NEW JERSEY—A new tradition has sprung up at the East Orange Community Charter School that has shined a light of inspiration in the kids who go there. Each year close to 200 students and a handful of teachers make a field trip from the school to see the Divine Performing Arts, Chinese New Year Splendor, a show of Chinese dance and music that is revitalizing the essence of China’s 5,000 years of culture.
The school, located in East Orange, New Jersey has close to 500 kids. Posters for the show decorate the halls leading to the Kindergarten to fourth grade classrooms. The school is paying for them to see the show this year, a blessing for the kids living in the underprivileged neighborhood.
According to third grader Julian Manresa, 7, he saw advertisements for the show and read about it. “I wanted to go but I didn’t get a chance to go. But now I’m excited that I get to go now,” he said.
Each year following the show, the kids write essays about it. In 2006, when the tradition first began, Donald Cole, Jr. one of the fourth graders, wrote that the show, “changed my life,” a response that, according to Toddy Brown, the school’s chairman of the board, reflects well what the show has done for the students.
Mr. Brown was among first group that went to see the show three years ago at the Beacon Theatre. He said that when he and the kids were first going, none of them had any idea what they were in for. When they got into the lobby, some people walked by wearing Chinese costumes, and “those kid’s eyes lit up like stars in the sky,” Mr. Brown said.
“The show was very nice. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. I was acting like the kids, all excited making noise. They had to tell me to be quiet,” he said. “I saw people crying because it touched their hearts like that. I thought it was a beautiful show. Our kids will definitely see it every year.”
Now on their third year of the tradition, more than 200 kids are now waiting to see the show in Newark this year on Chinese New Year’s Day, Jan. 26.
Mr. Brown said that after the first show, there was a noticeable change in the kids. “Some of the kids wanted to learn Chinese,” he said. “Some of the children wanted to learn how to make those costumes themselves, and they would treasure it.”
After seeing the costumes, he said that the kids also changed the way they dressed. “A lot of people wear dark colors. When they saw the light colors like that, they encouraged the kids to wear light colored clothing and to enjoy themselves like that. Then the dancing, some of the kids wanted to learn to dance like that,” he said.
“People used to say ‘if you can change a man’s mind, you can change that man.’ If you can change a person’s mind, the way they think, and what they see, you can change that person to be a better person. That’s why I felt it was real valuable.”
According to the school principal, Harvin Dash, the show helps the kids to see something more. “They get to see another part of the world. Some of the kids have never been to New York,” Mr. Dash said.
“The old stories, the traditions, Chinese stories and legends… We never think about that and if you never think about it or know about it, until you’ve seen it or get an idea of what they’re talking about,” he said.
Mr. Dash has devoted his life to the kids of his school and comes from a family of educators. His father was also a school principal and his mother was a third grade teacher. He worked with emotionally disturbed teenagers for nine years, yet felt he needed to solve the issues they were facing where they begin.
“I saw where once a teenager is 17, there’s not too much change you can do. So I decided to go back. I went back to the younger kids,” he said, which is among the reasons he feels the Chinese New Year Splendor is so valuable to the kids. “Kids don’t know about things unless they see or they hear or they experience it. Going to the show is an experience for the children.”
One performance in particular, done by a young girl playing a harp, let the kids know that they can also do great things. “That blew the kids away. The girl with the harp, that lets them know that they have some talent too,” Mr. Dash said. “They probably can’t play the same harp but they have something in them that they can do too and it made the kids think about some other things that they may want to do.”
The school, located in East Orange, New Jersey has close to 500 kids. Posters for the show decorate the halls leading to the Kindergarten to fourth grade classrooms. The school is paying for them to see the show this year, a blessing for the kids living in the underprivileged neighborhood.
According to third grader Julian Manresa, 7, he saw advertisements for the show and read about it. “I wanted to go but I didn’t get a chance to go. But now I’m excited that I get to go now,” he said.
Each year following the show, the kids write essays about it. In 2006, when the tradition first began, Donald Cole, Jr. one of the fourth graders, wrote that the show, “changed my life,” a response that, according to Toddy Brown, the school’s chairman of the board, reflects well what the show has done for the students.
Mr. Brown was among first group that went to see the show three years ago at the Beacon Theatre. He said that when he and the kids were first going, none of them had any idea what they were in for. When they got into the lobby, some people walked by wearing Chinese costumes, and “those kid’s eyes lit up like stars in the sky,” Mr. Brown said.
“The show was very nice. I’ve never seen anything like it before in my life. I was acting like the kids, all excited making noise. They had to tell me to be quiet,” he said. “I saw people crying because it touched their hearts like that. I thought it was a beautiful show. Our kids will definitely see it every year.”
Now on their third year of the tradition, more than 200 kids are now waiting to see the show in Newark this year on Chinese New Year’s Day, Jan. 26.
Mr. Brown said that after the first show, there was a noticeable change in the kids. “Some of the kids wanted to learn Chinese,” he said. “Some of the children wanted to learn how to make those costumes themselves, and they would treasure it.”
After seeing the costumes, he said that the kids also changed the way they dressed. “A lot of people wear dark colors. When they saw the light colors like that, they encouraged the kids to wear light colored clothing and to enjoy themselves like that. Then the dancing, some of the kids wanted to learn to dance like that,” he said.
“People used to say ‘if you can change a man’s mind, you can change that man.’ If you can change a person’s mind, the way they think, and what they see, you can change that person to be a better person. That’s why I felt it was real valuable.”
According to the school principal, Harvin Dash, the show helps the kids to see something more. “They get to see another part of the world. Some of the kids have never been to New York,” Mr. Dash said.
“The old stories, the traditions, Chinese stories and legends… We never think about that and if you never think about it or know about it, until you’ve seen it or get an idea of what they’re talking about,” he said.
Mr. Dash has devoted his life to the kids of his school and comes from a family of educators. His father was also a school principal and his mother was a third grade teacher. He worked with emotionally disturbed teenagers for nine years, yet felt he needed to solve the issues they were facing where they begin.
“I saw where once a teenager is 17, there’s not too much change you can do. So I decided to go back. I went back to the younger kids,” he said, which is among the reasons he feels the Chinese New Year Splendor is so valuable to the kids. “Kids don’t know about things unless they see or they hear or they experience it. Going to the show is an experience for the children.”
One performance in particular, done by a young girl playing a harp, let the kids know that they can also do great things. “That blew the kids away. The girl with the harp, that lets them know that they have some talent too,” Mr. Dash said. “They probably can’t play the same harp but they have something in them that they can do too and it made the kids think about some other things that they may want to do.”
