Sheng ed altri scritti

Down the lift, in the hall, it’s all a mess of masters and attenders; we did not expect to find such a row to enter “Queen Elisabeth Stadium”, it is so long that it turns the corner. Nosey faces look at us, someone is greeting, with our black clothes and shoes, and the huge guest badges hunging from our necks, we are not to pass ignored…
Entering we meet Master Chu, he leads us in the “backstage”, - luckily in Hong Kong everything, really everything, is written in two languages, Chinese and English, so it is easy to move, to be oriented – locker rooms have a numeric code to enter, but, like at us, posters on the wall advise not to leave anything of value inside – the Master quickly types 1017 and the door opens, we enter, just to attend the Master who is dressing, we are already ready.

Then he disappears, we gave him some tasks, to supply with a pass an old lady who kindly offered to film us with our cameras, to have some pieces of picture of the Master to share with you (at the end we give her three cameras to handle, moreover, she is not experienced, and, alas, our final video pays for it..), and to find a long baton to use it to send us flying away, after having put it on his Tan Tien (we will then find a long plastic pipe).

Then the Master goes and sits on the honour guests stage, we wander around in the backstage together with well known (for the Chinese) practisers, teachers and Tai Chi masters, who, in turn, warm themselves exercising in the most various ways - Dario, Denis and me practise some Tui Shou to loose a little -.
In the great room two presenters, a she and a he, start introducing the public the guests, all in Chinese, of course: we hardly understand some of the most famous names; the two, during the two hours program, file, rhythmically alternating one the other, a very harmonic and pleasant background, fitting well with the shows that begin to flow one after another – the Chinese language may sound very musically -.

We stretch our necks trying to see something, but it’s easier to see them coming in and going out; there goes a purple dressed Chinese, passing among us after his performance, - but was that Tai Chi? – after an instant, turning round, I see Dario trying to communicate with him and praising him, (sarcastically?) for his strong muscles, may be he does not understand, but he appreciate Dario’s warmth…today also, everyone welcomes our presence – tonight there are really very few Europeans -, and when someone is going in or out, without knowing how, we find ourselves involved in photos with the character of the moment (who knows who was he?) among us – they tell us someone was a politician: a pair were Chinese mayors, another pair government’s representatives, one tells us proudly that his son was one of Master Chu’s students..

On arriving, the organizers come out and throw themselves on Master Chu, hands shakings, praises, other photos; then he goes back and sits; someone is performing. We get back our cameras, but we switch them on at once, it’s the turn of Master Yang Jen Duo, we film his brief piece of “form”, very slow movements, perhaps too “short” now, but he is always sweetly smiling; when he goes out, we smile back to him with warmth.

Some more performances and it is over, the lights switch on, the public file to the exits, on the empting stage someone is talking; they give us a little rucksack, marked with the exhibition symbol, containing the book of the exhibition. For luck: the book run out the day before, but they kept some copies for us.

We quickly undress and meet to the “usual” restaurant where we had all our meals, it is usually very crowded, but now it is empty, they kept it open for us. – Every Hong Kong restaurant has round tables, of every measure, and they are interchangeable, you are in 12? And they give you a table exactly for 12: an unbelievable advantage, everyone is in front of all the others and it is possible to talk to everyone, moreover it is very amusing to make the centre, where all the plates lie, turn, so that it is possible to take what one wants to taste: no concept like “this is my plate, this is yours" – we are eleven with the Master, Guido had to leave, because his flight was due at midnight. I receive an sms from him, I read it aloud to all of us, we feel that he, like us all, is touched and happy; the Master thanks us to have come here to help him, and he makes this with three different drinks.