{"id":5590,"date":"2016-02-01T08:30:49","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T16:30:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/g-liu.com\/blog\/?p=5590"},"modified":"2016-02-01T02:12:31","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T10:12:31","slug":"celebrate-asia-with-the-seattle-symphony-was-amazing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g-liu.com\/blog\/2016\/02\/celebrate-asia-with-the-seattle-symphony-was-amazing\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrate Asia<\/em> with the Seattle Symphony was amazing!"},"content":{"rendered":"

January 31, 2016 was my first time attending a Seattle Symphony concert this season. It was also my first time attending their annual Celebrate Asia<\/em> concert<\/a>, which is now in its eighth year. After traveling over the past few months and attending concerts by the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis, and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in San Francisco, I was glad to be back in my hometown hall.<\/p>\n

I will admit that I was initially unsure about going to this concert. The Seattle Symphony is with no doubt an amazing orchestra, and I go to their concerts several times a year. My taste for music is highly biased towards classical, so a program of Asian music did not appeal to me right away. Nevertheless, I decided to go this year after hearing great reviews from Celebrate Asia<\/em> concerts of years past.<\/p>\n

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\"Karoun<\/a>
Karoun Dance Ensemble performs a traditional dance at the Celebrate Asia pre-concert<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A full hour before the main program, various dance groups from the Seattle area presented a pre-concert in the lobby of Benaroya Hall. Surrounded by a crowd of hundreds of concertgoers, they performed traditional dances of the\u00a0Lao and Iranian cultures. It was a delight to see live and in person how people of different backgrounds expressed themselves through dance. The real highlight of the pre-concert was a traditional Lion Dance by the Northwest Kung Fu & Fitness Lion Dancers. This particular dance was cleverly set up, with drummers on the stage pounding away, and the lions emerging from their den that was the main auditorium of the hall. The lion dancers cleverly ushered the spectators into the hall, where the\u00a0concert was about to begin.<\/p>\n

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We're right in the middle of #CelebrateAsia<\/a>! What's your favorite moment so far? (Photo \u00a9 https:\/\/t.co\/CYp9OXuO2r<\/a>) pic.twitter.com\/qW6PsDX4tp<\/a><\/p>\n

— Seattle Symphony (@seattlesymphony) February 1, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n