| Date | : | Sunday, September 16, 2001 |
| Time | : | 13:30 - 15:30 |
| Location | : | Bao Trieu Sportcentre, Spicastraat 198, Groningen, the Netherlands |
| Route | : | how to get to Bao Trieu Sportcentre / hoe u bij ons komt |
| Date | : | Sunday, September 16, 2001 |
| Time | : | 13:30 - 15:30 |
| Location | : | Bao Trieu Sportcentre, Spicastraat 198, Groningen, the Netherlands |
| Route | : | how to get to Bao Trieu Sportcentre / hoe u bij ons komt |
On 16 September Bao Trieu / Blijd celebrated the opening of her new space. We had a grand opening: multicultural, with open classes in which various aspects of Bao Trieu was demonstrated, and of course spacious Lion Dances.
| 13.30 - 13.45 | Official Opening of Bao Trieu Sportcentre by mr. Robbert Jan Bron, alderman of the city Groningen |
| 13.45 - 14.30 | Multicultural Opening Party with among others:
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| 14.45 - 15.30 | Open Classes of Wushu Society Bao Trieu / Blijd:
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For those of you who could make it: we really appreciated your presence.
For those of you who couldn't: thank you for all your best wishes.
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Whenever a new institution is opened, there are different experiences and opinions. On the one hand, you have the insiders- those who are directly associated with the institution-, then there are the outsiders- the various visitors- and last but not least, the people who are responsible for the programme, the acts, the guests, the speakers. The atmosphere is dependent on all these actors. At least for most of the insiders, the atmosphere was certainly great. Although the school undoubtedly has 'Earl-character', there are a number of other people who have been involved with the becoming of the school as we saw it that Sunday: directly or indirectly, more or less. Furthermore, all Wushu'ers probably feel connected enough with the school ('our school') to experience the hype to a similar degree. In sum, there was a lot of excitement all around. It was a special event. Carl Blijd already noted in his (short) opening speech that after the tragic events at the World Trade Centre in New York, the expression 'multiculturalism' seems to have obtained a different contents. Some people now look upon 'the others' more critically and with less trust. Aside from a social and sportive event, the opening of the sportschool was therefore a cultural and political occasion as well. Bao Trieu has been multicultural from its 'birth'. Earl Blijd himself came from Cura�ao. In his school, there are many cultures without anyone really noticing that this is the case. The respect for the knowledge and ability of Wushu that is demonstrated by its students can, in most cases, be transferred to the interaction amongst the students more generally. The character of the school is that of many cultures and this was emphasised by the way in which the school was opened. The opening began with a small impression of the Chinese sport dragon boat racing. Ten Wushu'ers fitted into the boat and gave a fine presentation after just a short practice beforehand. Although the spectators remained largely dry, the rowers had already experienced a heavy shower during the practice but could dry up just in time for the open Wushu class in the heat of the approximately 200 visitor bodies that had ventured to the school throughout the day. Earl's roots got special attention by the continuation of the programme in the form of the national anthem of Cura�ao. The fact that this was sung by Izaline Calister, who recently made the news by obtaining a national Jazz award, made it even more memorable. Nonetheless, it must be reinforced that it was the mixing of cultures that made the musical part of the opening remarkable. Percussion from Ghana and Turkey was demonstrated first individually, then in combination and lastly used as background music for a Brazilian Capoeira performance. Next, of course, speeches. Aside from the club's chair person, the local councillor Bron, a sympathetic appearance by the way, spoke a few words to Earl Blijd and the school. Not to forget the cheque that was presented to the chair person. Throughout all of this, though, Earl Blijd never lost sight of his little son Yulong, who had crawled to him at the podium in the meantime. Attention for him was just as important, a truly refreshing and cheerful sight. The opening was framed by Chinese culture. After the dragon boat as introduction to the event, a Chinese school performed a dance from China and was followed by the Bao Trieu speciality, the Lion Dance. Councillor Bron ended his official task at this point by 'awakening' one of the lions. With two lions there was double fun for the viewers. In particular the children in the front row, who were sniffed at by the lions before these turned to each other in a challenge, had a real blast. The open class formed the ending of the opening programme. An insight into the entire spectrum of activities offered at Bao Trieu was offered. Aside from the warming up for the young and old students (including: "Late! Push ups!!") the visitors watched the performance of both traditional and modern Wushu techniques. The art of fighting and boxing claimed a large part of the overall demonstration that was concluded with a peaceful part, Taijiquan. Although the younger students gave a fine demonstration of the drunken man style and the monkey style, I personally missed seeing more of the other forms. Nonetheless, the viewers could certainly have gotten a taste for the sports. After the official part (with everybody is kung fu fighting in the background- who doesn�t know that one?), the hall slowly emptied and finally, one could see it in its full glory. Those who had not yet noticed could now also see a dragon, various lion-costume-heads and an incredible amount of prizes and awards. Although the decoration was attached for this day especially due to the sharing of the space with a primary school during the week, it is an attractive perspective to be training amongst these items in the future (in a year's time)! Overall one should speak of a successful day. However: at the same time, it should not go unnoticed that the path from the old location of Bao Trieu at the Boterdiep to it's new facility in the Paddepoel was not always easy. Speaking of multiculturalism and Dutch tolerance: some doors open less easy for people of different ethnic background, like Earl, even in Groningen. This underlines the social need for an organisation such as Bao Trieu/ Blijd in Groningen. Of course the sports will remain in the foreground but the fact that it is also a meeting point for people of different ethnic backgrounds (and also of different ages) should not be underestimated either. |
For more photo's of the opening: check out the albums 'A new beginning' in BTB's Club .
Check out the press coverage of our new location in the local newspapers. Find here how to get to Bao Trieu Sportcentre / hoe u bij ons komt.