Cirque Peking: National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China coming to IUP, November 11.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania announced on Monday it will host Cirque Peking: National Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China on November 11.

Direct from Beijing, the National Circus and Acrobats of the People’s Republic of China have been thrilling audiences of all ages for over 60 years with their spectacular stunts. Colorfully costumed acrobats and contortionists defy gravity with their jaw-dropping, nail-biting acts.

Founded in 1951, this touring group of acrobatic perfection has been one of the most acclaimed troupes in China. Over several generation, the Company has developed many unique acts like “Global Motorcycling,” “Russian Bars In Chinese Traditional Style,” “Diving Through Moving Hoops,” and “Aerial Bungee Tumblings.” These acts and many others have been enjoyed and praised by Chinese and foreign audiences for decades. Since its inception, there have been more than 200 artists of the Company who have won the gold and silver awards at international and national acrobatic competitions and circus festivals.

The show will be held in Fisher Auditorium (campus map) and will begin at 7:00 pm. Tickets are available online for between $18 and $40.

"Constructing Chinese Cosmpolitanism: Southeast Asia, Overseas Chinese, and Xiamen, 1842-1937" at Pitt, October 10.

A photo of 19th-century Xianmen, from a flyer for this talk last year.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present "Constructing Chinese Cosmpolitanism: Southeast Asia, Overseas Chinese, and Xiamen, 1842-1937", a lecture by its Associate Director Dr. James Cook, on October 10. The abstract:

Located on China’s southeast coast, the city of Xiamen had long stood as one of the poles of the Overseas Chinese universe; local merchants had already established a well-defined trading network as early as the 13th century, and over 2 million people departed from the city for Southeast Asia over the course of the 19th century. The global scope of Xiamen’s merchants and their trading networks, the people’s historical roots in diaspora and international commerce, and the distinctive nature of overseas “Chineseness” combined to produce a new narrative of community and development. In many ways Xiamen’s Overseas Chinese became “bridges to modernity” that moved into and out of China. Time abroad within the modernizing confines of colonial Southeast Asia led many returned-émigrés to feel that they alone understood the process of modernization and how to create a truly Chinese modernity. Ultimately their new discourse of modernization was constructed around the commercial wealth of overseas Chinese merchant life, integrated with a revamped Confucianism and a newly discovered historical tradition.

The presentation will be held from 4:00 to 5:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).

"Asian Studies Forum: Who Speaks For Hong Kong?" at Pitt, October 9.

The Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh will host "Asian Studies Forum: Who Speaks For Hong Kong?" on October 9. From the Facebook event page:

Please join us for a panel discussion and open forum on the current student protests over elections in Hong Kong. After brief presentations, we hope you will join us and add your views to the discussion.

Presenters:

“Chinese Protest Movements in Historical Perspective” - David Luesink (Department of History)

“Disequilibrium: The institutional failure of “one-country two systems” - Pierre Landry (Department of Political Science)

“Perspectives on Hong Kong” - Nicole Constable (Department of Anthropology), Hei Ting Wong (Graduate Student, Ethnomusicology)

The talk will run from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).

Nordy's Got Seoul at Pitt, October 10.

The Korean Culture Association will host "Nordy's Got Seoul" on Saturday, October 10, in the William Pitt Union. From the Facebook event page:

Hello fellow friends! Take a break from studying and come join KCA at Nordy's place in the William pitt union! There will be plenty of different korean games to play and korean snacks to eat (including everyones favorite...RAMEN). There will also be PING PONG, Karaoke and pool! It'll be a great time to take some time off and unwind! Hope to see you there :)

Nordy's Place is on the ground floor of the Union, and the event will run from 10:00 pm until 1:00 am.

Chinese Nationality Room at Pitt turns 75 today.

The Chinese Nationality Room in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning turns 75 today. The room was dedicated on October 6, 1939, and the photograph above is from the University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs Collection.

A City of Asylum house on Sampsonia Way (map), North Side. More information about "House Poem" from City of Asylum.

Japanese tea ceremony demonstrations in western PA on October 9, 11, 18.

