After representing the Bay of Plenty at the Chinese Proficiency competition in Wellington on May 24, Tauranga Intermediate student Victoria Seymour, 12, is off to Beijing.
The competition was held at Victoria University’s Rutherford House, with the theme of Chinese joy and fun, spanning one day. “We were in and out,” Victoria said.
At the competition, Victoria answered questions in Mandarin and then had to perform a special talent. She chose Chinese dance.
“I have always been a dancer. I have done that for more than 10 years. And so Chinese dance just kind of felt natural.”
Victoria said she had started learning Mandarin and dance in the last two years, but had also embraced exploring another culture: “I think it’s fascinating.”
While Victoria had a step-grandmother and a Mandarin teacher for her language skills, she had to rely on YouTube videos to become proficient in dance.
At the competition, the students were judged on creativity, fluency, pronunciation and several different categories, she said.
“I’m very keen to explore harder and more unique Chinese dances.”
Victoria would like to see Tauranga embrace more Chinese culture, and having only three other students representing the Bay of Plenty was “a bit disappointing”.
She is in a state of disbelief at her win and is very aware that she will not only represent the Bay of Plenty but also New Zealand in Beijing.
“My mind’s kind of exploding right now.”
No date has been set for the competition in China, but Victoria believes it will happen in the third term.
“It is a lifetime opportunity,” she said.
It will be an all-expenses-paid trip to China, with one caregiver given the chance to go, but Victoria hopes to be able to take both her parents. She said she will be in China for two weeks and hopes to visit the Great Wall and a few other tourist hotspots around the country.
Victoria is attempting to add Chinese calligraphy to her growing list of skills, but faced a unique challenge in mastering it: “I am left-handed. So I smudge everything that I write.”