On 28th March 2014, the One World Gala, co-organized by Confucius Institute at Bangor University and International Education Centre, was held at Prichard Jones Hall, Bangor University. The One World Gala is a well-established annual event which celebrates the diversity of nationalities amongst staff and students at the University. For this year, the One World Gala also worked as a platform of for British Red Cross raising funds.
With over 300 attendees, the Gala involved staff and students sharing their cultures with traditional performances of song, dance and instrumentals. During the gala, there were Chinese song ‘Huan Sha Qu’, India folk song ‘Buhe Bariyan’, Japanese ‘Soran Bushi’ Dance, songs from British, Philippines and Zambian society. Among them, Chinese Taiji Fan dance was one of the most popular performances.
The Taiji Fan dance was performed by two CI teachers, Ms. Zhihui Li and Ms. Meng Yu, and a Confucius Institute student Philippe. Philippe impressed everyone since it only took him two classes to learn the Taiji Fan dance. The interesting thing was, this time there was an innovation in the Taiji Fan dance. Apart from the original music, a piece of guzheng music, performed by CI volunteer Ms. Dian Yu, was added to accompany the dance. Audiences were amazed at how Taiji Fan dance combined so well with classic Chinese instrument. It was surprisingly unique and engaging.
Since its establishment, the Confucius Institute has cooperated with International Education Centre in a series of events, including Culture Challenge, World Culture Day and One World Gala. The event has now grown tremendously and is attended not only by University staff and students, but also the local community. Invited attendees have included the Mayor of Bangor and representatives from international Embassies. It therefore promotes both the University and the Confucius Institute, and builds bridges with the wider community.
The event stated with Bangor University’s Welsh Choir
Taiji Fan by the Confucius Institute teachers, accompanied by Guzheng performance
Bangor University SODA show ‘Guys and Dolls’
‘Huan Sha Qu’ by Chinese students
British student band The Ridgeways
