November 10, 2009
Champion Learning Speaker Series featuring Dr. Yong Zhao
Dexter Community Schools present the Champion Learning Speaker Series
featuring
Dr. Yong Zhao
University Distinguished Professor at the College of Education, Michigan State University
6:30pm, Thursday November 12, 2009
Dexter High School, 2200 N. Parker Road
Dexter, MI 48130
Dr. Zhao serves as the founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology, executive director of the Confucius Institute, as well as the US-China Center for Research on Educational Excellence. He is a fellow of the International Academy for Education. His areas of research are in global education, world languages, and educational technology, including computer gaming and education, diffusion of innovations, teacher adoption of technology, computer-assisted language learning, and globalization and education. For more information on Dr. Zhao, please visit his website here.
This event is open and free to the public. For more information, please contact Dexter High School at (734) 424-4240.
Posted by zzhu at 04:14 PM
September 29, 2009
2009 Pan Asian Buddhist Film Festival
Posted by zzhu at 03:05 PM
The Seventh Annual Taiwanese Music Festival Honors Concert
Please click on poster for additional information.
Posted by zzhu at 02:29 PM
September 28, 2009
Notes from Carol Stepanchuk, CCS Outreach Coordinator
PARTY TIME
It's that time again—to prepare for the annual Moon Festival, 15th day of the 8th lunar month; for those on the solar calendar, Oct. 3rd. Grab a friend, gaze at the moon and break into a box of moon cakes—remember to savor in small bites.
http://books.google.com (search "The Mid-Autumn Festival focuses")
Lunar Retrospective: Two years ago almost to the day, China launched its first lunar orbiter, named after the goddess of the moon—Chang E. This legendary being didn't just sit around—as a mortal, she, too, was "launched" from the earth after swallowing the elixir of immortality and rising to the starry heavens.
RESOURCES
An annotated web directory to museums and arts-related organizations on China and Asia plus sites for blogging and browsing on China—current events, culture and global connections—is available by going to the CCS outreach website; http://ii.umich.edu/ccs/resources/outreach "Website Directory"
MUSIC
The 7th Annual Taiwanese Music Festival, an evening of Taiwanese music by local young musicians; guest violinist Shih-Peng Chang and composer Diau-Hua Lim.
Saturday, Oct., 17, 7:00 pm, Greenhills School, 850 Greenhills Drive, Ann Arbor, 48105
Contact tmf@MiTai.org
DO IT IN ONE MINUTE!
Call for one-minute videos of life in Detroit for a web-based gallery www.theoneminutes.org featured at the World Expo of Shanghai in 2010. Detroit is one of 50 cities around the globe to have been selected for “city portraits.” Contact artist in charge Kathrin Schlegel, schlegel_k@gmx.de; deadline Oct. 1.
To follow life in Beijing (or any other city around the world) for 24 hours, each hour represented by a one-minute video, see http://cityoneminutes.org
Posted by zzhu at 10:00 AM
August 07, 2009
Mary Gallagher to give talk at Charlevoix Public Library, 2PM, Saturday, 08/08/2009
Speaker: Mary Gallagher, Director of the Center for Chinese Studies and Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
Reception immediately following the presentation.
Reservations required: 231.237.7340
This talk will examine the domestic and international challenges of China’s dramatic economic growth over the past quarter century. Mary Gallagher will examine the ecological, economic, and political demands that China faces in the near term.
For additional information and directions, please visit the Charlevoix Public Library Web site.
Posted by zzhu at 04:48 PM
June 04, 2009
Chinese Summer Camp - Free to Students Grades 9-12
Please note that as of June 15, 2009, application deadline has been extended to June 24, and that graduating high school seniors are now welcome to apply.
General Information:
The WSU China Corps Summer Camp is a three-week Chinese language and culture enrichment program for high school students in Southeast Michigan. Classes and activities will involve Chinese language instruction and cultural activities ranging from tai chi and ping pong to calligraphy and paper folding. The program, which will run this year from August 3 – August 21, brings high school students with one to three years of Chinese instruction together with Chinese language teachers to share in the teaching and learning of Chinese language and culture in a university setting.
