Asian Arts Festival

Click here for upcoming events in Spring 2004.

EVENTS FOR 2003-2004

CALLIGRAPHY, ETC.

Other events in the Asian Arts Festival are currently being planned.
Details will be announced in the future.

PUPPETRY

In the spring of 2004 Kathy Foley will be on campus for several days
to introduce the community to Indonesian puppetry. A Professor of
Theater Arts at UC-Santa Cruz, Foley is curator of "Asian Mosaic: Puppetry of
South and Southeast Asia." She was also an invited speaker at the Henson International
Puppetry Festival in New York. Among her recent performances was "Subali-Sugiwa,"
which she presented as a guest artist with the Cal Poly gamelan in San Luis Obispo.

ASIAN-STYLE WOOD-BURNING KILN

During one week in September Bill Van Gilder, an American studio potter, will build a wood-burning kiln
and give an evening slide lecture on Mengei, a philosophy of ceramic-making, and on his 2001
trip to Taiwan. Van Gilder is the third generation in the most influential movement
in Americain ceramics and did a cultural exchange in Taiwan where he studied
wood-kiln design. He is now one of a small number of people in the United States
who can build this type of kiln.

EVENTS FOR 2002-2003

ANIME: FILMS AND DISCUSSION
Co-sponsored by the Yachting Club

Two Japanese anime films -- Samurai X: Trust (Rurouni Kenshin) and Spirited Away
(Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi) -- were open to the Guilford and Greensboro communities
in March of 2003. Anime (pronounced ah-nee-meh) refers to Japanese animation
and is a highly distinctive style of animation, with lots of detail, intricate plots, and strong
emotions. Following each film the student Yachting Club led a lively discussion.

GAMELAN MUSIC

The Western Carolina University Gamelan Ensemble performed classical Indonesian music
at Guilford College in February 2003. Following an afternoon student workshop, a public
concert was held in the evening. A gamelan is an orchestra of tuned metal percussion instruments,
characteristic of Java, Bali, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian island cultures. The WCU gamelan
includes 14 student musicians and is under the direction of Will Peebles, Associate Professor of
Bassoon and Oboe. It is one of the few groups of its type in the state.

"The performance of the Javanese gamelan fits in nicely with our educational philosophy at Guilford,"
said Tim Lindeman, Associate Professor of Music at Guilford.
"We try to bring the students face-to-face with the actual music, rather than simply
experiencing it through books. In the past, the Music Department has brought
African drummers, Japanese koto and shakuhachi players as well as
performers of Indian music including sitar, sarod and tabla. We encourage
the community to come experience something that is truly different
from the classical music of the Western world."

BEIJING OPERA MAKE-UP WORKSHOP

The opening of Guilford College's Asian Arts Festival, a series of events to be
held from fall 2002 through spring 2006, featured Beijing Opera specialist
Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak from the University of Hawaii at Manoa
who visited the campus in September 2002.

A Professor of Theatre and Dof the Asian Theatre Program,
Wichmann-Walczak made two public presentations: a lecture on the music of Beijing Opera
and a video discussion on Chinese opera. In addition, she conducted a Beijing Opera
makeup workshop for Guilford College and New Garden Friends elementary students.

Beijing (or Peking) Opera has existed for over 200 years. It is widely
regarded as the highest expression of the Chinese culture and includes singing, dancing, gongfu,
music, arts and literature. Many Beijing Opera roles require painted faces, with
the colors of the faces representing different characters and personalities.