Fun and Games
'Road to the Olympics' highlights Chinese culture
GLEN ELLYN -- An evening of dance, opera and martial arts last month let participants get a taste of Chinese culture and arts without having to go to China.
The two-hour performance was part of a symposium at the College of DuPage. The event, "China: Road to the Olympics 2008," featured talks on Chinese life, including the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing.
Courtesy of College of DuPage
Other presentations focused on Chinese economics, business, history and contemporary society.
Organized by COD's Asia Committee, the event was free and open to the public.
Participants also had a chance to view two photo exhibits on China's people and places.
"Each year we try to do a program featuring some aspect of Asia," said Victoria Fox, an Asia Committee member and business instructor who works in the college's information technology department.
"Because China is hosting its first Olympic games this year, we thought it would be appropriate to highlight China. We hope participants were enriched by the experience."
Several Chinese officials attended the event and presented gifts to the COD library.
The keynote speaker was John MacAloon, a University of Chicago sociology professor and academic associate dean, who spoke on Beijing's Olympic bid and the dynamics behind the Summer Games.
Other speakers talked about Western attitudes toward Chinese business and the challenges involved in a changing China.
There was an audiovisual presentation on China's road to the Olympics and a video about contemporary China called "Rise of the Dragon."
For many people, the high point of the symposium occurred during the April 23 evening arts program, which showcased a variety of Chinese performers.
Before the show began, passers-by watched women from the Skyland Chinese Opera Art Association and Yellow River Performing Arts apply pink and black theatrical makeup to their faces.
"The women are beautiful," said Wheaton resident Jane Sabatini, who came to COD that evening for the cultural activities.
Jane Wu, a history professor at COD, organized and hosted a program that featured Chinese fan and bamboo hat dancers, as well as opera singers, who performed scenes from various periods in Chinese history.
Musicians played the erhu, a two-stringed, bowed instrument, accompanied by a 24-stringed Chinese zither that engulfed listeners in exotic sounds from the Far East.
The audience also was treated to the acrobatics of two master monks from Shaolin Temple Martial Arts, who performed cartwheels and somersaults across the stage with effortless agility. And sword-wielding performers demonstrated other types of martial arts.
"The show was a real experience," Glen Ellyn resident Irene Pierce said after the performance. "... I always wanted to travel to China, but this evening China came to me."