Today was a fantastic day! I went to the Cultural Palace of Nationalities where they have an exhibit about Tibet on display.
They organized it in three wings: Old Tibet (pale and tragic Tibet), New Tibet (rejuvenated, happy, lively Tibet), and China (traditional culture stuff). I of course started at the beginning in Old Tibet and moved through New Tibet videotaping everything. When I got to the third wing on China, I turned the corner and saw a group of women in traditional costume dress displaying their embroidery and talking with people. 
Perfect! I rushed over, eager to talk with them and I found out quickly that they didn't know a word of english. Luckily a Chinese woman, Tarrah who is a high school English teacher in China, was passing by and translated for us. These women in costume were from the area of Sichuan. When the earthquake hit, they brought what survived and came to Beijing. I told them that I was a dance student from America here studying Chinese Dance. They clapped their hands and said with delight "ooh, come back at 2 o'clock and we will dance for you". Perfect I thought. It was 11:30 am and everyone was going to lunch. For lunch I walked in to the first place I recognized as serving food and found that it was an upscale genuine Korean restaurant with natives only on staff. So I have no idea what I ate except for mini boiled eggs for an appetizer and a fruit salad on the side. 
I ate what I could stomach of my meal and left feeling empty in my tummy as well as my pocket. On the way back I found a place that was serving more familiar food and stopped in to have a bite of duck sushi, which was fabulous, then I headed back to the museum.
"Well, there's not much to see, we're in a Chinese Dragon!"...
This picture is for Rose!When I got to the museum and found these women (my gold mine of culture and research), Tarrah had also come back. I pulled out my video camera to begin taping only to find that my battery was dead. I had videotaped the whole other part of the museum and worn the battery all the way out just when I found what I was really looking for. They danced a little bit for me and even taught me one of their folk dance patterns, then I asked them if I could come back tomorrow to videotape the dance. They enthusiastically responded "oh yes, you come back everyday to this museum and we will teach you dancing, singing, and embroidery so that you can take our culture back to America with you and share it with everyone." Then they told me that there was a Tibetan dancing show being performed in 5 minutes in another part of the museum. So I ran to the stage to see the performance. It was a typical Tibetan folk performance with dancing, singing, drama and wonderful costumes.
It was about their mythological folk hero (I can't remember his name, but he is kind of like Hercules in that he has special powers but is still a human), and his queen. I pulled out my camera to take pictures and after shooting about 5, I found that my only working memory card was full. I anxiously searched for another method of documenting this performance and I panicked about what to do and what if this is the only showing of this performance, and why isn't anything working? In this moment of frustration I cried for help and comforting inspiration sprinkled down on me from a loving tender Father in Heaven observing his daughter struggling to do her best. The inspiration came as a reminder to presence myself in that moment and tap in to the memory capacity of my own mind and body. (Slow inhale and exhale) Peace and presence. So I called on all my faculties of sensing and enjoyed the rest of the performance. I found out after the performance that the show was running every day at the same time. Phew! I could come back tomorrow and film it. After the performance I met Molly (the girl to the left of me in the pink) who worked at the museum and wanted to practice her english with me. She showed me the Tibetan art work that is in the background. To the right of the performing stage was an alcove where two painters were working on pieces similar to the ones on exhibit.
When I went back the next day ready to film, it was a special VIP performance that was closed to the public. I quickly called Curtis to ask where another ethnic site was and my phone ran out of minutes. I stood there in the courtyard and tears rolled down my cheeks as I implored "why is this so hard?" Heavenly Father lovingly reminded me of His presence and said "that is how it goes sometimes, but you've got to keep it together and move forward". I wiped away my tears for the moment and went to gather more information from the Chiang women in the museum that I had met the day before.
We danced together. They repeated the patterns over and over until I got it and could keep up with them. When I finally got the pattern up to speed with them, they would jump up and down clapping their hands in excitement. The dances I learned were folk dances of the Chiang people, one of the 56 ethnic minorities in China. The dances are similar to African dances in that they are used for celebrating a good harvest, marriage, happy time, working, family, etc. and the movements are pedestrian-like and resemble daily movements such as harvesting wheat (or rice). It was so fun, we danced for a couple of hours and Tarrah graciously videotaped while I joined in. After they had taught me some of their dances, they wanted to learn some of mine from America. I taught them a simple phrase of Modern Dance and they "oohed and awed over it". After a little while of dancing the Chiang ladies sat down in exhaustion and asked me if I was tired. All we were doing was shuffling in a circle and waving our arms, I was just getting warmed up. But I could see that they were spent and we sat down to do embroidery. Mom would have been so proud of me practicing my domestic skills. :)
There was a reporter there taking pictures that possibly may have appeared in the China Business daily newspaper that week. He was only one of our audience members. People gathered around to watch and afterwards wanted to take photos with us. I felt tall.
Tonight I found my favorite restaurant in China "Chamate" it was just off the subway station on the way home to Curt and Mand's. I had steamed prawn dumplings... to die for, a jumbo prawn with sausage-like meat wrapped up in a green potsticker wrap, and a seafood eggroll-type thing...delish!
After dinner I went to my second night of seeing the LDTX Modern Dance Company. They had two different performances that were showcased on alternating nights. It was fabulous, the kind of Modern Dance that makes me dance. The dancers are so beautifully trained and the choreography is incredibly creative. And the men in this company are as graceful as the women and super athletic. One of the pieces was to the "Rite of Spring" music and it was absolutely stunning.
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