Dragon Wind: Chinese Music, History, and Dance
September 21
Performances begin at 4pm | Free admission | reservation required
Chinese cuisine by Bo Lings of Kansas City | $20 per person
reservations are closed
“Dragon Wind” is the translation of “long juan feng,” the Chinese word for tornado, a recurring theme in Hong’s artwork.
Volland is celebrating the Year of the Dragon and Hong Chun Zhang’s exhibit,
Hair of the Dragon,
with an extraordinary experience devoted to Chinese culture: Chinese history and its relevance to Hong’s work, a musical performance on the Chinese Zither, a Chinese classical dance, a Dragon Dance from University of Kansas students, and authentic Chinese food from Bo Lings of Kansas City.
The event will begin at 4pm and will conclude after the performances and an early dinner of authentic Chinese cuisine. Families are welcome – don’t miss the Prairie Dragon in the field!
J O H N J A M E S K E N N E D Y | C H I N E S E H I S T O R Y
A S I T R E L A T E S T O T H E W O R K O F H O N G C H U N Z H A N G
John James Kennedy
will speak about the relevance of Chinese history to the work of
Hong Chun Zhang
and her solo exhibit currently on display at Volland,
Hair of the Dragon. The dragon has been part of China’s history for thousands of years, and Kennedy will present on China’s history with the dragon and its relevance today. His presentation will inform the music and dance that follow his talk.
Kennedy chairs KU’s Political Science department. In his research and teaching, John is keenly interested in China’s political system, and specifically the stratification of Chinese Communist Party in relation to urban/rural dichotomies and local governance.
Hong Chun Zhang and John met during their shared time at the University of California, Davis. They now live in Lawrence.
John James Kennedy
W A N W A N C A I | S O L O D A N C E R
“Wanwan began dancing ballet and Chinese classical dance when she was five. She trained with the local art school for many years and continued with the arts group in college. During college and graduate school, she also performed with a Shaoxing opera company in Tianjin. Wanwan also teaches yoga at OmTree Shala and serves as the director and teacher of the Lawrence Jasmine dance group.”
–
courtesy of the Lawrence Arts Center’s website
S H A N G Y I L Y U | Z I T H E R P E R F O R M A N C E
Shangyi Lyu is an MA/PhD student in the East Asian art history program at the University of Kansas. Her research interests include premodern Chinese material culture, ink landscape painting, calligraphy, and Chinese collecting history. She began playing the Chinese zither (Guzheng) when she was ten. Before coming to KU, Lyu got her BA degree in Visual Communication Design and MA degree in Art History from Zhejiang University. During college, she was the events chair of the instrument department in the Student Art Troupe. As a Chinese literature enthusiast, she is interested in exploring the combination of Chinese classical poetry, landscape, and music.
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D R A G O N D A N C E
The Lion Dance group of University of Kansas students studying Chinese have graciously offered to spend time learning the dragon dance to share at Volland. The dance includes many of the traits of the dragon that John will speak about. Depicting the dragon through dance goes back to Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), a time of economic prosperity on the continent. Using rods to animate the fabric dragon, dancers work individually and collectively to create the sensation of movement.
C U I S I N E B Y B O L I N G S ( O F K A N S A S C I T Y )
Crab Rangoon
Egg Roll
General Tso’s Chicken
Mongolian Beef
Vegetable Fried Rice & Steamed White Rice
$20 per person
Dinner reservations required by September 16
