Redondo youth dancers perform in Beijing exchange
by Garth Meyer
They studied the “Chinese Mermaid” and learned its Mandarin lines and lyrics in Redondo Beach. Then they performed it at the Chinese National Children’s Theater in Beijing.
A group of seven young dancers from the South Bay, ages 12-16, were part of the troop, led by Dance One Redondo owners Randolph and Francesca Stern.
The three-week tour in July was part of a cultural exchange sponsored by the Chinese government.
Arriving in China, after a year and a half of preparation, the 24-member group spent two weeks in rehearsal with a Chinese crew speaking Mandarin, with interpreters.
“There’s no language barrier in dance,” said Randolph Stern, quoting a passenger coordinator he spoke with at the Beijing Airport.
Stern noted that his fear for the production did not come to pass – referring to performances in English, if a line is forgotten, the actor or actors may ad lib to smooth it over. For this, essentially all they knew in the language were the written lines of the play.
“It didn’t happen, they hit it just right,” Stern said.
“Chinese Mermaid” is a variation of the Hans Christian Anderson story. The exchange was organized by a Chinese-American professor at the University of Montana. She was set to visit Redondo Beach Oct. 8 for auditions for a 2025 “Chinese Mermaid” trip.
Dancers on the 2023 trip were Kingsley Aguillen, Charlotte McCarty, Sofia Jansen, Adrienne Gonzalez and Audrey George. Francesca Stern acted as assistant director.
Randolph Stern is a retired Redondo Beach chiropractor, who met Franscesca 36 years ago when he was a cruise ship doctor and she was a performing dancer. ER