US premiere of Yabin Wang Dance's "Moon Opera," November 3 at Byham Theater.

Photo by Wang Ning, via Yabin Wang's Behance page.

Yabin Wang's "Moon Opera" will make its US premiere in Pittsburgh on November 3, as part of the city's International Festival of Firsts:

Yabin Wang is China’s superstar. One of the most promising and pioneering choreographers in contemporary dance in China, her work was commissioned by English National Ballet and was performed by the company at Sadler’s Wells for their prestigious She Said series. Westerns know her best for her incredible dance in the film House of Flying Daggers.

In her newest work, Moon Opera, she has collaborated with a multi-disciplinary team of award-winning designers and composers to unveil a dramatic modern-day story of an artist. Through the lens of Chinese culture, contemporary dance tells the story of a Peking Opera performer struggling between her dreams of artistic stardom and the harsh realities of maintaining her traditional role as a woman in society.

The Byham Theater is located at 101 6th Street in downtown's Cultural District (map).

"Cherry Blossoms, Traditions, Symbols, and Stories" at Pitt, October 30.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Ann McClellan and her talk "Cherry Blossoms, Traditions, Symbols, and Stories" on October 30.

Author Ann McClellan will explore the images and tales associated with the ethereal Japanese cherry blossoms. People have celebrated the blooming of these trees for more than 1000 years, and today they serve as instruments of diplomacy, as landscape enhancements, and as eternal signs of spring and romance.

Ann McClellan is the author of two definitive books about the Japanese cherry blossoms including the official book of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, DC.

The talk runs from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in 540 Cathedral of Learning (map) and is free and open to the public.

University of Pittsburgh hiring Chinese-speaking student to be Program Coordinator for Shougang Executive Education program visit.

The University of Pittsburgh is hiring a bilingual Mandarin-English student to be the Program Coordinator for the Shougang Executive Education program through the Katz Graduate School of Business.

The candidate will work closely with the Director of Operations to provide logistical support for the Shougang Executive Education program. The candidate will attend all academic sessions, all site visits and all meetings with the Shougang and WholeRen team. Where necessary, the candidate will provide verbal and written translation services.

Fluent in Mandarin and English (spoken and written). Experience in business. Must be able to attend all academic sessions and site visits. Must be able to work independently.

Crazy Rich Asians free at Pitt, November 2.

The Pitt Program Council and the Chinese American Student Association will present a free screening of Crazy Rich Asians on November 2.

Join Pitt Program Council and Chinese American Students Association in the WPU Assembly Room at 10:00 P.M. on Friday, November 2nd for a FREE screening of Crazy Rich Asians! We will be providing Asian-influenced snacks, and there’ll be a photo booth. Doors open at 9:15.

The event is free and open to Pitt undergraduates with a valid student ID.

"Somebody is Watching"—lecture on Koshikijima no Toshidon (甑島のトシドン)—at Pitt, November 5.

via satsumasendai.gr.jp

Pitt will host Dr. Michael Foster of UC-Davis and his talk on "Koshikijima no Toshidon (甑島のトシドン)" on November 5.

"Koshikijima no Toshidon" is a New Year's Eve ritual performed annually on the island of Shimo-Koshikijima off the southwest coast of Kagoshima Prefecture. During the event, men masked and costumed as frightening demon-deities enter individual households to "discipline" and "educate" young children. In 2009 the ritual was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This talk will introduce Toshidon with a focus on the way a structure of surveillance, of "seeing and being seen," informs the performance of the ritual and to a certain extent the everyday lives of the islanders. An understanding of the dynamic of this "optic imaginary" provides insight into broader questions of community, tourism, UNESCO, and the production of heritage in Japan and elsewhere.

The talk runs from noon to 1:30 pm in 602 Cathedral of Learning (map).

1934 Chinese silent film The Goddess (神女) at Pitt, November 15.

The University of Pittsburgh's Film and Media Studies Program will present the 1934 Chinese silent film The Goddess (神女) on November 15.

The November Pittsburgh Film and Media Colloquium will feature a screening of the Chinese silent film The Goddess (directed by Wu Yonggang, 1934). Released by the Lianhua Film Company (United Photoplay), the film stars Ruan Lingyu in one of her final roles. This will be a special presentation featuring pipa artist and composer Min Xiao-Fen and guitarist Rez Abbasi, two New York-based artists who have created a score to accompany the screening of the film. The film will be introduced by Kun Qian, Associate Professor of Chinese Literature and Film.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm in the Frick Fine Arts Auditorium (map).

"Storytime: Chinese and English" at Carnegie Library in Squirrel Hill, October 27.

The Squirrel Hill branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host its next "Storytime: Chinese and English" on October 27.

Celebrate our city’s diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in Chinese and English. For children birth-5 years and their caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am and is free and open to the public. The Carnegie Library branch in Squirrel Hill is located at 5801 Forbes Ave. (map), accessible by buses 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D, and 74.

Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) in Pittsburgh, October 28, 29, 30.

The 2001 Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し) will play in Pittsburgh as part of GKIDS Studio Ghibli Fest 2018 from October 28 through 30.

Authoritarian Governance of Auyghur Autonomous Region in China, October 23 at Pitt.

The Global Citizen Lab at Pitt will host Sarah Tynen and her talk "Authoritarian Governance of Uyghur Autonomous Region in China" on October 23. The talk by a University of Colorado Boulder PhD candidate

explores state territorialization practices as crucial components in shaping everyday life. In particular, it asks: How do citizens experience state bureaucratic power at the neighborhood level in their everyday lives? What is the role of community participation in garnering regime legitimacy? The research draws on 24 months of ethnographic and interview data in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China. The findings show that the conflict between state control and social membership revolves around the negotiation for territorial control, especially when it comes to struggle for power over minority bodies in nationalist space.

It runs from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map).

Paul Tran, "Search & Destroy: Building a New Language for Freedom," at Pitt, November 4.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Student Alliance will host Paul Tran and their talk "Search & Destroy: Building a New Language for Freedom" on November 4.

The Pitt Asian Students Alliance is proud to present our first speaker of the 2018-19 academic year: Paul Tran! Join us as Paul leads a workshop titled Search & Destroy: Building a New Language for Freedom.

Paul Tran (They/Them/Their) is a poet, poetry editor at The Offing Magazine, and 2018 recipient of a Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship. Their work has been featured in The New Yorker, Poetry Magazine, and numerous other outlets.

Join the discussion as they share their experiences of being part of the LGBTQIA+ community and the intersectionality with their Asian background! We hope to see you there!

The event runs from 5:00 to 7:00 pm in the William Pitt Union Lower Lounge (map).