Red Ribbon Dance at the Chinese Gardens

Today we went to the Chinese Gardens to watch the Red Ribbon Dance. Magic and Acrobatics. We were a little late so we missed most of the Red Ribbon dance, but were able to see the magic and acrobatics.  I was not really sure about the significance of the red ribbon dance so I did some research and this is what I found:  

The red ribbon dance is a Chinese dance of celebration. In this dance, the performers twirl, flick, and swish red ribbons attached to poles. Although there are no specific, predefined sequences to a red ribbon dance, it is characterized by abrupt, dramatic movements. The dancers need to move the poles quickly in order to move the entire ribbon, and to convey the sense of joy and happiness the dance symbolizes.

After the dance, the performer did some magic tricks and a couple of impressive acrobatics moves.  The dancer was not the youngest woman, but she sure was flexible and strong. Wow!

Red Ribbon Dance

Dance with umbrella

The boys watching the show

Check out this move!

And this one!

When the dance was over, we decided to explore the gardens. Cooper really wanted to see the lizards again.   I am so glad we didn't just leave because we saw lots of things we had not seen before!  

Cooper's wish came true and we were able to see several iguanas.  Below are two of them.

Tons of koi in the ponds and man, they are HUGE!  It is interesting how close to the top of the water they swim.  We learned that fish symbolize good luck.

The boys really enjoyed the gardens. Here are a few pictures.

The boys looking at the view.

Tucker enjoying the waterfall- a new word for the day!
I think it came out more like "woferfall."

Cooper liked the woferfall too. 

I love this rock.  Coop says it looks like a bird. 

I love this picture. The flower itself was gorgeous in contrast with the green leaves of the lily pads.

We all know about my current fascination with Australian birds.  I was really excited to see two kinds of birds that we had seen before, but in a different environment and a lot closer as well.  The black and white bird is the Willy Wagtail- how fun is that to say?? I love the contrast of the black and white, its plump belly and the way it fans out its tail feathers. So pretty and dainty!

We also saw the Little Black Cormorant.  For those of you who have been paying attention, we saw the Pied Cormorant at the Botanical Gardens the other day. Cousins I guess. They have the same shape, but the Pied has a white belly and neck.  This guy was fun to watch because he was swimming underneath the lily pads (laugh away siblings) looking for food. Man, he was FAST! So fast it was hard to get a picture, but I got one and here it is!  The other pictures are of the same bird on a large rock where he spent a lot of time cleaning his feathers and drying himself off.  What an amazing sight!

On the way out of the gardens, the boys were able to "sign" the children's guest book. Cooper drew the Ribbon Dance and Tucker, well, he just drew. :)

Coop's picture

Tucker's picture

Walking home, we passed by this water feature in the park. Coop has tried and tried to jump from block to block since we first arrived here and today he did it and did it with such confidence! It was so wonderful to see and he was so proud.