Students accepted into the program receive:
* lunch every Thursday
* school supplies
* bus tickets if requested
* a China Corps t-shirt
* access to WSU facilities such as libraries and language labs
Schedule:
Students in the program are expected to attend on time and fully all program days from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Monday through Friday, from August 3-21.
Eligibility:
Students must:
1. be entering the 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grade in the Fall, 2009
2. be currently enrolled in a southeast Michigan school
3. have finished 1-4 years of Chinese language instruction (we do not recommend this program for heritage speakers)
4. be committed to the goal of learning to speak, read, and write Chinese and willing to work hard to achieve that goal
5. be willing and able to exercise behavior appropriate to a University program.
Tuition:
Tuition is free to all students, thanks to funding from Wayne State University and Hanban: Chinese Language Council International, and the contributions of foundations, corporations and individuals.
How to Apply:
Students should mail completed applications to:
The WSU China Corps Summer Camp
Confucius Institute
Wayne State University
5057 Woodward, Suite 11204
Detroit, MI 48202
Applications may also be dropped off at: Wayne State University
5057 Woodward, Suite 11204
A map of Wayne State and parking information are available at www.mathcorps.org.
*Faxes will not be accepted.
**NOTE: Schools or teachers may submit their students’ applications as a group.
Application Deadline:
Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15 or until all spots are filled.
Selected students will be notified by Tuesday, June 30.
Information:
For additional information, contact Dr. John Brender, Director of the Wayne State University Confucius Institute, at 313-577-3035 or visit our website at www.clas.wayne.edu/ci
RULES AND REGULATIONS
The WSU China Corps stands on the belief that all children have a unique and special greatness within them, and that through hard work, a commitment to excellence, and a dedication to learning – combined with the support of a caring community – this greatness can be realized.
In keeping with the China Corps’ determination to help each and every one of its students find his or her own particular greatness, we ask that the following rules and regulations be observed:
1. All students are expected to attend the program every day, in accordance with the program schedule. An absence caused by illness, family emergency, or other unexpected and/or unavoidable event may be excused, if prompt notification of the circumstances is given to the Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator has sole authority for deciding whether any absence should be excused or not. In any case, no matter what the reason, no more than three (3) absences will be excused. Family vacations, reunions, and other similar outings conflict with the program’s goals, and so will not be seen as reasons to excuse an absence. Any unexcused absence is grounds for dismissal.
2. All students must be on time every day. An incident of lateness caused by an unexpected and/or unavoidable event may be excused, if prompt notification of the circumstances is given to the Program Coordinator. The Program Coordinator has sole authority for deciding whether any lateness should be excused or not. Any unexcused lateness is grounds for dismissal.
3. All homework assignments are expected to be completed and turned in on time.
4. Failure to complete assignments as required is grounds for dismissal.
5. All participants are to treat each other with respect and courtesy and are to maintain proper behavior at all times, consistent with being part of a university program. Behavior that fails to meet the standards of the WSU China Corps is grounds for dismissal.
Posted by zzhu at 10:39 AM
March 05, 2009
Silk Road Week, March 9-14, 2009
LECTURE: Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road
Monday, March 9, 7:00 p.m - 8:15 p.m.
School of Social Work, International Institute, Room 1636, First Floor, 1080 S. University
Free and open to the public.
ARTS AND EATS
Friday, Mar 13, 6:30 p.m - 7:30 p.m.
U-M Alumni Center
Arts and Eats combines two things you can't live without -- great music and free pizza -- all in one night. U-M students can get great seats to a UMS event for $15 (at least a 60% savings!) and a pizza dinner before the concert, along with a 10-minute talk by a seasoned expert about the evening's performance.
Tickets go on sale approximately two weeks before the concert.
Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma Concert
Professor Joseph Lam, Musicology, will provide insights to music along the Silk Road.
THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE: Yo-Yo Ma, Artistic Director
Friday, March 13, 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 14, 8:00 p.m.
Hill Auditorium, 825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor
Yo-Yo Ma is part modern Marco Polo, an explorer of cultures far beyond his own; part musical missionary, eager to share ideas and make vital connections between peoples. (Chicago Tribune) Founded by Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, the Silk Road Project has been a catalyst for a new kind of conversation, opening avenues of inter-cultural communication and collaborative thinking. For about 2,000 years the Silk Road was the main conduit for the spread and exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and culture, connecting people from Asia to the Mediterranean. The collective is drawn from internationally renowned musicians interested in exploring the relationships between tradition and innovation in music from the East and West.
