Success of Tianjin Children Arts Ensemble in IowaSuccess of Tianjin Children Arts Ensemble in Iowa By Will Zhang, Chair of Hebei Committee It seems that everything just happened yesterday. We worked hard preparing for the troupe’s visit, and we anxiously waited for the news about their visas. Then, they arrived and all the host families welcomed the troupe with balloons, teddy bears, smiles, and hugs at the Des Moines airport. We all had fun at the welcome party, at the reception, and at the BBQ party with campfire. The Chinese kids spent possibly their happiest week of the year, playing at the AdventureLand and visiting the zoo, meeting the Lt. Governor and taking photos with Mayor of Des Moines. The Climax of their visit is of course the shows, one after another successively in seven different towns, which stunned Iowans in Central, Eastern, and Northern Iowa. Finally, the day came that they would leave Iowa for China to back to the school. Most of the host families got up at 3 a.m. to see them off at the airport, some being the whole families including the kids, and some being both American “parents.” When all the scenes flashed back in my mind, I felt like my close friends or my family members were gone and I might not be able to see them for a long time. As the ISS friends and volunteers commented, the children arts troupe had not only brought the wonderful performances to Iowans but also come to Iowa as cultural ambassadors. Those adorable, talented kids helped to bring people of different countries together and to make this world more peaceful, and we are so grateful to them. Through organizing the visit, more people have come to know the Iowa Sister States, its mission and its vitality. They learned it through the media, the stage shows, and particularly their own involvement in the events. In the area of Des Moines alone, as many as over 500 people watched the show in the Drake Theater one Sunday afternoon, and 19 Iowan families got involved in hosting the guests from Hebei. Many of the volunteers heard the Iowa Sister States the first time. During the 13-day visit of the troupe, many of them either hoped to be included on the ISS mailing list to know its future events or wished to get involved in the ISS events in the future. In the other six Iowa towns, approximately 2500-3000 people watched the show. We have enlarged our ISS volunteer-base through our attractive event and the volunteers’ involvement. This is one of the major successes. Many host families told me that through the event, they have known the Chinese culture better and the Chinese people better through daily contacts. They also know their neighbors better through our host-family network. The host family parents did the laundry for the visiting kids, took them shopping and sightseeing, helped them talk to their Chinese parents over the phones, and even called them after they left Iowa just to make sure they returned to their parents safely. The host families spent much of the time of the two weekends, including the Labor Day weekend, taking care of the kids. They also spent a lot of money on the food, the gifts, and even on their new suitcases (their old ones were broken). I also know that several contributed cash in the donation Box that the ISS had in the Drake theater. By coordinating these state-wide events, the ISS has shown our strengths to Iowans, our commitment to promoting friendship between people of Iowa and people of our sister-states and our abilities to fulfill it. Phil Latessa, the ISS Executive Director, told me that the ISS had never received such a large group in its history. We all felt nervous first, but through the joint-efforts of the ISS board members, the members of Hebei Committee, our ISS friends and volunteers, and particularly the ISS staff, Phil Latessa, Dr. Laura Zaper, and Sara Gram, we made it and we made it very successful. Credits should be given to the ISS staff, who helped coordinate the series of events state-wide, accompanied the troupe through all the Iowa cities and towns, and helped clean all the left issues (in-kind donations, reimbursement, mailings) after the troupe was gone. It’s the success of the team; the team headed by Phil Latessa showed its strong, phenomenal leadership. When I reflected on our preparations for the troupe’s visit and the whole organizing process, I found out that for the most part of the events, we made it. But in some aspects, we didn’t. Those aspects are the grant applications and media exposure. First, we started late in applying for the grants with local businesses. We also should have got more advice and guidance for the ISS board, particularly the resources committee. I have realized that the ISS has not maintained some regular contacts with the major grand-donors in the Des Moines area. On the contrary, the local communities seemed to have done better. For example, one community got donations from two local banks. In return, the community organizers allowed the banks to help distribute the tickets. As you probably know, unlike other local newspapers, the Des Moines Register only included the news in its Thursday’s Date Book and had no articles to cover the news nor any of the Iowa major TV stations (in comparison to an Illinois TV station which interviewed Phil Latessa). For future ISS events, we must maintain a working relationship with the Register staff. For example, we may need to send individualized invitation and explore different angles for covering an event in the media, which might be interesting to the media reporting staff. Feedback from the Local Communities 1. From Des Moines (ISS Friend): I just wanted to tell you that Mary and I did make it to the Tianjin Children's Palace performance. We saw you, but we were in the first balcony, so I don't think you saw us. Nice big crowd. The performance was stunning. The dance, especially, was most graceful and beautiful, so filled with intentional artistic beauty, combining all elements -- the music, the movements, the costumes, all interwoven so gracefully. Hard to believe such young people could achieve such a professional level of presentation. I've been to a number of "dance recitals" here in springtime over the years -- children of friend's, etc. -- and the comparison is ridiculous -- the Tianjin young people were truly "professional" in the quality of their performance. And I've been to a number of "piano recitals" for young people around here, too, and what I saw the two young boys do yesterday on their electronic keyboards was totally beyond what I've ever seen young people do here. They made it look so easy -- obviously they were intensely prepared, but stunning to see that they could do what they did. The young lady on the zither was perhaps my favorite, however. What a wonderful instrument, and how marvelous and complex was her performance -- her work was as graceful as the dance, and so wonderful for the music at the same time. The young lady on the lute was similarly wonderful. Both of them had technical skill that I pretty much can't even comprehend. Thanks for the invitation. It was a marvelous program. 