東方文化藝術交流協會慰問老人演出/CareOne Senior Center Performance

With Toby Mark

IMG_4298

IMG_4304

CareOne Livingston 2017

IMG_4302

IMG_4300

IMG_4301

IMG_4299

1月15日下午， 李文斯頓CareOne老人院的大廳 裡傳出一陣陣歌聲、琴聲、掌 聲、歡笑聲，此起彼伏，好不熱 鬧！原來是東方文化藝術交流協 會（ECEA）的沈曉星老師帶領 孩子們在中國新年來臨之際，為 老人們帶來一台熱鬧又溫馨的精 彩演出。

隨著開場曲小提琴合奏《 喜洋洋》的歡快節奏，大廳內的 氣氛很快熱烈了起來。這是一個 傳統的中國曲目，節奏輕鬆明 快，觀眾十分喜歡。琴音一轉， 美國家喻戶曉的民歌《Cripple Creek》在孩子們靈巧跳躍的手 指間揚聲開來，老人們的表情告 訴我們他們覺得又熟悉又新鮮， 這首耳熟能詳的曲子讓中國孩子 演繹得出神入化。

接著，鄭靖凝用她天籟般 的嗓音為大家獻上一首《尋找小 王子》，大廳裡十分安靜，老人 們沉浸在美妙的音樂裡，就連孩 子們也都靜靜地傾聽，好像所有 的人都隨小王子到了另一個星 球。獨舞《故鄉》是張晶桐的保 留節目：一把藕荷色的椅子，一 襲藕荷色的紗裙，一枝藕荷色的 花，隨著她輕盈舞動的身姿，整 個舞台似乎變成了梨花飛雨的故 鄉。沈田銥、楊琪旭和陳思嫻三 位小朋友為老人們帶來一首小提 琴合奏《Twinkle Twinkle Little Star》，雖然年紀小，琴藝卻不 含糊，老人們有的跟著打拍子， 有的還唱了起來，或許這熟悉的 樂曲讓他們想到了遙遠的童年 吧！接下來，羅遠卓為老人們唱 了一曲《Because We Believe》， 歌聲甜美悠揚，台風穩健大方， 全場爆發出熱烈的掌聲。之後是 藝術體操表演，娃娃們穿著專業 的體操服，把舞蹈和體操相結 合，既靈活歡快又憨態可掬，著 實是健與美的完美結合，孩子們 跳得開心，老人們看得起勁，現 場的每一個人都感受到了童真和 活力。

演出的壓軸曲目是由小提琴 和合唱團一起合作的節目：《送 別》和《歌聲與微笑》。合唱團 的孩子們身穿民國時期的服裝， 顯得莊重又不失活潑，在純淨自 然的童音中，歌聲像長了翅膀一 樣，飛旋在大廳的每一個角落。

“請把我的歌，帶回你的 家，請把你的微笑留下”，這就 是孩子們的心願，是東方文化藝 術交流協會對社區、對老人們的 承諾和期盼。愛心送溫情，童心 暖夕陽，在全場熱烈的掌聲中， 演出落下帷幕，老人們拿出餅乾 和飲料招待小客人們。

演出後，CareOne老人院的 負責人Toby Mark給ECEA發來熱 情洋溢的感謝信，信中說：“你 們 的 到 來 是 最 好 的 禮 物 ， 一 切 的 喜 悅 都 寫 在 老 人 們 的 臉 上。”

Eastern Cultural Exchange Association Visited CareOne at Livingston

CareOne at Livingston was full of music and joy on January 15, when a group of young artists and volunteers visited on the sunny Sunday afternoon. Thirty five young members of "Eastern Cultural Exchange Association (ECEA)" presented a wonderful performance for CareOne residents and staff as part of the Chinese New Year celebration at CareOne. The children performed various programs that included holiday songs, dance, violin performances, and rhythmic gymnastics. The performance started with a violin ensemble which is a medley of Chinese folk music "Full of Joy" and an American folk song "Cripple Creek." "Full of Joy" is a very famous Chinese folk music which is usually played at holidays and ceremonial events. The CareOne residents might not be familiar with this particular piece, they nevertheless enjoyed the joyous rhythm just as they did with that of "Cripple Creek" which they are all so familiar with. The two following programs are solo "The Little Prince" by Valentina Zheng and dance "My Hometown" by Stephanie Zhang, both are of unique oriental rhythm. The audience really appreciated the ethereal music and artistic demonstration. The residents and staff were all amazed by a violin ensemble by 5 year old George Yang and Sally Chen, and 7 year old Iris Shen, and they even sang to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" played by the three violinists. There was a round of applause after Joyce Luo's "Because We Believe" and then after rhythmic gymnastics performed by Evelyn Jiang, Wenrou Liu, Jessica Shen, and Rebecca Shen. The last program was choir and violin ensemble of Chinese folk songs "Farewell" and "Songs and Smiles." Young singers as young as three were dressed in traditional Chinese clothing; the lyrics they sang were touching -- "Dreaming in the chilling nigh, I wave goodbye," "Take my song with you when you go back home," and "Your smiles will be blossoms in the spring time." Rebecca Shen, president of ECEA and director of the performance, was very proud of the children and their efforts. "We feel pride in our children because they made so much effort practicing the programs in order to provide an amazing performance. We are happy that CareOne residents enjoyed our performance." The performance was successful and significant not only because children got a chance to develop their teamwork skills and to improve their performance by holding weekly practices and doing rehearsals, but also because such an opportunity teaches the children to share care and love with those who need them most. As remarked by Toby Mark, Activity Director at CareOne, "The children touched the lives of our residents... There is no greater gift than the gift of themselves, and the evidence was on the faces of our residents." ECEA was very proud to present these programs to CareOne residents. ECEA is a local organization that aims to promote diverse cultural programs in our community. Its mission highlights the importance of recognizing, cherishing, and promoting the unique cultural heritage of local Chinese community in town. ECEA is looking forward to more opportunities to engage children in various community services and to further develop multi-cultural understanding in our community.

Article by: Weiwei Lin Photos by: Dexi Yang