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.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.
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.
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).
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.The talk will run from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).
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 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.
* Talk about modern Tea culture in JapanThe 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.
* 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.
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.
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.
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."
