Following the success of the New Year Gala in January 2016 (for more details, see the Hanban website), the Confucius Institute in Quebec presented The Year of the Monkey on March 19, 2016, a concert celebrating the theme of the Chinese Zodiac. These concerts focus on the Chinese zodiac become more and more popular each year!

The concert took place at the Dawson College Theater. As 2016 is the Monkey Year, the Confucius Institute in Quebec decided to highlight the incredible journey of Xuanzang described in the legendary series Journey to the West in which the pilgrimage of the philosopher and his disciples, including Sun Wukong or Monkey, is described. The concert consisted of two parts: the first part was devoted to folk music interpreting the history of Journey to the West. The second part consisted of various multicultural dance performances drawn from the Beijing Opera that underlined the cultural diversity of Canada.

Four artists shared the stage for the first half of the concert and showed their skills on the erhu, guzheng, flute and tympanon through their interpretation of works related to the Journey theme. Students from the Jiahua School took the stage to tell small stories from the Journey to the West books. A pupil of African origin made the presentation in Mandarin, while a pupil of Chinese origin read in English.

The second part of the concert began with the skit Monkey submits the White-Skeleton Demon from the Peking Opera wherein a professional actress and Quebecois pupil dazzled the audience. Among all of the unique dances presented, the opera dance of the ‘aquatic sleeves’, recognizable from the outrageous make-up of the artists, seemed to be most appreciated judging by the bursts of applause of the crowd.

The Chinese zodiac concert is a refined and elegant activity that serves to deepen the knowledge of the culture of China. The Confucius Institute in Quebec will continue its efforts to carry out various exciting and enlightening cultural activities!