#chinese zodiac
Academy of Art University 2017 Year of the Rooster float for the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco.
(Source: Bob Toy, Academy of Art University)
Academy of Art University is proud to celebrate the Year of the Rooster with an outstanding student collaboration honoring the tenth Chinese zodiac sign and its emphasis on perfectionism and loyalty. The Academy has been a long-time sponsor and participant in the Chinese New Year parade, giving students the opportunity to be a part of this popular event which is the largest of its kind outside of Asia.
The parade will feature an array of vibrant floats, costumes, firecrackers, and guest appearances representing the arts and cultural aspects of San Francisco and the Chinese community. Among many notable student contributions—including costumed performers from the Academy’s School of Acting and sculptures from the School of Fine Art-Sculpture—the float includes original music composed entirely by Jia Shi, who is studying for her MFA in the School of Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media.
“I feel like music is really a tool that can help people [reach a] healthy, better life,” Shi said.
Shi spent two weeks creating the music for the Academy’s float that will appear during the Chinese New Year parade. She heard about the opportunity from her friend and fellow Academy alumnus Jason Kuo, who composed the music for the university’s Year of the Monkey float.
“Jason was working a lot with me last year for the Year of the Monkey,” Bob Toy, publications and special events project manager at the Academy, said. “He was using hip-hop and Chinese music, but the Rooster is something I want to be more traditional. I really want instruments that we can identify as Chinese instruments.”
Emphasizing more percussion and other traditional Chinese instruments, Shi composed a song expressing symbolism of the Year of the Rooster. Guided by their instincts and commitment, roosters are said to be very observant, sociable, and highly motivated. Shi captured the spirit of the rooster by incorporating elements representing the zodiac sign’s luck, determination, and success. With 10 tracks of percussion instruments, Shi’s song flows through the rooster in battle and its pathway toward success.
“The rooster does not only stand for luck, but also there’s a kind of rooster that gets to be the victor,” Shi said. “I expressed more of that kind of spirit.”
The float will appear at the Chinese New Year parade on Feb. 11. The Academy has been recognized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce with the Most Artistic Float Award each year since 2014.
The Academy salutes the Year of the Rooster and is proud to continue their tradition of commemorating a new year with the San Francisco community.
For my miraculous changes and take on the miraculous, the slightly adjusted Zodiac, with biggest change is just turning Longg into a Carp/Koi, and officially, Sass is a Cobra. Also they all officially have 2 powers to call upon.
Lore: In the early stages of the Order and they had a lot of kwamis that they needed to figure out groups for, so they called for a race to shape a Zodiac. Thirteen kwamis showed up wanting to join the race.
The Guardians allowed the kwamis to use 1 power during the race.
- Savvy used Ratify to persuade Mettle to allow her to ride upon him. He actually did not mind, acknowledged her wit and eloquence as her unique strength.
- Mettle the Ox used Celestial Body to power through all obstacles.
- Huuoli the Tiger opted out using either of her powers, wanting to prove herself to the Guardians and powered through the race. She was sour at Savvy for a few centuries as she would’ve gotten 2nd place if she didn’t get Mettle to carry her.
- Luuna the Rabbit opted for Burrow for quick short cuts forward, but got trapped on a log that too far away from the bank for her to Burrow to. She is unaware that Longg helped her forward.
- Longg the Carp used Living Legend to turn into a dragon, intending to win the race with the ease of flight; only he got to see surrounding Guardians needed help and would quickly go out of his way to help them. He came back in to help Luuna cross, pushing her log forward just enough so she can Burrow to the bank. He joined his friend Sass on the bank and the two crossed the line together; because he was in his dragon form, he was seen first and got 5th place that way.
- Sass the Cobra used Hydrous to help himself over the river, and startled Queen as he came up on the bank. His friend Longg met up with him and the two crossed the finish line together. He doesn’t mind that he got 6th, though Queen was mad at him for a few centuries as he startled her and through off her game.
- Queen the Horse had used Horsepower to double her speed, though she struggled to get through the river. It didn’t help that Sass’ Hydrous threw her off.
- Ziggy the Goat, Xuppu the Monkey, and Orikko the Rooster all got stuck on the riverbank and struggled to cross. They agreed to work together. Ziggy used Artifice to create a boat for them, Xuppu saw that Jolli the Dog was about to cross, so he used Gag Gift to summon a ball and threw it for her to fetch, and Orikko used Chicken Scratch to secure that the boat will cross the river on it’s own with no wind to power it.
- Jolli the Dog got distracted messing around and playing, and when she started to swim across the river, she saw the ball Xuppu threw and went to go after it. She was a little sour at Xuppu for a few centuries for that distraction, but she’s come to accept that she should’ve been more focused, and is resolved to be more diligent.
- Bliss the Pig crossed last as he found some food that Guardians left, ate it up, and took a nap. When he woke up and remembered he was to race, he powered the rest of the way through, and crossed last. He has no problems with his placement.
- Plagg the Cat never raced like he wanted, Savvy knew that he was cunning and fast, that he’d used Black Hole to easily get ahead of everyone and come out of the closest shadow to the finish line. So she lied to Plagg that the date for the race got changed, and he missed it. Furious at Savvy, Plagg swore them to be enemies; as a means to try and pacify Plagg and his rightful anger, the Guardains offer Plagg a far higher position in the Order, which he readily accepted, much to Savvy’s unhappiness.
Post link
