arts

• Spring Festival


  The beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, one of the most important festivals in China
• Spring Festival


  • Time for a family gathering, visiting relatives and friends
  • People eat jiaozi or dumplings shaped like a crescent moon on that special day
  • Dragon and Lion Dance are traditionally performed
• Double Fifth Festival


  An old tradition in China usually celebrated in June, occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the traditional Chinese calendar
• Peking Opera


  The most significant form of Chinese opera which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance, and acrobatics
• Peking Opera


  • Started in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century
  • Originally staged for the court and was only made available to the public later
  • Most of its stories come from Chinese history and legends
• Major roles in Peking Opera

  • Sheng - the main role
  • Dan - refers to any female role
  • Jing - a painted face male role, forceful character with strong voice
  • Chou - a male clown role
• Wayang Kulit


  A traditional form of a puppet-shadow play originally found in the cultures of Java, Bali, and Lombok in Indonesia
• Wayang Kulit


  • Features stories from literary classics like the Ramayana and Mahabharata
  • Performances are usually held at certain rituals like thanksgiving, cleansing children, celebrating birthdays, independence day, or other Indonesian Holidays
  • Other ceremonies would include mantenan a Javanese wedding ceremony and sunatan a circumcision ceremony
• Sapporo or Yuki-matsuri


  A festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over seven days in February
• Sapporo or Yuki-matsuri


  • Main sites are Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome
  • Japanese and artists gather to create ice sculptures and giant snow statues
  • Statues often depict Japanese cartoons or famous buildings around the world
• Kodo Taiko


  • A Japanese drumming festival
  • Kodo is a professional taiko drumming troupe based in Sado, Island, Japan
• Kodo


  Conveys two meanings: "Heartbeat" the primal source of all rhythms, and "Children of the drum" a reflection of Kodos desire to play their drums simply, with the heart of a child
• Taiko


  • A drum group that refers to any type of drum in Japan
  • The Taiko drummer is called "Uchite"
• Kabuki


  • A form of traditional Japanese drama with highly stylized song, mime, and dance, now performed only by male actors
  • 'Ka' for song, 'bu' for dance, and 'ki' for art/skills
  • The basic purposes of Kabuki are to entertain and to allow the actors to demonstrate their skills
  • It also maintains the historical tradition and preserves Kabuki as a theatrical form
• Yi Peng Festival


  A floating lantern festival celebrated nationwide in Thailand by releasing lotus shaped baskets onto water
• Loy Krathong


  Sky Lantern Festival celebrated on the same day alongside Loy Krathong in Thailand
• Songkran Festival


  • Celebrates New Year's Day in Thailand and also coincides with the New Year of many calendars of countries in South and Southeast Asia
  • It is the world's biggest water fight that begins in April
• Nang Yai


  • A form of large shadow puppet play found in Thailand
  • Puppets are made of painted buffalo hide, while the story is narrated by songs, chants, and music
  • Nang means 'leather' ('leather puppet' in this case), and in common usage refers to a dance-drama shadow puppet show