4th Annual Hollywood ‘Angel Cup’ in San Gabriel hits the right notes for US-China cultural associations

400 Students from China and other countries perform at San Gabriel Theatre

Hundreds of talented children in various forms of traditional costume and dress from all parts of the globe descended upon San Gabriel Mission Playhouse last weekend in a rare, unique and friendly arts competition.
A near capacity audience’s collective attention was on the youthful talent so eagerly waiting their turn to perform on the historic stage.
From kindergarten to high school, the brilliant and capable musicians and dancers kept up with the face-paced set changes and subtle lighting.
The gifted youngsters, many of whom had never performed publicly, seemed confident and more that capable in what was, at times, complex choreography.
What language barriers may have existed Friday and Saturday seemed insignificant with the universal semantics of smiles, confidence and camaraderie.
The first performers were a strong Wind band from Beijing Qiyi Primary school. They performed the now famous anthem “ We are the World.”
The Palm Springs Choir later performed “ Jekyll and Hyde. The Pasadena Boys’ Choir performed Daar Kom Die Alabama and Amate Adea.
Several of the more complicated dance sequences were performed bynHunan Changsha Yali High School and also by Beijing Yuying Middle School who performed some folk dances.
One of the more amusing pieces was the Waltz of the Flowers performed by International Kid Theater. The youngest of th triple brought the house down with her 2 year old confidence and skills.
The 4th Hollywood Angel Cup International Youth Music and Arts Festival was held last weekend and the two-day event, included dance, singing, instrumental music and folk arts, as well as the grand opening and closing ceremonies. Since July 2010, the festival has successfully held three sessions, which have attracted thousands of young musicians and artists from different countries. They supplied so many audio-visual feasts for American audiences by exciting and friendly competition, such as Russian folk dance, European modern dance, Armenian dance and Beijing opera.
The Festival is committed to gathering talented young people around the world to demonstrate their talents on this wonderful platform, and celebrating together through music and arts to establish friendship and culture understanding.
This year’s festival included two full days of activities with Dance and Vocal Competitions on Feb.01; the instrument competition and closing ceremony on Feb.02. There were 26 groups participating in the Festival, including 14 groups from China (more than 400 young students), and 12 groups from local Americans (more than 400 young students), totally over 800 the largest number in the history of the event. The competition was divided into children’s groups and youth groups in two-day contests, to compete for the top three – dance, vocal and instrument.
The festival organizing committee was honored to invite the prestigious professors and artists from American art institutes as judges, who evaluated every program seriously and gave contestants professional advice and guidance. Ambassador Qiu Shaofang and Counselor Che Zhaohe of the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, Mayor Kevin Sawkins and Vice Mayor Mario De La Torre of San Gabriel, Walnut Mayor Mary Su Wang, Beverly Hills Tourism Secretary Julie Wagner, the Chinese community leaders and other guests attended the festival awards ceremony.
Hollywood “Angel Cup” International Youth Music and Arts Festival, is organized by the American Youth Culture and Arts Association, the US-China Cultural Association, the Nightingale International Culture and Education Foundation, the US-China Cultural Exchange Association, the US-China Cultural and Education Foundation, as well as many other culture exchange based organizations. The festival has garnered the support of the Los Angeles County government, the China Overseas Exchange Association, China Song Ching Ling Foundation, and a number of American Culture and Arts Groups. The festival is held annually in the city of Angels, Los Angeles, to provide an international communication platform and competition stage to the young talented artists around the world.

-Photos and story by Terry Miller

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