Audience embraces 'Wing Chun' to usher in the New Year

On the final day of 2025 local time, as the world prepared to usher in a new year, a global audience gathered at Toronto’s Meridian Hall for a distinctive send-off: the Shenzhen-original dance drama "Wing Chun." For the international crowd, the performance served as a shared ritual to bid farewell to the past and welcome the year ahead.

Crew members of "Wing Chun" thank the audience after a performance in Toronto, Canada, on Dec. 31. Photos by Geng Chaoyi unless otherwise stated

“I always look for new experiences at the end of a year, something fresh to start the New Year with,” said Valkyrie Savage, who traveled from Denmark to Toronto. After seeing a promotional video for the show at Yonge–Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, she was struck by how its costumes and choreography differed from previous drama she had watched, prompting her to purchase a ticket.

“The dance drama is so visually striking,” Savage remarked. “I really enjoyed the tension between past and future, and how they interplay on stage, seeing how history is gone into the performance.”

Audience members react watching the dance drama "Wing Chun" in Toronto.

Upon learning the Shenzhen production, Savage expressed a pleasant surprise, noting that her impression of the show mirrored her perception of the city itself. “Shenzhen is where past and future come together in amazing ways. It’s a huge city that feels like a visit to the future,” she said.

Gregory Winkler, a Polish Canadian and a beginner in tai chi, greeted reporters from Shenzhen News Group with a short tai chi sequence.

“The way the show blended dance with tai chi and other Chinese martial arts was what pleased me most,” Winkler said. “It really encourages me to practice more.”

Canadian resident Gregory Winkler shows some tai chi moves to reporters from Shenzhen News Group on Dec. 31, local time. Chen Siqi

He also praised the dancers’ expressive physical storytelling. “You don’t come here primarily to understand a language, but to enjoy the culture and the movements that combine dance and martial art.”

Melanie Hines drove an hour and a half south from Orillia to Toronto with seven friends to watch the show at Meridian Hall, spending New Year’s Eve together taking in a Chinese production.

Local residents take a selfie in front of a promotional board of "Wing Chun" at the Meridian Hall in Toronto.

The actors’ performances left a deep impression on Hines, with several scenes moving her nearly to tears. “The moment when Ip Man’s wife returned to her hometown due to illness — that was particularly poignant,” she recalled.

As the New Year set in and the past was bid farewell, the 20-show run of "Wing Chun" in Toronto is drawing to a close. Its final performance, also the production’s 300th show, is scheduled for Jan. 4, marking both an end and a new beginning in the coming year.