The 2018 Lunar New Year celebrations have drawn to a close at Iowa State.

The final performance? A group of professional stage performers from Jiangxi Art Troupe put on a show at the Iowa Chinese New Year Gala at the Ames City Auditorium.

The Ames City Auditorium has seating capacity for more than 800, which was packed with audiences within 30 minutes of the doors opening.

Yuqian Ren, senior in civil engineering and the president of Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA), said the gala was a free-admission event; however, people had to register online to get their e-tickets.

“We had more than 800 free e-tickets prepared. They were completely sold out during the first week of ticket registration,” Ren said. “The waiting list was also full of people’s names within 15 days.”

This traveling art troupe is composed by more than 20 performers from four Jiangxi art units: Jiangxi Opera and Dance Drama Theatre, Jiangxi Acrobatic Troupe, Jiangxi Gan Theatre and Jiangxi Beijing Opera Troupe.

The performers were invited to do a performing tour in 10 American Midwest states by Hong Lei, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Chicago.

“This is the first time we invited Jiangxi Art Troupe to Iowa to celebrate Lunar New Year,” Hong said. “Tonight’s performance is for overseas Chinese and Chinese international students to experience their own culture in a foreign land. And it’s also for local residents to get a taste of the extensive and profound Chinese culture.”

China is the third largest trading partner of Iowa and buys more soybeans from Iowa than all other countries combined. In the last 17 years, Chinese companies have invested $2.7 billion in Iowa creating around 2,000 jobs, Hong said.

“Iowa and China have a tight relationship,” Hong said. “This relationship is supported by understanding. A great way to achieve that is through cultural and artistic exchange, because a country’s inner spirit is embedded in its culture.”

Larry Truitt is an Ames resident and he came to the Gala with his wife, Ling Truitt, who is a Chinese-American.

“My wife got the news that a Chinese performing group is coming to Ames from one of her chatting groups,” Larry Truitt said. “I like Chinese culture and enjoy traditional Chinese performances.”

The gala started at 7 p.m. with an opening performance featuring traditional folk dance.

The highlight of the night was a program named “Shoulder Ballet” which is a combination of Chinese acrobatics and ballet dancing.

The Jiangxi Art Troupe performed 12 programs, varying from solo opera singing to traditional folk dance; from magic shows to comedy skits.

The gala ended with a popular Chinese song “I Love You China” performed by the Consul General Hong and a female singer, Chengxiang Wu.

Dennis Wendell, professor emeritus of Iowa State, was the first advisor of the Chinese students in the 1980s. He was also a student of Chinese history and language.

Wendell shared his reaction after the gala. 

“I used to drive to Chicago to see this type of performance,” Wendell said. “I was just amazed by the precision of the artistry. The strength of those acrobats…This touring troupe is just perfection.”

 This gala also attracted Ames residents from Jiangxi, China. Nan Yu was born in Jiangxi Province in 1951. She moved to Ames in 2007 with her husband.

“Those performers are from my hometown in China,” Yu said. “I was so ecstatic when I heard this. I haven’t gone back to Jiangxi in many years. Those performances were so authentic and reminded me of my hometown so much.”

Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Martino Harmon discussed the importance of having events like this in Ames community.

“We have a very large population of students from China, and I think it’s important for us to have the opportunities to honor the culture and experience the culture,” Harmon said.

Krista McCallum-Beatty, director of Iowa State’s International Students and Scholars Office, said she was invited by CSSA students.

“This was an amazing experience,” said Beatty. “We appreciate all the work they’ve done to make all of this happen.”