The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, October 30, 1981, Image 20

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Dancing ‘Made in Taiwan’
A heritage of song,
self-defense and dance
By Mary Jo Rummel
Battalion Staff
About 600 people went on an
"Adventure in Chinese Songs
and Dance" Monday in Rudder
Auditorium as the Youth Good
will Mission from Taiwan per
formed martial arts and Chinese
songs and dance.
Part I of the show featured
demonstrations of Chinese box
ing, or martial arts. The Chinese
method of self-defense began by
imitating the flying and jumping
of animals. Different motions
represent different animals. The
group performed the "Mantis
Ch'uan," "Tiger Ch'uan," the
"Crane Ch'uan," the "Eagle
Ch'uan" and the "Snake
Ch'uan." The animals seemed
to come alive in the motions of
the dancers.
The only decorations on stage
were the ILS. and Taiwan flags
at the wings, signifying the goal
of the Mission — a gesture of
friendship between the nations.
The curtain opened to an
Oriental tapestry-covered
podium with a brass urn sitting
atop it. The members of the
group entered the stage indi
vidually, gracefully exhibiting
the flowing, meticulous boxing
motions.
During the Chinese classical
and folk dances, the stage was
bare, but the mood of the dances
was accented by lighting and
elaborate costuming. Red,
orange, blue and green lights
changed the stage to fit the
dance, expressing the excite
ment of the stories told in the
dances. Each dance told its own
story.
The traditional dances such as
"The Lass of Tribe Miao," "Love
Songs of Shin-Kiang," and the
"Love Songs Kang-Ting" told
the universal story of love and
the courting ritual.
In the third part, the dancers
presented "Taiwan the Beauti
ful," a dancing portrayal of the
everyday life of the Chinese
people — flying kites, farming
and celebrating the harvest.
The group ended their per
formance by singing several
popular Chinese and American
songs.
The dancers were not profes
sionals, but the audience could
tell that they enjoyed what they
were doing.
Most of the audience was
Oriental and thoroughly en
joyed the trip back to their na
tive land. But the rest of the au
dience did not need to speak
Chinese to understand the uni
versal language of music and
dance.
Photo by Dave Einsel
Kwan-JinLui, from the National Taiwan Political Science University perform a
University, and Chin Ko of the National Chinese love dance in Rudder Theater.
Aggie leads Taiwan dancers
By Mary Jo Rummel
Battalion Staff
"Once an Aggie always an
Aggie."
Wang, Chih-Kang, director of
the Youth Goodwill Mission
from Taiwan, the Republic of
China, received his Master's de
gree in 1975 and doctorate in
1978 from Texas A&M Universi
ty. Besides serving as director of
the tour, he is associate profes
sor of business at the National
Taiwan University, the largest
in the country.
Wang first heard about Texas
A&M from a friend. "I recom
mend Texas A&M to all my stu
dents who are interested in
studying in America," Wang
said. "I'm proud to be an
Aggie."
At the performance, Wang re
ceived a Texas A&M shirt and
Aggie wall hanging from the In
ternational Affairs Department
and Chinese Student Affairs.
Monday's performance in
Rudder Auditorium was the
twenty-first presented by the
group. The group finishes its
tour in El Paso at the end of the
week.
It was good to come back,
Wang said. "The tour is almost
over, but we saved the best for
last.
"The purpose of the Goodwill
Mission is to extend the war
mest friendship to the American
people through the youth of
Taiwan," he said.
The dancers are all college stu
dents in Taiwan, majoring in a
variety of fields.
Liao, Kuang-Hsin, a medical
student at China Medical Col
lege, never danced before com
peting for the Goodwill Mission
but has studied Kung-fu. Liao,
24, is the second-oldest member
of the group. He will study one
more year before interning in
Taiwan.
He described America as a
"rich country" and the Amer
ican people as "agressive and
hard-working."
Liao said he has enjoyed the
tour but is ready to go home.
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