Chinese drum girls rule

Chinese Culture Days at the Garden

My favorite part of the performance today was the girls' drum ensemble (from the New Shanghai Circus). About 15 girls, appearing to be no more than 12 years of age, performed in stunning accuracy, timing and agility. They have such a honed sense of the dramatic, and such incredible attention to detail that i found myself somewhere about 30 seconds into the first piece grinning, mouth wide open in disbelief.

The first piece was the most elaborate - drumming as well as costumes. It was the "preparing to fight" piece, replete with quick rolls on the drum and a little snare kit to get the high, tight tones. They would drum roll (so fast you couldn't tell it was sticks that were pounding and not a recorded hum) and then a pause - and SNAP - a stare straight out into the audience. Every beat sequence was like this: a look in a certain direction, a hand thrown in the air at just a height, just an angle as to all be in perfect synchronization. And they dance, all these girls with brocade costumes and huge, long pheasant feathers protruding like fire out of two horns in their headdress. They bob their heads in unison, and the feathers sway wildly, in response, not in unison but in chaos. The next piece - "getting ready for the harvest of pecans" - the girls wear schoolgirl clothes, matching, and hair in pigtail braids. As they beat their drums and rattle the rhythms out, they cock their heads to one side, and smile, broadly. I love the skill, the incredible speed with which their hands move. But i also love that these are girls, playing and so coordinated with such a training as to impress theatrics and pouring oneself fully into every detail. We don't see that very often in western culture, and i like that about it too.

I saw dragons too - which i've heard is a sign of good fortune, so i think overall it was a good day in St Louis.