Just as sharing dance builds community, food is the fuel that binds us all together…and the Chinese create food that makes us fall in love with our experience even more. Food is shared communally, prepared in ways that chopsticks become the perfect tool for reaching across and stealing something away. Flavors are so distinctive, so unique, that we find ourselves aaahing and mmmming with each new meal. So when the dancers performed at an outdoor event where food vendors were set up in a small grove of trees within a flower farm, we were in heaven. Mid way through our performance, offerings from each vendor made it’s way to our shelter. Spicy noodles, crunchy fish with fried vegetables, salads of watercress and mandarins, sweet soups of toasted sesame and poppy seeds, drinks made from dried plums and rose buds. How were we to stop in order to finish our performance. The spread was tremendous, an outpouring of love and shared culture.
It is a gift to be here, to eat, drink, dance, and sing our way through China. It’s a tradition we hope to continue for years to come.
Deborah Payne