Jeff Beecher, bass ; Nicholas Cords, viola; Sandeep Das, table; Jonathan Gandelsman, violin; Joseph Gramley, percussion; Rauf Islamov, kamancheh; Colin Jacobsen, violin; Yo-Yo Ma, cello; Ali Asgar Mammadov, tar; Alim Qasimov, vocalist; Fargana Qasimova, vocalist; Shane Shanahan, percussion; Mark Suter, percussion; Kojiro Umezaki, shakuhachi; Wu Man, pipa; Wu Tong, sheng; Alastair Willis, conductor
Program
Friday, March 13
• Gabriela Lena Frank : Ritmos Anchinos; Evan Ziporyn : Sulvasutra; Sapo Perapaskero, arr. Golijov/Ljova : Turceasca; Alim Qasimov : Layla & Majnun
Saturday, March 14
• Kim/Umezaki/Tong : Wandering Winds; Kayhan Kalhor, arr. Ljova : Mountains are Far Away; Zhao Jiping : Sacred Cloud Music; Shane Shananhan : Saidi Swing; Rabih Abou-Khalil : Arabian Waltz; Angel Lam : Empty Mountain, Spirit Rain; Dmitry Yanov-Yanovsky : Paths of Parables; Colin Jacobsen : Ascending Bird
Main Floor $100 • $90 • $76 • $48 Mezzanine $80 • $70 • $10 Balcony $56 • $48 • $30 • $10
EXHIBIT: Stearns Collection of Silk Road Instruments
Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14, 6:45 p.m -8:00 p.m.
Hill Auditorium Mezzanine Lobby, 825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor
The U-M Stearns Collection will assemble and host a variety of historic instruments found on the Silk Road in the lobby of Hill Auditorium prior to the performances of The Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma. You must have a ticket to the performance to attend.
A collaboration with the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments
For more information, contact the UMS Education Department at 734.647.6712 or umsed@umich.edu.
MASTER CLASS with Silk Road Members: “Creating a Life with Music”
Saturday, March 14, 11:00 a.m.
Hill Auditorium, 825 North University Avenue, Ann Arbor
Yo-Yo Ma and members of The Silk Road Ensemble conduct a multi-instrumental master class with local university and high school student ensembles. Open to the public for observation.
A collaboration with the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
For more information, contact the UMS Education Department at 734.647.6712 or umsed@umich.edu.
Posted by zzhu at 09:56 PM
February 26, 2009
Famed kunqu actress to give presentation in Ann Arbor Public Library
2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 14
Downtown Library Multi-Purpose Room
Zhang Xunpeng
Kunqu (pronounced kwin chu) is one of the oldest and most refined styles of traditional Chinese theatre performed today. It is a synthesis of drama, opera, ballet, poetry recital, and musical recital, which also draws on earlier forms of Chinese theatrical performances such as mime, farce, acrobatics, ballad recital, and medley, some of which go back to the third century B.C. or even earlier.
On Saturday, March 14, acclaimed Chinese Actress Zhang Xunpeng will make a special appearance in the Downtown Library Multipurpose Room from 2:00 to 3:30 pm to discuss and demonstrate this ancient theatrical performance art. The event was organized with the help of the University of Michigan Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments.
In a Kunqu performance, recitative is interspersed with arias sung to traditional melodies. Each word or phrase is also expressed by a stylized movement or gesture that is essentially part of a dance, with strict rules of style and execution much like classical ballet.
Even casual gestures must be precisely executed and timed to coordinate with the music and percussion. The refinement of the movement is further enhanced with stylized costumes that also serve as simple props.
Zhang Xunpeng is currently the Professor in Charge of Training the Fifth Generation of Kunqu Performers, at the Shanghai Theater and Drama College, Division of Theater and is also Senior Actress of the Shanghai Kunqu Opera Troupe.
Her many honors include:
• National and Representative Successor and Educator of Kunqu, an Intangible Heritage of Chinese Art, appointed in 2008 by the Ministry of Culture (Wenhuabu) of the People’s Republic of China.
• National First Class Actress, appointed in 2001 by the Ministry of Culture (Wenhuabu) of the People’s Republic of China.
