East Meets West As CCM Dance Receives Chinese Visitors

CCM's Jiang Qi.

A group of 20 faculty members and students from China’s Shandong University at Weihai will visit CCM on Jan. 28, 2011, concluding in a celebration of the Chinese New Year at Corbett Auditorium in CCM Village at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. The visit was organized by the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Music Society, which is also a partner with CCM in the concert presentation of Turandot on the Chinese New Year.

The visiting group will include the Vice President of the University, the Dean and Associate Dean of the School of Fine Arts, 14 dance teachers and students and two music teachers. The schedule for the guests includes meetings with Santa Ono, University of Cincinnati Vice President and Provost, and Frank Weinstock, Interim Dean of CCM. Students from Shandong University at Weihei will be invited to participate in CCM Dance classes and meet current CCM Dance students, marking the beginning of a potential exchange program.

Associate Professor of Dance Jiang Qi helped organize the visit, based on his professional experience at Shandong University at Weihei. Since 2006, Qi has been teaching master classes at Shandong University at Weihai and has since been given the title of guest professor. Qi is enthusiastic about the visit and hopes this does indeed blossom into an exchange program between CCM and Shandong University at Weihai. “They thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to initiate the first cultural exchange program between Shandong University at Weihai and the dance program at the College-Conservatory of Music,” explains Qi. “It is our hope to create a global stage for faculty, staff and students.”

About Shandong University at Weihai

Shandong University at Weihai (SDUW) is an important component of Shandong University (Ji’nan). With formal approval from the Ministry of Education, this comprehensive university was jointly funded in 1984 by Shandong University and Weihai Municipal Government.

SDUW is an ideal place for both education and scientific research. During the past 20 years, SDUW has developed into a comprehensive university, composed of nine colleges (College of Commerce, College of Fine Arts, College of Information Science and Engineering, College of Journalism, College of Korean Studies, College of Law, College of Marine Studies, College of Translation and Interpretation Studies, College of Vocational Technology) and two departments (Department of Applied Mathematics, Department of Space Science and Applied Physics) offering 32 bachelor’s programs, 24 postgraduate programs and seven doctorate programs covering six fields of learning: literature, economics, law, science, engineering and management.

About Greater Cincinnati Chinese Music Society

Founded in 1994, the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Music Society is an independent, nonprofit organization.  Its mission is to promote Chinese culture through music and education and young Chinese artists. Since its inception, the society has presented a series of cultural events in light of its mission such as the Chinese music concert in Memorial Hall in 1995, two galas in 1997 and 1998, and a New Year celebration at Union Terminal in 1999. Since 2002, the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Music Society has collaborated with CCM’s orchestras for its annual Chinese New Year concert.

To help accomplish its stated mission, the music society has also provided scholarships and grants to institutions and programs including CCM, the School for Creative and Performing Arts, the Cincinnati Youth Orchestra, local Chinese schools and the Chinese Language Program at Northern Kentucky University. The Greater Cincinnati Chinese Music Society is a sponsor of CCM’s Turandot and a host to the concert’s guest artists.