<html><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:10pt"><div style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10pt; text-decoration: underline;">This </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Sat., April 27 at 6:30 p.m.</span>, t</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10pt;">he Confucius Institute at Cleveland State University will present a visiting 20-piece troupe from Wuhan, China in a fascinating program of Chinese dances, martial arts, and musical instruments from a wide variety of Chinese ethnic groups (details below). Tickets are just $5 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: bold;">but online registration is required</span><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 10pt;"> at the link below.
I have heard that the performers are sensational and energetic.</span><br></div><div style="font-size: 10pt;"><span><br></span></div><div><span>**********************</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Confucius Institute at Cleveland State University presents</span></div><div>"<span style="font-weight: bold;">Colorful China</span>": music, dance, and martial arts from many ethnic groups of China</div><div><span>by the Art Troupe of South-Central University for Nationalities (SCUN) of Wuhan, Hubei, China</span></div><div><span>6:30 to 9:00 p.m., Saturday, April 27, 2013</span></div><div><span>Main Classroom Auditorium</span></div><div><span>Cleveland State University</span><br></div><div style="font-size: 16px;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">1899 East 22nd Street</span><br></div><div><span>Cleveland, Ohio</span></div><div><span>admission is $5; all students from K-12 through college are free with printed registration confirmation
(<span style="font-weight: bold;">online registration and online payment by credit card required</span>)</span></div><div><span>Link for registration (after your registration is done, follow the link to pay for your ticket and receive payment confirmation):</span></div><div><a href="http://www.csuohio.edu/centers/confucius/register.html">http://www.csuohio.edu/centers/confucius/register.html</a><br></div><div><span>Facebook event page:</span><br></div><div><span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/427410690676129/">https://www.facebook.com/events/427410690676129/</a><br></span></div><div><span>More information:</span></div><div><span><a href="http://www.csuohio.edu/centers/confucius/ColorfulChina.html">http://www.csuohio.edu/centers/confucius/ColorfulChina.html</a><br></span></div><div><span>Parking is available in CSU lots around E. 21st and E. 22nd Streets for a charge, or on the street nearby at parking meters.</span><br></div><div><span>Campus
map:</span></div><div><span><a href="http://www.csuohio.edu/engagecsugradschool/campusmap.html">http://www.csuohio.edu/engagecsugradschool/campusmap.html</a><br></span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>Opening the performance will be two pieces by the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cleveland Chinese Music Ensemble </span>and a piano duo by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Zaca</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chan Zou</span> (students at the CSU Music Department).</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The troupe's program will be selected from the following (note that, other than the instrumental solos and vocal numbers, most dances will be accompanied by taped music):</span><br></div><div><span><br></span></div><div style="font-size: medium;"></div><div><span>1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ethnic Dances: Colorful China</span></span></div><div><span>We hail from different
ethnic groups</span></div><div><span>We enjoy gathering here on campus</span></div><div><span>We jubilate, we rejoice</span></div><div><span>As we know art connects us. </span></div><div><span>Today with our diverse performances, we’d like to offer you our best wishes.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>China is a multi-ethnic country. For thousands of years, 56 ethnic groups live together harmoniously in this “big Chinese family”. Now you will enjoy dances from Mongolian, Tibetan, Tujia, Dai, and Uygur ethnic groups. The authentic ethnic dances will make you get a glimpse of the charming long-standing and magnificent culture of the minority ethnic groups in China.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dombra solo (Kazakh ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>The dombra, a plucked lute with two strings, is one of the most commonly used traditional musical
instruments of the Kazakhs in Xinjiang, China. It has a slender long neck with fourteen gut frets and two gut strings. With the plain and light structure, dombra enjoys great popularity among Kazakh people because it can convey the unique qualities of the grassland music by telling the stories of the local people, their vicissitudes of life, their joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dance “Come on, come on” (Uygur ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>Youth on fire, </span></div><div><span>Girl on fire, </span></div><div><span>Throw your veil of bashfulness away.</span></div><div><span>Fly your long passionate braids. </span></div><div><span>Come on! Come on! my dear friends.</span></div><div><span>Let’s dance our youth, dance our highland.</span></div><div><span>Come on! Come on!</span></div><div><span>On the basis of keeping
