Stunning Multicultural Performance “A Journey in New Land” Presented the Encounter Of CASS Over 40 Years

A Multicultural Performance – “A Journey in New Land” organized by CASS and proudly supported by the Multicultural NSW under “2021/22 Stronger Together Grants Program” was staged successfully at Marana Auditorium, Hurstville on Wednesday, 22 June 2022.

This auspicious event attracted over 650 audiences with the participation of more than 200 seniors of Chinese, Indonesian, Korean and Vietnamese backgrounds from 18 CASS Multicultural Activity Groups.  The seniors worked Along with CASS staff members, volunteers and community members to present this exciting and thought-provoking journey of migrants settling in Australia.

There were the presence of special VIP guests, including Clr Nick Katris, Mayor of Georges River Council and Clr Nancy Liu representing the Hon. Mark Coure MP, Minister for Multiculturalism and Minister for Seniors, Clr Ben Wang, Government officials and numerous community leaders.  Dr. Bo Zhou, Chairperson of CASS, together with other CASS Board Members, including Mr Henry Pan OAM, Ms Tica Lee, Mrs Teresa Chu and Mrs Winnie Fung were present to support this grand performance.

“A Journey in New Land” comprised of four scenes, depicting the remarkable journey encountered by CASS over the past four decades, beginning with a difficult start, then experiencing ups and downs and all sort of hurdles during growth, but achieving fruitful results and becoming a well-established community services provider. 

Scene 1 “From The Other Side of The Ocean to Campsie” began with a group of new migrants from different countries arriving in Sydney, marking their new and exciting journey in the beautiful Australian land. It presented the reason of establishing CASS, showing the noble ambition of Mr Henry Pan OAM, CASS Foundation Chairperson.

As the lead singer, Henry sang “Where is the Road” together with a choir formed by seniors from CASS Activity Groups, including Ashfield Activity Group, Hua An Seniors Group, Hua Kang Seniors Group and St George Group. Dancers from Campsie and Hornsby Activity Groups accompanied the singing, as the prelude to the Scene.  The song asked a key question which echoed in every migrant’s mind – “choosing the right path to settle in Australia”. Henry conveyed a strong answer through the song, encouraging people to “walk our own path”. The choir and dancers expressed their love of the beautiful and nurturing land of Australia through their performance.

Line dance “Come on and Tango” performed by the Vietnamese Activity Group then followed. Their lively moves and steps amused the audiences.  The singing of “Lenggang Kangkung” performed by CASS Kensington Indonesian Group, dancing of “Qipao Show” by Hornsby Activity Group, together with the traditional Vietnamese song and colourful Chinese costumes fascinated the audiences, demonstrating the vibrant and rich cultural diversity in Australia.

Scene 2 “High Mountain” reflected the period CASS exploring pathway in its early days, developing and obtaining steady growth gradually. There were items co-performed by New Vogue Waltz Dancers, Harmonica Group and CASS Vietnamese Activity Group presenting brilliant performances in different styles.

During the intermission, CASS Chairperson, Dr Bo Zhou, gave a welcome speech. He said, “The event today features performances by over 200 seniors of our Activity Groups showing the journey of CASS in the past 41 years servicing the Multicultural communities of NSW. It is amazing to know one of our members performing today is aged 89 already”.  He continued, “according to the 2016 census, NSW has a high proportion of 30% of people born overseas and 27% of the population spoke a language other than English at home. Therefore, it is very important to have this multicultural performance organized to promote the richness of Australia’s diverse culture and to spread the message that we are all Australians in this new land.”  Dr Bo Zhou thanked all the special guests, production teams, performers and every individual present at the event for their wonderful participation.

Clr Nick Katris, Mayor for Georges River Council and Clr Nancy Liu on behalf of the Hon. Mark Coure MP, Minister for Multiculturalism and Minister for Seniors, delivered their speeches and acknowledged the unceasing contributions CASS had made to the community over the years.

Mr Chris Minns MP, Leader of the NSW Opposition, who was unable to attend the event in person, sent a video to congratulate the occasion. He shared, “I’m glad to see CASS holding such a large-scale Multicultural Performance in St George area after the Pandemic.” he also spoke highly of Mr Henry Pan OAM for his extraordinary contributions to CASS and the local community.

Scene 3 “Running Water” demonstrated the situation of what looked like a calm river from the outside, there could be fast-moving undercurrents.  This was the encounter by CASS happened after climbing over the steep and rugged mountains and overcoming obstacles during the difficult start and rapid development that followed, but it was not always smooth sailing.  Seniors of CASS multicultural activity groups, including the Korean Bong Bong Seniors Group, Auburn Activity Group and Castle Hill Activity Group presented a powerful and energetic spirit through their drumming and dancing performances. It demonstrated the vigorous determination and enormous dedication CASS was upholding in moving forward under the tough times. Audiences applauded the performances.

Scene 4 “Hundred Flowers Bloom”, demonstrated the fruitful and gratifying results CASS achieved after a journey full of thorns.  “Negatives and challenges are always here, conquering them makes us stronger and brighter.” This best describes how CASS has gone through the past 41 years. Over one hundred seniors displayed a beautiful picture of vigour and vitality in this last performance. Those seniors were from  several activity groups, including the Castle Hill Activity Group, Chu Rhythm Art Group, Ashfield Activity Group, Social Dance Time, Hua Kang Seniors Group (Thu), Hua Kang Seniors Group (Fri), Hua Xing Activity Group and St George Activity Group.

The performance reached the climax with deep affection in the chorus of the song “I am Australian” and the dancing performance of “Hundred Flowers Blossom” as the Grand Finale under a loud round of applause from the entire audiences.

This is an amazing performance having the mix of people from different cultural backgrounds manifesting the power and beauty of multiculturalism in Australia.

CLICK HERE for the highlights of performance (video)