• Life Time Achievement Award for the Excellent Contribution to the Kunqu, granted in 2000 by the Ministry of Culture (Wenhuabu) of the People’s Republic of China.
She was also awarded a Golden Eagle Award for the Television Drama Peony Pavilion, in which she played the leading female role.
This is an excellent opportunity to meet one of the great theatrical artists of China, in addition to learning more about this ancient performance art.
Holding over 2500 pieces of historical and contemporary musical instruments from all over the world, the Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments (the co-sponsor of this event) is one of the largest accumulations of such artifacts housed in a North American university.
Known internationally as a unique collection, it is not only a precious heritage from the past, but also a rich resource for musical, educational, and cultural needs of the present and future.
The collection features permanent and occasional displays in the Vesta Mills Gallery and in various exhibition areas throughout the Earl V. Moore Building of the School of Music of the University of Michigan.
For more information on this event, call the Ann Arbor District Library at 327-4555. The Downtown Library is located at 343 S. Fifth Avenue in Ann Arbor.
Posted by zzhu at 08:57 AM
January 13, 2009
Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan Chinese New Year’s Celebration
You are cordially invited to attend:
Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan Chinese New Year’s Celebration
Saturday, January 24, 2009, 4pm
Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building
The Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan’s Chinese Lunar New Year’s Celebration will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2009, at Washtenaw Community College, Morris Lawrence Building, 4800 E. Huron River Drive, Ann Arbor. There will be children’s crafts (2:00-4:00), Children’s Performances (4:00-6:30), Chinese buffet dinner (6:30-8:00), and a Chinese Movie for kids (8:00-10:00pm). The children's performances are the highlight of the day and include a colorful lion dance; traditional Chinese orchestra; dangerous kung fu (martial arts) demonstration; spectacular Chinese Yo-Yo stunts; Chinese New Year’s stories, songs, rhymes, skits, films; and other traditional New Year’s festivities.
Tickets will be available in advance and at the door, $12 teens and adults, $6 children aged 4-11, kids 3 and under free. For more information check out www.aaccom.org. Email a2chinese@yahoo.com for advance ticket sales.
Chinese Lunar New Year’s Day will be on January 26 of this year. It signifies the beginning of spring and is celebrated by ethnic Chinese in many countries around the world. It is also celebrated by ethnic Taiwanese, Koreans (Sol), Vietnamese (Tet), Tibetans (Losar), and others; and it has become woven into the fabric of American culture. Every year is represented by one of 12 animal zodiac signs, and this will be the Year of the Ox.
The Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization whose mission is to provide an opportunity for any interested persons to learn about Chinese culture and language regardless of one’s race or cultural background, and to promote cultural diversity. Chinese classes are held once a week on Friday nights and are open to the public. For more information check out www.aaccom.org or email a2chinese@yahoo.com or phone 734-769-9068.
Dear Friends: If you plan to attend in an official capacity or need some personal assistance the day of the event, when you arrive, please ask for Frances Kai-Hwa Wang the Outreach Coordinator (although I may be on stage with my lion dancers); or Juh-Ching Yang, Principal; or any of our Board Members. We will be happy to find you seats in the front section with our VIPs, introduce you to our families, and help translate if necessary! Thank you for being a part of our community of supporters. Sincerely yours,
Frances Kai-Hwa Wang, Ann Arbor Chinese Center of Michigan Outreach Coordinator
Posted by zzhu at 10:27 AM
October 30, 2008
Lecture on Detroit's Chinatown
Event will be held at Schoolcraft College's McDowell Center in Livonia, Michigan.
Posted by zzhu at 03:51 PM
September 16, 2008
"What Should People Know About China" Speakers Wanted, Honorarium Available
Following the success of the CCS photo exhibit, consider spending an hour sharing experiences of China with regional high schools. An honorarium of $100 is available for individual speakers (includes travel).
The proposed panel would be scheduled in Plymouth/Canton for 2:30pm on any date that is convenient for speakers in October (TBD—flexible, based on availability). Teachers are looking for scholars, students or travelers who have lived in China to help students understand something about its history, culture, and present day issues. Contact Carol Stepanchuk, Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Chinese Studies cstep@umich.edu for more information or call 936-3961.
Posted by zzhu at 02:11 PM