Spectacular Rat

Over the past couple of years, I think I've schooled you guys appropriately in the fine art of celebrating Chinese New Year. By now you know all about the scrumptious food and the little red envelopes, but what about the performance side of the celebration? With the year of the rat quickly approaching, you need to brush up on your knowledge of Chinese culture, and New Tang Dynasty TV is giving you a head start by bringing The Chinese New Year Spectacular to town a month early. With amazing scenery, costumes and music that combines Western instruments with traditional Chinese instruments, it'll be like stepping into the beautiful world of a Zhang Yimou movie. The Chinese and English performances take stage at 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Nokia Theatre, 1001 Performance Place in Grand Prairie. Tickets are $29 to $89. Call 972-854-5111 or visit nokialivedfw.com.
Mon., Jan. 7, 8 p.m.; Tue., Jan. 8, 8 p.m.; Wed., Jan. 9, 8 p.m., 2008