EAST MEETS WEST

 

Heritage festival will celebrate all things Asian

 

Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/3/07

 

BY ALESHA WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER

 

Shu Ho says he likes dressing up as a woman.

 

The 44-year-old Holmdel man said that putting on his makeup and fake hair and singing to his heart's content helped him fit into the role of a 21-year-old Taiwanese immigrant new to the United States.

 

The Chinese operatic tradition of men playing the role of women began a century ago when only men were allowed onstage, said the singer, who continues the custom as a member of the Renaissance Chinese Opera in New York.

 

"In the beginning you're struggling because of language, and it's hard to make friends when people are talking about football, and you don't know anything about it," Ho said.

 

But theater arts would soon bring him to meet Americans who learned more about his culture as he learned more about theirs, said Ho, who will perform at the Manalapan Arts Council's annual Asian Heritage Festival being held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Manalapan High School, Church Lane.

 

The council, too, is hoping for a cultural exchange with the festival, the second of its kind in the township, said Shirley Yang of Holmdel, the event's co-chairwoman.

 

"Art can touch people's hearts in different ways," said Yang, who is Chinese. "There's no language barrier, just what you feel."

 

The festival will feature Ho, who has appeared with Renaissance at venues including Lincoln Center in New York City, as he performs "Drunken Beauty." The Peking opera retells the traditional tale of a famous beauty in the Tung Dynasty.

 

The program also will include traditional folk dances such as the 1,800-year-old dragon dance performed by area weekend Chinese schools; local artists representing various art forms including Chinese paper cutting, Japanese origami, decorative knot tying and Asian brush painting; a puppet show "Journey to the West ?The Monkey King" by Wang Da Chung Hand Puppet group of East Brunswick and more.

 

Participating Chinese schools include Jersey Shore Chinese School in Holmdel and Fidelity, Jersey Shore and Monmouth Chinese schools in Marlboro.

 

"It's important to involve children as well as adults and move forward and realize how special and important diversity is. How it makes each individual grow, how it makes our country stronger ?that we recognize the differences, share them and learn from them," said Judy Drucker of Manalapan, event co-chairwoman.

 

"It was so well-received last year," said Drucker, adding about 900 people attended the inaugural program, held, like this year's event, during Asian Pacific Heritage Month. "It was very inspirational and something that clearly could move to the next level and continue to become a tradition."

 

Drucker said the council also hopes to incorporate other cultures into the program in future years.

 

"The Manalapan Arts Council's mission is to bring arts of all sorts into the community, and this is just one additional way to do that in a nontraditional sense, because it incorporates every art form, music, theater, dance and hands-on activity," Drucker said.

 

Alesha Williams: (732) 308-7756 or awilliams@app.com