Chinese dance troupe passes on traditions

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	'Passages' The Phoenix Dance Chamber, a Honolulu-based Chinese dance group, will perform 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday McKinley High School $15, $12 for seniors and students, free for children 3 and under

"My husband and I are both Caucasian," said Giguere, of Makakilo, who adopted 8-year-old Emma in 1996 and 4-year-old Betsy in 1999. "We wanted to give them an exposure to the culture they're from."

So Giguere turned to a Chinese dance troupe called the Phoenix Dance Chamber, which is showcasing young dancers (ages 4 to 18) Sunday at a concert that will raise money for the troupe and its cultural exchange program in China.

"The concert has a very special significance because the theme is 'passages,' " said Gina Ling, a Beijing native who teaches the youngest dancers. "The culture is being passed from the older generation for the younger generation. It's how we keep the tradition."

"Passages" is a metaphor used throughout the performance. A dance called "Changing Caps" depicts a rite of passage for teenage girls. In three solo dances, the show spotlights senior girls who are leaving the dance troupe to attend college on the Mainland.

The multilayered theme is perfect for the dancers, some of whom are first-generation Chinese Americans and others who come from blended ethnic backgrounds, said Diane Letoto, the dance group's director.

Ling, who came to Hawai'i to earn a doctorate in geology and geophysics, has grown to love passing on the art of her homeland.

"In China, I wasn't interested in Chinese dance," Ling said. But she learned traditional dances weren't just for villagers she once thought of as unsophisticated. The dances were part of a heritage she wanted to share. "After I moved here," she said, "the whole concept changed."

Reach Tanya Bricking at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.