here,” Hu said. “Our promotion was successful, attracting many students and teachers to consult with us.”
