Photo Gallery: Chinese Dance Pageant Packs Theater

The modest red decorations hanging in front of El Cerrito High School's main entrance Sunday indicated something unusual was happening, but didn't convey the full scope of the elaborate Chinese dance spectacle unfolding inside.

The Albany-based Ah-Lan Chinese Dance company and school — directed by Ah-lan Min of El Cerrito — drew a capacity crowd for its wide-ranging repertoire of modern and ancient dance from China. Several of the numbers represented various ethnic groups.

Dancers from age 4 on up performed in a variety of elaborate costumes, producing dizzying swirls of color blending with spell-binding tableaux enhanced by the impressive lighting effects and acoustics of the school's technically sophisticated performance hall.

We hope the attached photos capture some of the magic that took months to prepare and blazed brightly if briefly on the stage.

Everybody makes mistakes ... ! If there's something in this article you think should be corrected, or if something else is amiss, call editor Emilie Raguso at 510-459-8325 or email her at emilier@patch.com.