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Forest Hills Designer’s Work At Radio City

The work of costume designer Amy Lee, who resides in Forest Hills, can be seen onstage during New Tang Dynasty Television’s (NTDTV) “Chinese New Year Splendor.”
Originally from China, Lee has been working as a professional designer for 20 years. She has also studied Chinese culture and history, which she incorporates into some of her work.
Lee described the Chinese culture as being very profound. She said that when she first came to the United States, she found that people did not know as much about it.
“I have a strong will to introduce Chinese culture to Western (people),” she said, adding that one of the goals of her work is to expose people to the culture of China.
For the last four years, Lee has designed the costumes for NTDTV’s shows “Holiday Wonders” and “Chinese New Year Splendor.” She said that designing for them is a very unique experience.
“Chinese New Year Splendor” boasts being “the largest and most exciting Chinese New Year celebration in the world.” During its 2008 tour, it will perform more than 200 shows in 65 different cities, including New York, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo and Taipei.
The show uses 200 performers, a live orchestra and The Renaissance of Divine Chinese Performing Arts.
Lee was inspired to create the various costumes after the director gave her the show’s music to listen to. She explained that each dynasty has different beliefs, values, lifestyles and cultures. Those differences are represented in the costumes in the show.
The Tang Dynasty is Lee’s favorite because that style is open-minded in spirit.
When designing the costumes, Lee said there were two major challenges that she faced. One was doing research to better understand the stories behind each of the dances. The other was creating costumes that could be easily put on and taken off to accommodate quick costume changes.
Lee said that seeing the costumes on stage during the shows makes all of the hard work worth it. Her proudest moment was at the opening of the first show she did with NTDTV. She said that when the show began audience members applauded loudly and were moved to tears by its beauty. She said that she was also very touched and felt proud of herself.
Aside from the work that Lee does with NTDTV, she creates lifestyle designs at a job in Manhattan. She also writes articles for Chinese publications, writes poetry and paints.
“Chinese New Year Splendor” opened on January 30 and will have performances through February 9. There are daily performances at 7:30 p.m. On February 2, 6, 7, and 9 there will be shows at 1:30 p.m. and there will be a show at 4 p.m. on February 3. Performances are held at Radio City Music Hall, located at 1260 6th Avenue in Manhattan.
Tickets cost $58, $88, $110 or $150.
For more information, call 212-695-SHOW or you can visit www.ChineseSplendor.com.