Located on a quiet street in Phoenix’s Melrose District is the Chinese Senior Center. The center opened its doors roughly 40 years ago and offers a mix of programming in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
Jianhau Feng came to Arizona almost 30 years ago. She’s a longtime member here and one of three volunteers who helps lead the Cantonese signing group, which was started around the same time.
Through a translator who works at the center, she said the benefits of signing “will help the seniors remain active and also reduce stress.”
Besides the physical and psychological benefits of gathering together twice a week to sing, Feng says the music serves as a thread connecting those who live here now to home.
“By singing those old songs, like Cantonese songs, that helps them connect back to their hometown. They're a thousand miles from their hometown.”
The group performs in public periodically. Sometimes the songs are more festive, other times, more traditional. There’s also a Mandarin singing group as well as a Cantonese dance and opera group.
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