the traditional Uygur dance style, this dance highlights several different movements of hip such as sway, twist, and strain, which shows an interesting mixture of tradition and modernity. You will be impressed by the vitality and vibrancy of the Uygur young people when they are pursuing their dream with full passion in their life. </span></div><div><span> </span></div><div><span>4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martial arts performance</span></span><br></div><div><span>Chinese martial arts, extensive and profound, are considered as “the quintessence of the Chinese culture”. Having developed as an exercise and self-defensive method over centuries in China, it emphasizes “trains both internal and external”. It not only includes physical exercises, but also is inspired by Chinese philosophies on its training method. It trains you to achieve the balance both inside the individual and between human and nature. This performance,
mixing martial arts with dance, will show you two famous schools, Taiji and Shaolin, which enjoys the same popularity in China but have quite different style. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) solo: “Thousands of horses galloping ahead” (The Mongolian ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>The morin khuur is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. In Mandarin Chinese, it is called “Matouqin”, which means the horse head string instrument. This name is given because its top is carved into the form of a horse's head. It is considered a symbol of the Mongolian ethnic group as it is the most typical and important musical instruments. The morin khuur is one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity identified by UNESCO. It produces a sound which is poetically described as expansive and unrestrained, like a wild
horse neighing, or like a breeze in the grasslands. The melody of morin khurr is said to be more expressive than a poem or a painting. Close your eyes when the music starts, and you will see thousands of hourses galloping ahead in the vastness grassland. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Tibetan dance: “The Clouds”</span><br></div><div><span>In the dawn, smoke is rising and the smell of milk is wafting from the meadow. On the vastness grassland, the Kangba fellows on the horses, and the Anduo maidens in front of the yurts are like the puffy clouds in the sky. This dance will show you the original ethnic customs of the local people on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>7. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Duet</span> </span><br></div><div><span>(1) Huangsijie (The Fourth Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Huang) </span></div><div><span>In Tujia
ethnic group, if a baby is newly born, all the friends and relatives will come to congratulate the new father and mother. People are invited to have a Zhumi feast. With a straw hat on the head, some layer of soot on the face, a cattail leaf fan or a besom in the hand, people sing and dance together. The duet Huangsijie is Tujia people’s traditional repertoire in the Zhumi feast. </span></div><div><span>(2) The Ballad of the Dragon Boat</span></div><div><span>The ballad of the Dragon-boat describes a lively picture that a vivacious and pretty young woman asks a boatman to ferry her across the river on her way to visit her parents. With its simple and plain lyrics and rhythmic melody, this song was rewarded by UNESCO in the 1980’s as one of the 25 best folk songs in the world.</span></div><div><br></div><div><span>8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Solo dance: “Dragon Bowl Dance” (Mongolian ethnic
group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>The vast steppe, the Mogolian yurt, the flocks and herds,</span></div><div><span>So fragrant is the kumiss in the dragon bowl in Erji’s (mum’s) hands,</span></div><div><span>So smart is the Erji’s (mum’s) fingers dancing and making the ghee. </span></div><div><span>Dragon bowl, with flying dragon carved on it, is the favorite tableware of Mongolian people as it symbolizes good luck and prosperity. You will be impressed by the dancer’s tightly holding the bowl in her hand throughout the performance. The pretty Mogolian girl is holding the bowl in front of her as holding a bowl of fragrant milktea, and sometimes above the head as holding a bowl of kumiss. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>9. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dance: “Maogusi” (Tujia ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>"Maogusi" is an old form of dance popular among the Tujia people living the
