Party designer extraordinaire Adam Aleksander was up to his usual tricks last night, throwing a production at Macao Trading Co. that involved Canadian break dancers, 40-foot dragons, Chinese opera and half-naked women.
The elaborate celebration was in honor of the Feast of the Drunken Dragon, a Macanese folk tale about a boozed up reptile who rids the town of the plague (or something like that).
It was Adam's second time spearheading the party, but whereas last year's was organized on the fly, this time around he had the time and resources at his disposal.
"The past year I have been coming up with the whole idea, and one of the biggest inspirations was 'Farewell My Concubine,'" Aleksander explained beforehand over a cup of coffee in Macao's cellar speakeasy. "Tonight will also be a lot like theater and opera with performers dressed like 'Farewell My Concubine.' A real snippet of that movie is going to be used and [performers] will be singing in Chinese."
Those performers included the aforementioned Canadian break dancers, who popped and locked the dragon (wielded by five people) into submission before slaying it with Aleksander's broadsword. The troop, who go by the name of The House of Dangerkat, hail from Calgary and were an impromptu discovery.
"I found them through YouTube during one of my late night YouTube binges," the curator -- or experiential designer -- laughed.
Aleksander is often inspired by weird, quirky things he finds online, which is a good thing because he's in demand. So far this month he's thrown five events, including a bar and silent film for Makers Mark and a 1950's-themed prom. Given his track record and ever-growing popularity, you have to wonder, what's next?
"I've always wanted to throw a party at PS 1. Something with ziplines and bungee-jumping puppets," he said.
