Huat Ah!

I went to watch the 'thank-God' opera again at Sheng Hong Temple. That afternoon there was a group of youngsters. I heard someone called a lady 'lao shi'. I see, the lao shi had told them to come.

I thought of an email I received last year. Someone asked me if I knew who to contact because he wanted to bring his students to an afternoon Cantonese street opera show at Chinatown. At that time I thought the opera might not be suitable for students who know nothing about Chinese opera and who don't understand cantonese. It is at least 2.5 hours long and in some scenes there are just two artistes singing to each other for 25 minutes. The students would be bored to death.

Back to the present. In this case I think it is a suitable excerpt. It is not too long and it is entertaining. There are many colourful characters and there is a sample of everything - opera skills, singing, dancing, even a bit of acrobatics and gymnastics.

There was one item which was performed in the night show but not in the afternoon - Tian Nu San Hua in which a fairy dances with long strips of colourful ribbon.

I think the lao shi have made prior arrangements with the Temple authorities because later there was food for them - just fried meehoon and curry vegetables. But only a handful of them ate the food, so the temple people told the rest of us to go and eat.

So I went to eat. The curry vegetable was soupy and made the meehoon very soggy. I should have asked for them on two separate plates. Hahaha, sounds greedy, right?

The lao shi and her charge. Later more students came. ...

Towards the end of the show the couple in the show and their son went down the stage and went to the main prayer room to pray, together with the sponsors ... Then they all shouted "Huat Ah! Huat Ah! Huat Ah!". (The Cantonese would shout 'Fatt Ah'). Traditions and prosperity are important to the Chinese.

The maids also have to follow ...

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