west of Hunan province of China. It is performed to remember their ancestors' achievements in cultivation, halieutics and hunting. "Maogusi" means "Hunters covered with hair" in Tujia language. Tujia people cover themselves with couch grasses and perform "Maogusi" dance at the festivals such as wish redeeming and ancestor worshiping. "Maogusi" is a kind of original dramatic dance with personae, dialogues and simple plot. Its unique dance has attracted attentions of both domestic and foreign dancing artists and is praised as the living fossil of the history of the Tujia ethnic group. "Maogusi" was on the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2006.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>10. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sichuan opera: “Changing Face”</span></span><br></div><div><span>Changing face is a stunt used to shape characters in Sichuan opera. It reveals what the character think and how he/she feels by
changing the masks on actor’s face. This acting method is some kind of romantic as it shows the abstract feeling and psychological state with the very tangible masks. It is said that the antient Sichuan people drew different patterns on their face or masks for the first time because the changing faces can scare the invading wild animals. The most fantastic moment is that as many as 14 faces can be changed in an instant. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>11. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dance: “Tanggula Wind” (Tibetan ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>Created on the basis of typical dance movement in Anduo Tibetan area, the dance have the refreshing style, the modern ryhthm, and the popular folksong mixed. It shows us a sketch of modern Tibetan people’s mental outlook, so vigorous and so thriving. </span></div><div><span> </span></div><div><span>12. <span style="font-weight:
bold;">Dance: “Young Fellows, Four-String Instrument, and Rhododendron Delavayi” (Yi ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>The dance shows how young fellows of Yi ethnic group pay court to their cherished girls in a grand gathering. The style is humorous, lighthearted, bright and lively. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>13. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hulusi (gourd triple reed pipe) solo (Dai ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>With a sweet, mellow and pure tone, the hulusi, a free reed wind instrument, shows a typical Dai style. It is held vertically and has three bamboo pipes which pass through a gourd wind chest; the center pipe has finger holes and the outer two are typically drone pipes. Dai people in Yunnan province are very good at singing and dancing. If you visit them in the local festval, you will hear the wonderful tune of hulusi everywhere, in the dragonboat,by the river, at the
plazza, or in the bamboo houses.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>14. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dance: “Tujia Young Fellow and Miao Maiden” (Tujia ethnic group)</span></span><br></div><div><span>The dance tells a story of a young Tujia fellow paying court to a Miao girl, presenting a picture of ethnic unity of Tujia people and Miao people. You will find the typical dance elements of Tujia and Miao mixed subtly in this dance such as Tujia’s Waving-hand and Miao’s shaking shoulders. </span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>15. </span><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dance: Hand-Waving Dance (Tujia ethnic group) and Guozhuang Dance (Tibetan ethnic group); interaction with the audience</span><br></div><div><span>In the Tibetan language, "Guozhuang dance" means "singing and dancing in a circle". It is one of the three major Tibetan folk dances popular in Tibet and places like Yunnan, Qinghai and
Gansu where Tibetans live. In the dance, men and women of an equal number form a circle with one person acting as the leading dancer. The dance involves repeated musical dialogues in antiphonal style between male and female dancers, without any accompaniment of musical instruments. The Guozhuang dance is rich in content and flexible in steps. The Guozhuang dance is a joyous dance. Whenever there are festivals or happy events, people of all ages will merrily join the dance.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div><span>The Hand-Waving Dance, also called the Shebari in the Tujia language, is a traditional ancient dance used in sacrificial rituals of the Tujia ethnic group.The dance, usually performed on level ground, can be classified into grand baishou and small-scale baishou. This dance, now with its seventy ritual gestures that represent rituals, war, hunting, farming and other aspects of life, is popular at the New Year Festival and other
festive occasions and has become a recreational dance of the Tujia people. Though simple and rough, it looks beautiful and has an impressive primitive style. It expresses the origin, immigration and historic events of the Tujia ethnic group. It was on the first list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.</span></div></div></body></html>