New Year? Try New Era

Here's a number that might encourage you to attend New Tang Dynasty Television's Chinese New Year Spectacular in Richardson: $346.5 billion. That's how much China held in U.S. Treasury securities at the end of November, an amount second only to Japan. That's how much we're borrowing from China's smoking-hot economy to finance our budget deficit, and it doesn't include Chinese investment in private markets. So, how do you say "Welcome, Chinese overlords" in Mandarin? Beats us, but now might be a good time to start learning.

While the performers in NTDTV's show come from New York, Canada and Europe—not mainland China—you get the point: The way things are going, soon enough what we now call the lunar new year will simply be called the new year. So get ahead of the curve learning about Chinese culture with a stop at the Eisemann Center's Hill Performance Hall, 2351 Performance Drive. The show features singers and instrumentalists, along with classical and traditional Chinese dance, with "dance dramas" inspired by Chinese legends in a show called "Myth and Legends." (Might as well learn the tunes that we'll be dancing to.) Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Monday, with matinees for students K-12 at 10 a.m. and noon Monday. Tickets are $20 to $79 for evening performances and $10 for students at the matinees. Call 972-744-4650 or visit eisemanncenter.com or show.ntdtv.com for more info.
Feb. 4-5, 7:30 p.m.