The Confucius Institute at ASU joins hands with the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles to host the “Arizona-China Culture Day”

The Confucius Institute at ASU joins hands with the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles to host the “Arizona-China Culture Day” On the morning of September 24, 2016, local time, in order to promote...

On the morning of September 24, 2016, local time, in order to promote cultural exchanges between China and the United States and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University and the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles jointly held the 2016 "Arizona-China Culture Day" theatrical performance in the Old Main Carson Ballroom on the Tempe campus of Arizona State University. The National Orchestra of China Opera and Dance Theater from China, students from Arizona State University and students from the Confucius Classroom under the Confucius Institute presented a wonderful cultural feast to everyone.

Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles Liu Jian (fifth from left) and his wife Ms. Chen Xiaoling (fourth from left), Director of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University Dr. Robert Joe Cutter (seventh from left), Vice President Ms. Fannie Tam (second row, first from right), Arizona State Senator Ms. Kimberly Yee (first row, sixth from left), Tempe City Councilor Kolby Mr. Granville, Dr. George Justice, Dean of the Department of Humanities and Vice President for Knowledge Development in the College of Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, Julia Rosen, Managing Director of Global Launch, and Mr. Wei Yin Jiu, Director of the Chinese Opera and Dance Theater National Orchestra.

Consul General Liu Jian of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, Dr. Robert Joe Cutter, Director of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University, Ms. Fannie Tam, Vice President, Ms. Kimberly Yee, U.S. Senator of Arizona, Mr. John Lewis, Mayor of Gilbert, Kolby Granville, Tempe City Councilor, Dr. George Justice, Dean of the Department of Humanities and Vice President for Knowledge Development in the College of Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, and Julia, Managing Director of Global Launch Rosen and nearly 200 representatives from the Arizona overseas community attended.

The organizers of this performance: (left to right) Vice Dean Fannie Tam, Consul General Liu Jian, Dean Robert Joe Cutter, and Dr. George Justice, Dean of the Department of Humanities.

> Dr. Robert Joe Cutter, Director of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University, and Liu Jian, Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, delivered opening remarks for the performance. Dean Cutter introduced today’s guests in Chinese and English and the progress and achievements of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University in Chinese education in recent years. Consul General Liu Jian first thanked all walks of life in Arizona for their strong support for this event and cultural exchanges between China and the United States, and affirmed the contribution of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University in promoting Chinese teaching and promoting cultural exchanges between China and the United States. In his speech, Consul General Liu Jian reviewed China's remarkable economic progress in recent years and was full of hope for the prospects of Sino-US bilateral trade and investment. He said that economic and trade exchanges between China and the United States can connect the two peoples and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.

Dr. Robert Joe Cutter, Director of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University, Dr. George Justice, Dean of the Humanities Department of the College of Arts and Sciences and Vice Chairman of the Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development, and Mr. John Lewis, Mayor of Gilbert, had a cordial conversation.

Ms. Kimberly Yee, Chinese-American Senator of Arizona, also gave a wonderful speech for this cultural performance. As it is the Mid-Autumn Festival, Senator Yee told everyone about her memories of the Mid-Autumn Festival and told everyone that her favorite is black bean paste mooncakes. In addition, as the only Asian senator in Arizona, she also shared her family’s experience of immigrating to the United States from China and realizing their American dream through hard work.

The fierce and majestic ancient song "Overlord Disarms" kicked off the performance. The hosts of this performance are Wang Jin and Jonny Dangerfield, cultural officers of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, who graduated from the Chinese Language Navigation Program at Arizona State University and won the championship in the "Chinese Bridge" Southwest Division Competition in the United States. The program of this performance was rich, colorful and exquisite. The programs from China and the United States were perfectly unified, creating a harmonious and happy atmosphere.

> Lusheng solo "Train Enters Dong Township"

Among them, artists from the National Orchestra of China Opera and Dance Drama Theater have come up with their own unique skills, whether they are depicting people's joy and yearning for happiness when the train enters Dong Township. Whether it is the reed solo "The Train Enters the Dong Country", which is a happy life, or the Chinese and Western, rough and funny guzheng and cello "Fishing Boat Sings Evening", or the powerful and passionate Jinghu and band "Deep Night", the wonderful performances of the artists showed China's 5,000-year-old profound cultural and artistic heritage to Chinese and American audiences. The audience listened to these strange but soul-stirring traditional music from a foreign land with fascination, and could not get back to their senses for a long time.

>Students from the Confucius Classroom at Tawater Elementary School under the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University sang "Quiet Night Thoughts" and "It's a Small World"

Emrie Tomaiko, a graduate of the Chinese Language Navigation Program of the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University, sang "The Drunken Princess" solo.

Students from the Confucius Classroom at Tawater Elementary School under the Confucius Institute at Arizona State University performed two wonderful choruses, "Silent Night Thoughts" and "It's a Small World." The children were dressed in traditional Chinese costumes and sang every lyric steadily and accurately, which was well received by the audience. And when Emrie Tomaiko from Arizona State University wore a red cheongsam and sang the first line of "The New Drunken Princess", the audience was either so shocked that they couldn't close their mouths, or they cheered loudly. Tomaiko fell deeply in love with Peking Opera when she studied abroad at Nanjing University for a year and began to learn to sing Peking Opera. Her penetrating and powerful singing voice brilliantly interpreted the drunken concubine's charming appearance, and her slight smile pushed the atmosphere of the scene to a climax.

The performance came to an end with the warm and joyful song "Happy Flowers and Full Moon". The audience was still immersed in the wonderful music and still had more to say. They unanimously expressed that today’s performance was very exciting and hoped to have more opportunities to participate in Sino-US cultural exchange and interactive activities hosted by the Confucius Institute in the future. At this performance, an exhibition of 60 excellent "2016 Chinese Stories" photography works was also held.

Consul General Liu Jian, his wife and his son introduced the contents of the "2016 China Story" photo exhibition to State Senator Yu Yanfen