The Club Cantonese @ Brandeis presented their annual culture show on Friday in Levin Ballroom. The theme of this year’s culture show was “Tsum Zao Seoi Yuet,” which means “looking for Cantonese Culture through time” in Cantonese. C2B chose this title because it represents the many different cultures and traditions that make up Cantonese culture and shows the progression of them through time. 

   When I first stepped into Levin Ballroom before the show started, I was surprised by the delicate decorations. The room was filled with round tables just like a traditional Chinese party. At the center of each round table, there was a beautiful peach blossom decorated with tiny red lanterns, surrounded by Chinese candies scattered around. If you raised your head, you could also see several clouds with blue lights suspended from the ceiling. 

  From the beginning of the show, one of the hosts explained the meaning of “Yum Cha” to the audience. “Yum Cha” is a phrase frequently used in the Cantonese language. “It represents a moment of gathering,” as the program of the show mentioned. The word represents the joy of celebrating with who we’re close with in our lives. C2B hopes that they can use this phrase as the name of every C2B’s annual culture show in the future and emulate the connotations behind it in each show. 

  The first performance of the evening was presented by The Great Boston Chinese Culture Association’s Music Ensemble. The GBCCA was founded in 1984 with the goal of enhancing the appreciation of classical and folk Chinese music among the ethnic population as well as the general American public and to foster the learning of Chinese musical instruments from members of the association. Consistent with the theme of the culture show, the GBCCA started with this traditional music composition, “Farmer’s Drinking Song.” As the music flooded from their elegant instruments, the audience could feel the spirits of ancient farmers from thousands of years ago. After a long applause, the ensemble introduced their instruments to the audience. They not only told the audience the Mandarin and Cantonese names of each instrument but also let each player perform a solo with their instruments. 

  Following the GBCCA was an Executive Board video from the C2B E-Board. This video used a hilarious method to show the audience about famous Hong Kong movies. They reinacted famous plots from KungFu movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” a famous comedy called “The King of Cookery” and crime movie “Infernal Affairs” in their own ways on campus. Following the video, the Dance Revelasian, a premier Chinese dance group from Boston, performed “Mystic Waters” to show the elegance of traditional Chinese dancing. After that, the Wellesley Wushu from our neighboring university presented a “Wushu Traditional Act.” Their performance showcased the use of Chinese fans, swords and wooden clubs. 

 The Peach Foundation was also invited to give a speech during the show. The Peach Foundation’s mission is to promote education, art and community harvest by improving the social, cultural and economic lives of children from the poorest regions of rural China and Southeast Asia. Part of the goal of the culture show was to raise money for this non-profit organization. 

 After the intermission gameshow, the second act continued with more strong programs. The first performance of the second act was presented by Sarah Chan and Michael Chen from Berklee College of Music. Following their beautiful singing was a dance show by XL Girls, a group of dance enthusiasts focused on urban choreography and hip hop. The members of this dance group are famous for their powerful and synchronized dances. Their performance during the show “What’s up Danger & Waiting For You” did not disappoint the audience. Next up was “We the Gang” by three of C2B members. The last performance of the night was an awesome dance show by C2B E-Board members. This “E-Board Dance” was choreographed by Outreach Chair of the C2B E-Board Novia Wu ’22 and Kate Nguyen ’21. 

 The food this show provided was extraordinary. During the intermission, C2B served egg tarts and steamed buns with condensed milk to each table. After the show, they also served lots of delicious Cantonese dishes. 

 Every year, C2B’s annual performance is a blast, and this year was no exception. The excitement and hard-work we saw among C2B members during preparations and performances were incredible. Thank you to all performers and C2B members for an amazing night.