by Timothy L. Croes

The fourth annual Boston Chinese Art Festival was held Oct. 2 at Boston’s John Hancock Hall, featuring dancers, singers and musicians performing throughout the night.

The hall was packed and when lights were lowered as the crowd applauded in anticipation.

The emcee for the night at John Hancock Hall was Bai Yun, a veteran of many other similar festivals and events. She said she enjoys helping out the Chinese community and has worked at this particular festival for the last two years.

The show started when State Rep. Greer Ian Swiston, R-Newton, presented an official proclamation from Gov. W. Mitt Romney praising the festival and its success.

Swiston said she has the honor of being the first Chinese American to be a state representative in Massachusetts.

The governor has been very supportive of the Chinese community, she said. “He got me to run, didn’t he?”

The opening act included performances from the Boston Children’s Chorus, the Newton Chinese School, and the Cambridge Chinese School. Next up was the Boston Chinese Dulcimer Orchestra, followed by the Hua Xia Chinese Dance Group.

The owner of Davis Square’s Fu Shen Therapeutic Spa, Rosanna Zhang, said she has been a member of the troupe since 1999, two years after its founding.

Zhang said her mother owns a beauty parlor in Quincy, and one of her customers is Chu Ling, the dance group’s choreographer. Ling found out that Zhang was a dancer and with the mother’s help, convinced her to join.

In total, the Hua Xia group performed five dances, including a contribution to the final number. Zhang said in addition to dancing, she designed the costumes for the final two numbers that the group performed.

Zhang, who has lived in Somerville for three years, said she puts a lot of time and effort into the group. “We practice twice a week as a group.”

She is very proud of her culture and feels that the dance group and festivals like this one are great ways to showcase them, she said.

Next to perform was the Cambridge Chinese Culture Center and their presentation of the “Little Slide.” Following that performance the Happiness Orchestra played two songs: “Good Life” and “Happiness.”

Another dance group took the stage next, the Boston Chinese Xiang Tu Dance Group. They performed “Mother’s Kiss” and were followed by the Hua Xia dance group and their performance of the “Bowl Dance.”

The next section of the festival was devoted to the vocalist, Furong Zhu, who sang, “I live at the head of Yazi River” and “I Love you, China.”

The Hua Zi Dance Group, took the stage and performed “Cloud Chasing the Moon.” They were followed by the Newton Chinese School, who returned to the stage again to perform the “Fan Dance.”

The Boston Chinese Dulcimer Orchestra set up and wowed the audience with their performance of three songs: “Happy Message to the Village,” “Meeting at Aobao” and “Damu Damu.”

When the Hua Xia group reclaimed the stage, they were all draped in a vibrant blue outfit for the “Step to the Song,” dance with their decadent outfits glistening under the hot stage lights of the hall.

The festival closed with the a solo dance by Qian Wang, a performance by the Boston Shen Gong String Orchestra, a performance by the Cambridge Chinese Culture Center, one final dance by the Hua Xia group, a solo dulcimer performance by Zhentian Zhang, and a final number including all the performers.