There are several Japanese tea ceremony demonstrations scheduled for western Pennsylvania in October.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Japanese program will host Tea Culture in Japan ceremony on October 9. The cost is $1, and the 90-minute program consists of:

* Talk about modern Tea culture in Japan
* How to brew Sencha (hands-on, they are going to bring 10 pots so teachers can try)
* Play songs about tea (Zui zui zukkorobashi, and Chatsumi)
* Tea farming (ppt)
* Chakabuki (tea tasting game). Taste five different kinds of tea and guess their names
* History of tea (including Chinese tea presentation)
* Baisa-ryu school Sencha Tea ceremony

Presenters Fumiyo Iwadachi and Ami Nishiyama are coming from Handa City near Nagoya, Japan. Nishiyama also has a Chinese tea master license along with a Baisa-ryu school Sencha license. She will perform Chinese tea ceremony when they talk about the history of tea.

The program runs from 10:20 am to 11:50 am in the HUB's Monongahela Room (campus map). Reservations can be made by emailing Dr. Yong-Taek Kim yt.kim at iup.edu.

The Japan America Society of Pennsylvania is presenting two Tea Culture in Japan presentations in the Pittsburgh area on October 11. The first is from 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm at the Way Wellness Center in Fox Chapel (map). The second is from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm at Mookshi Wellness Center (map) in Regent Square. Registration is required for the events and can be done so at the JASP website. The cost is $10 for JASP members and Japanese language teachers, and $20 for general admission.



The Maridon Museum in Butler (map) will also host a Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony on November 18 at 12:30 pm. The cost is $25, and reservations are required and can be made by calling 724-282-0123.

Nikki Lee at Carnegie Mellon University School of Art, October 14.

From "The Hispanic Project".

Carnegie Mellon University's School of Art will host Korean photographer and filmmaker Nikki Lee on October 14 as part of its Fall 2014 Art Lecture Series. The school profiles Lee:

She received a broad education at institutions including the Fashion Institute of Technology, Chung-Ang University, and New York University. Lee became known early for her “Projects” series, in which she insinuated herself into subcultural groups, working for two to three months to be accepted in each social group. The varied groups of people included seniors, Hispanics, swingers, yuppies, lesbians, and others. For each project, Lee changed what she wore, where she shopped, and how she presented herself. In her recent series “Parts,” Lee curates scenes of herself with a significant other showing intimate dynamics and details of a relationship, then physically cuts her partner out of each printed photograph.

More on Lee in a (now somewhat dated) 2007 KoreAm cover story.

The lecture starts at 5:00 pm in Kresge Theater (map), and is free and open to the public.

"Music and Dance of West Java: The Past, Present, and Future of Sundanese Performing Arts" at Pitt, October 11.

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Music will present "Music and Dance of West Java: The Past, Present, and Future of Sundanese Performing Arts" on October 11, to celebrate the new agreement between Pitt and a visiting Indonesian performing arts school.

Musicians and dancers from the Indonesian College of Performing Arts (STSI) in Bandung, Indonesia will present an evening of vocal music, instrumental music, and dance. The performers will explore a broad range of cultural expressions from the ancient aristocratic tembang Sunda Cianjuran (Sundanese vocal poetry accompanied by zither and flute) to the ebullient music of bamboo instruments and the popular jaipongan dance that thrilled audiences in the 1980s.

The performance starts at 8:00 pm in the Bellefield Hall auditorium (map) and is free and open to the public.

Yesterday, the university announced a Memorandum of Understanding between it and the Indonesian College of Performing Arts to be signed on October 10.

Department of Music Chair Andrew Weintraub, who has collaborated on projects with the Indonesian College for 30 years, says the partnership will bring about an exchange of students and creative artists and will enhance the exploration and understanding of Sundanese culture and performing arts, a core strength of Pitt's ethnomusicology program.

"Stronger relationships lead to better understanding of cultural diversity, and vice versa," he said. "A formal agreement between Pitt and the Indonesian College will facilitate better communication between the two schools. Our goal is to generate collaborative research projects, a student exchange at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and, eventually, the development of a Pitt in Indonesia study abroad program."

Chinese language and culture class in Fox Chapel resumes October 9.

The Thursday evening Chinese Language and Culture class at Fox Chapel Area High School (map) resumes October 9.

Whether for travel, business, or fun, join us and learn useful phrases and fascinating information about Chinese language, culture and holiday celebrations from an American who lived in Taiwan for 17 years. In this interactive class, practice simple dialogs and sample traditional Chinese snacks like moon cakes.

The class runs each Thursday from 7:00 to 8:00 pm through November 13. The cost is $24 for Fox Chapel residents and $29 for everyone else. Registration information is found online.