(Clearwisdom.net) The semi-final round of NTDTV's International Classical Chinese Dance Competition took place at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center in Manhattan on June 20. After a spirited one-day competition, 31 contestants made it to the final round.

As the 42 semi-finalists presented their renditions of classical Chinese dance, the audience rewarded them with rounds of warm, enthusiastic applause.

Junior Male: Baoyuan Li presented General Yang

Junior Male: Xintan Xue presented Young Han Xin

Junior Female: Xiao Zhou presented flower fairy

Adult Male: Bojian Li presented Warrior

Adult Male: Liang Zhao presented Zhao Yun

Adult Male: Hao Nie Presented Deity Zhang

Adult Female: Jingjing Li presented Young Yintai

Adult Female: Ning Yu presented Mulan

Adult female: Tingjie Huang presented Lotus Flowers

This was Ms. Zhou's first experience with the International Classical Chinese Dance Competition. She was a bit emotional and applauded repeatedly. "Magnificent, definitely world class! My feeling is that the competition is not just about dancing, as it conveyed the mission and meaning of dance. These young dancers are excellent. More importantly, they chose very good themes for their presentations. You were invited to review history with the contestants, who vividly portrayed the essence of Chinese culture, such as compassion, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety."

Zhou said that she felt spiritually cleansed by the competition. "The competition connected me to the past and our ancestors. I am so encouraged and feel proud of our divinely-imparted culture."

For Lili, this was also her first experience with the International Classical Chinese Dance Competition. She said, "I heard about it from the newspaper and TV. However, actually experiencing it live was quite a new thing. They use a series of dancing combinations to express emotions and portray stories. Every contestant was so good; it was really unbelievable. Now I know what classical Chinese dance is."

This was the second year for Chinese immigrant Qiuping to see the competition. She felt that all the performances were very peaceful and pure. "Every contestant was very devoted and performing wholeheartedly. It gave you a very comfortable feeling."

At 4:45 p.m., the competition review committee announced the list of finalists.

Junior Female
Angelia Wang (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Dao-Yong Cheng (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Alina Wang (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Faustina Quach (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Miranda Zhou-Galati (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Alison Chen (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Chialing Chen (Feitian Academy of the Arts)

Junior Male
Alvin Song (New Jersey, USA)
Fengnian Liang (Edmonton, Canada)
Chad Chen ((Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Ben Chen (London, UK)
William Li (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Rocky Liao (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Tony Xue (Feitian Academy of the Arts)
Rick Li (Feitian Academy of the Arts)

Adult Female
Ting-Jie Huang (Taipei, Taiwan)
Jennifer Su (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Madeleine Lobjois (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Anna Li (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Rachael Bastick (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Chelsea Cai (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Cindy Liu (Shenyun Performing Arts)

Adult Male
Leon Chao (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Kokuei Chen (Maryland, USA)
Alex Chun (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Brian Nieh (Washington DC, USA)
Seongho Cha (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Steve Wang (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Jerry Zhang (Shenyun Performing Arts)
Ming Liu (Los Angeles, USA)
Golden Li (Shenyun Performing Arts)

On June 21, the final round of the competition will take place in the morning at the same venue, and an awards presentation will be held at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, in the evening.