Article By Pui See Tsang
Photo by Niko
New York University Chinese Students and Scholars Association (NYUCSSA) proudly presented its 2014 annual gala, Sparkling Years on Sunday April 6.
Talented students and alumni from China and the U.S. team up to entertain you with the ultimate sensory experience, featuring a variety of original shows including choirs, musicals, skits, dances, and ensembles featuring over one hundred performers from both China and the U.S. This year, the featured performers were the talented songwriter group The Best Time (Shui Mu Nian Hua) and rock genius Van (Yichen) Fan—their beautiful performances will be sure to carry you back in time.
NYUCSSA is one of the largest and most influential Chinese student organizations in the United States. Founded in 1994, NYUCSSA has since cooperated closely with the Chinese community in Greater New York area. Building on a long history, NYUCSSA always gives the best efforts to serve the communities at NYU and tighten their connections with other communities through programs of enriched and diverse content each year.
This year’s gala was held on Sunday at Lincoln Center in honor of their 20th performance since its establishment. There were seven programs, which were Dream, Collide, Change, Seek, Melt, Sparkle, and Inception. All the performances were incredible.
“Most of the production team is very young, I myself am only 21,” said Boyang Zhao, the director of this year’s gala, through a translator on Saturday before the performance. “None of us are real professional or performance students, aside from a few composers. Everyone else just takes this on for fun. For us, to create a gala at Lincoln Center is a very adventurous challenge.”
This year’s gala has performances from two professional acts – songwriting duo Shui Mu Nian Hua from the Chinese mainland, and Taiwan’s rock musician Van Yichen Fan.
Zhao said the message he is trying to get across in the show is “what these international students are feeling in their everyday life, the struggle of being away from home, and fitting into this strange environment. Chinese students who live in America have a very special identity. They’re not completely Chinese, because they absorb a lot of international elements, but they’re not going to leave their culture behind. I drew on this concept and put it into the gala. We have a lot of Western meets Eastern collaborations, which are very interesting.”
The professionals involved – Van Yichen Fan and Shui Mu Nian Hua – were upbeat about being involved in the celebration. “I’m very honored to be here and to see such a group of passionate students, whether art or performing is your major, or whether it is just a hobby,” Fan said.
