"The Chinese Violin"
by Madeline Thien
Recommended age: Grade 2 to Grade 5
Approximate time: 35 minutes
When Lin Lin and her father move from a small village in China to a big city in Canada, they face many challenges. The change from a small village to a large city is itself very significant, but even greater are the cultural differences. The greatest challenge of all seems to be the acquisition of a new language, English.
Lin Lin feels that nothing will ever be the same again. She is surrounded by new sounds, new sights and a new language. She feels lonely and misses her village. Everything is hard for her, including school.
Her father, who plays the erhu, a Chinese violin, encourages her and soothes her with his playing. Things begin to feel better until one day her father is attacked and his erhu lost.
Will they overcome this set back?
The story illustrates the struggles that immigrants of all ages experience when coming to a new country: the feeling of isolation and loss, mixed with excitement and hope. It offers all of us the opportunity to empathize with those who find themselves in that situation and to develop a deeper appreciation of their struggles.
The performance is in three parts: introduction, the story and culmination. The first and third parts include interactive components. The presentation features performers from the Chinese-Canadian artistic community, on authentic instruments. The show includes traditional Chinese folk songs and music as well as original choreography by Georgia Leung.