On Sept. 21, the Chinese Language Flagship Program at the University of Rhode Island hosted their annual Chinese Moon Festival, which was filled with traditional dances, poems and culinary dishes.
The celebration was hosted by five members of the Chinese Language Flagship Program: Austin Gorham, Kailey Lew, Chip Morimoto, Reniel Rodriguez-Marte and Emmalyn Tavani. All five students spoke Mandarin Chinese throughout the entire program, with a few words and phrases translated to English for non-fluent audience members.
According to the students, the Chinese Moon Festival is a mid-autumn festival celebrated mainly in Chinese and Vietnamese communities that usually falls on the day of a full-moon. This festival is said to have become a celebration over 2,400 years ago and began as a day to celebrate the year’s harvest by giving offerings to the moon. Today, the tradition remains important and it is said to be a time in which families reunite and spend time together.
Mooncakes, a dense, sweet pastry, is a traditional dessert eaten on and around the holiday. URI’s Chinese Moon Festival incorporated these mooncakes, as well as other traditional Chinese dishes, into the event, bringing the traditional celebration closer to audiences.
URI students from the Chinese Language Flagship Program performed personally choreographed dances which included the upbeat “Little Apple Dance.” They also recited “Facing the Sea, with Spring Blossom,” a poem which students said was a look into the Chinese culture.
The festival also featured the Bright Pearl Arts Academy, a dance academy established in Massachusetts, which a multi-generational and inclusive approach to Chinese Mandarin, dance and fine arts education. The Bright Pearl Arts Academy presented eleven traditional choreographed dances: A Flower Show, Peach Blossoms, Memories of Ban Na, Raindrops Drummed Against the Leaves, Yearning for Home, Fox Dance, Flying Heart, Dance with My Lovely Drum, On A Spring Day, Red Spider Lily and Mind to Heart.
Christie Swanson, a student who was in attendance, enjoyed the performances and cultural inclusion the event offered.
“I thought all of the dances were really beautiful,” Swanson said, “I was also so impressed with all of the students being able to speak Mandarin so well, I give them major kudos.”