CLC dance, theater students give preview before China tour
Six College of Lake County theater and dance students who will travel to China later this month will present excerpts from American theater, musicals and dance at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, in the Studio Theatre at the James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts on the CLC Grayslake Campus, 19351 W. Washington St.
The showcase will preview the presentations that the students and two faculty members will make during their 13-day tour of China. The theater student performers are Liz Hernandez of Zion, Olivia Love-Hatlestad of Grayslake and Cody Summers of Lindenhurst. The dance students are Nelson C. Arizmendi of Waukegan, Josa Comstock of Spring Grove and Anna Erdman of Lakemoor.
The faculty presenters are Craig Rich (theater) and Therese Crews (dance). Political science professor Dr. Timothy Murphy will attend as grant manager, and Dr. Jenny Staben, faculty director of the CLC Writing Center, will give English workshops at the Chinese universities. Dr. Li-hua Yu, sociology professor emeritus and former director of the CLC Center for International Education, was project consultant and will serve as interpreter.
Theater students will chart the evolution of the American musical from early 20th century to the present and demonstrate how each shift in style and form reflects a shift in U.S. culture and society. Dance and theater students will perform selections from the American musical theater canon, including "Anything Goes," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "Chicago," "Singin' in the Rain" and "Rent."
The dance presentation will explore various American dance forms of the past and present and demonstrate how each dance reflects the people, attitudes and society of the time. Dance students will perform cultural dances from the 1920s to today, including the Charleston, swing, tap, hip-hop and more.
The CLC delegation will present and perform May 24 at Xi'an International University, May 27 at Henan Normal University, May 28 at Xinlian College and May 31 at Tianjin University of Sports. The group will also visit cultural and historic landmarks in the three cities, including visits to the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing and the Terra Cotta Warriors.
The trip is sponsored by a U.S. Department of State American Cultural Centers grant. The college has sent other grant-funded groups of faculty and staff to present at the American Culture Centers in the past, including theater and dance in 2015, art faculty in 2014 and a student choir in 2013.
"This whole process has been about giving our students the opportunity to experience, firsthand, the fascinating history, culture and people of China," said Craig Rich, theater department co-chair. "Our theater and dance students are so talented and dedicated. I can't imagine a better way to reward their hard work than with this amazing opportunity."
Theater student Liz Hernandez said that visiting China will allow her to experience an entirely different culture.
"I am familiar with the cultures of the U.S., Mexico and Puerto Rico, but this is all going to be very new," she said. "I also will enjoy the history. China is such an old country, and I'm interested in seeing landmarks and seeing how history has shaped the people. I will also love to see what they think of our presentations, what they think about musical theater."
Olivia Love-Hatlestad said that, like many CLC students, her explorations are limited to places that are "half a tank of gas" away.
"I love performing, I love theater, and it breaks my heart that I'm only being exposed to a minuscule fraction of such a deeply colorful craft, with so many strains of diversity," she said.
"I want to perform for the rest of my life, and this experience will change me as a performer. It will expand my perspective and understanding of acting and of theater as an art. Exposure to China's theatrical culture will help me to connect with the work that I do on a deeper level."
CLC's relationship with Xi'an International University began in 2007 when the college established a semester-abroad program with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. Since then, six groups of CLC students have spent a semester at the university; the next group will study there in Fall Semester 2016.
In 2012, CLC won a U.S. State Department grant that established an American Culture Center at the university. CLC was one of 19 higher education institutions chosen to establish a cultural center, and was the only community college selected for the honor.
"This China grant project illustrates another example of the incredible and unique opportunities in international education that CLC offers to students in this region," Murphy said.
CLC's Center for International Education facilitates global engagement and advances international education among students, faculty and staff through the support of international educational exchange, programs and services.
The college won the Innovation in International Education Andrew Heiskell Award from the Institute of International Education, which honors the most outstanding initiatives being conducted in international higher education by member universities and colleges.