RED BOAT TROUPES AND CANTONESE ... - University of Georgia

violin, the koh hu, and he also trains singers. The institution was on the second floor of a small
shopping center. The two rooms in the institution included a reception area with many chairs for
people to wait and watch the singing activities inside the performance room with an elevated
stage. A glass door and glass wall separated the two rooms. One blind musician played dizis of
different ranges, and another professional musician played the yangqin. The owner of the
institution played the violin on the day I visited. A percussionist played in a semi-separate area.
Cantonese opera songs were passions for Cantonese people, especially those new
immigrants who were adjusting to life in a foreign country. On a regular afternoon, people
wishing to sing signed up and waited in the reception room. Depending on whether a person
wanted instruction or not, the institute charged singers different rates. The rates were also based
on the length of the song in minutes. I attended a performance by students of this institution a
few evenings later. They performed arias from different operas. I was told that a non-
professional (usually a lady) spent a lot of money in order to perform. She had to pay a portion
of the rental expense of the performance hall, pay for her costume, and sometimes she had to pay
for a professional to accompany her in singing a duet. The performance style of the singers
perhaps could be considered a modern practice of Cantonese opera.
On a Sunday afternoon I also visited a club established by people of a common last name
–Chan. The Chan Club was a non-profit institution established in the 1930s. It was situated on a
second floor on the busy Pander Street of Chinatown. Most musicians who attended were non-
professionals and majority of them were over 55 years old. Those who wished to sing signed up
when they arrived. The activities ended at 5:00 p.m. sharp, and those who were not able to sing
were disappointed. Each singer paid five Canadian dollars to sing (singers prefer longer songs).
The money was used for snacks. These people were mostly working class and many of them had
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