2. From Burlington: We had planned on doing the gifts at the meal, but the kids ate and quickly disappeared! They wanted more time than we had allowed to get ready. They want at least an hour to prepare I think. We had to do the gift after the performance. So,….what I should have done was allowed much more time for the arrival reception. We didn’t even have time to match them up with their hosts until after the performance which disappointed the families and made it a little chaotic. But that aside….the show was wonderful! A little long for the really small children in the audience, but overall it was great. The costumes were just fantastic. And the kids are so cute and amazingly talented. The auditorium was almost full, which made me happy….that’s what I was worried about. It’s so early in the school year and there is just a lot of confusion it seems this early. But it was well worth the effort. They are a great group. 3. From Osage: The program in Osage on Thursday afternoon was great! It was very hot both outside and inside the auditorium. The approximately 700 middle and high school students, faculty, staff and other guests also added a great deal of body heat on this late summer afternoon. In spite of this the crowd sat in rapt awe for the numbers and enthusiastically responded following each presentation. I was proud and pleased with their response. At the close of last dance the student body shot up as one from their seats, giving the troupe a rousing ovation. The costumes were stunningly beautiful and enhanced the dances, solos and total program. What a treat to have this group in our community. Quite a few Osage people attended the program in Charles City on Thursday eve. There was a fine enthusiastic crowd and the program was even better the second time around for me. It was fun to see some of the additional dances not performed for the Osage students. Will send a report from our local paper, as the press was there taking lots of pictures as well interviewing local people about this event. Thanks for all the effort to make this so valuable for Iowa people as a way of showing our hospitality and our belief in seeking peace, understanding and developing friendships. We look forward to our next opportunity to welcome international guests. Dorcas Dorow, Community Sister City Organization, Osage 4. From Davenport: The show in Davenport was wonderful. Not as well attended as we would have liked. The lute broke and we had that repaired at a local music store in Bettendorf and it will be able to be used on Thursday evening after the glue has dried. The children and teachers were a lot of fun and I am sure our families here enjoyed their visit. It was a great experience. Thank you. 5. From Dubuque: Yesterday was "catch-up" day for me, so I'm late in getting back to you. I thought the visit was wonderful, and that's the feedback I'm getting from everyone involved. The director and staff at the National Mississippi River Museum were delighted, especially when the fellows sang a couple of solos after lunch. The director's son is a vocal music major, with an outstanding bass voice, so the Tianjin soloists "resonated" in a big way. I understand that the kids really enjoyed the museum, which houses some paddle fish that are only found in the Mississippi and the Yangtze. The staff stayed at the Grand Harbor Resort. We had a hurried but very nice dinner on the patio overlooking the river, and then rushed up the hill to the school to prepare for the performance. Washington Junior High School's vice principal did a lot of work for the group, setting up the stage, lights and sound booth, working with the Chinese staff to make everything come together, and I think the Chinese teachers were very pleased. The show went off without a hitch - well, almost. Their delightful translator had left her English script at one of the earlier stops, so I translated for the kids as they introduced each number. This was great fun for me, of course. We had a very good audience; young and old, Dubuque’s and visitors (one family from Wisconsin had heard the kids at the museum and stayed in Dubuque to attend their concert). The crowd was very enthusiastic and gave them a standing ovation at the end. The host families only had one complaint: couldn't we keep them for another day or two? I, too, wished that we could have had them longer, so that they could enjoy our city's hospitality and not be quite so rushed. But, that's show biz! The Telegraph Herald carried a very fine picture on page 3, which also was on our website as the lead picture for the day. I'll try to get a color copy. By a very nice coincidence, the photographer is the same man who took the picture which I gave the group as a momentum. He loved the show, too. The Dubuque Community Schools also took footage of the kids at the museum and at the school, and I expect some of that will make its way onto their website. Let's do it again... and again and again! 6. From Fort Dodge Thank you for a great performance and sponsorship of the Fort Dodge event. The crowd was enthralled and totally entertained with the talents of the young children. A small crowd but a festive one as they applauded every aspect of the festival. The thrill of the night was when they donned their Fort Dodge T-shirts for the crowd and boy did that crowd respond. Thanks again and enjoy the pics. “The troupe arrived at Iowa Central Community College’s Auditorium in late morning. After unloading their bus with their gear, they were dining in the Triton Inn for their lunch right alongside the college students attending there that day. After lunch, the troupe walked over to view and tour the Fort Historical Museum located right next to the college. They were each given T-shirts (courtesy of the Fort Dodge Convention/Visitors Bureau) to wear on their tour or on their way home. Some chose to wear theirs right away and for the rest of the day. The troupe went on the guided tour and asked many questions. The Fort is a replica of the one that was built in early Fort Dodge history by a Dragoon unit that traveled up the Des Moines River in the 1800’s. They especially enjoyed the Cardiff Giant. The great hoax to come out of the Upper Midwest! After their tour, they walked back over to the Auditorium where they practiced some more until it was time to get on the bus for dinner at the Hong Kong Buffet. The troupe was given a lovely buffet dinner courtesy of the Fort Dodge Animal Health and Mrs. Jean Tian who was in charge of the host families/employees of FDAH. Everyone had a great time relaxing and eating the good food. The adults in the troupe were even treated to a plate of traditional Chinese vegetables, much to their delight. The restaurant staff cooked them up especially for them. After the dinner, everyone returned to the Auditorium to listen to the children get ready for the show. The performance was at 7pm and it was a nice crowd of about 300-400 people. The crowd consisted of elderly from the nearby Friendship Haven retirement village to families from all over the area. Some happened to be in town for other major Fort Dodge events and chose to come to the Tianjin performance for something new to do with their kids. The best part of the performance was at the end when the students all wore their Fort Dodge T-shirts to the delight of the crowd. A standing ovation was given to the very talented children from China. Fort Dodge enjoyed the show so much and we hope to have more cultural experiences such as this one again with Iowa Sister States.”