The Muses Institute and Chinese Opera Performing Arts Association are organizing a certificate program in Chinese Opera, with the course on classical Chinese music, dance, martial arts, all with Peking Opera (also Kunqu) as their basis. During the spring and fall semesters, this certificate program offers a comprehensive package of intensive weekend (Saturday and Sunday) teaching and training in traditional Chinese performing arts. During the summer, we offer summer camp in Chinese performing arts, with four weeks of intensive weekday (Monday through Thursday) teaching and training in Peking Opera and classical Kunqu Opera.
We earnestly welcome college students majoring in Performing and Fine Arts, in Asian Studies, as well as middle and high school students, to join our workshop!
If you are a college student majoring in Performing and Fine Arts, Asian art, especially performing art, is refreshingly new, if not entirely alien, to you. It could be a fascinating experience for you to embrace a performing art tradition entirely new to them, with the sophisticated performing skills whose mastery can be accomplished only through training and practice for years, even for decades.
If you are a college student majoring in Asian studies, you may learn a great deal about traditional Chinese or East Asian cultures from your classes, from your professors, from your books checked out from libraries, you may even did summer study in Asia. However, in your college study you may not have direct encounter with any real performance of Chinese theatrical art. Our workshop will offer you a great opportunity of being fully immersed in the living tradition of Chinese art! Learning performance skills in Asian performing art through systematically training in local community could help you to experience Asian culture, and thus facilitate your college studies.
If you are a high school student, and if you have learned Chinese language (or you are interested in learning Chinese language, since we offer Chinese language class), then learning Chinese performing arts, especially taught with masks and martial arts skills, could gratify your adolescent curiosity, and help you to live a healthy and mature life with your intellectual and spiritual growth!
Oriental art may be new to you; Chinese Peking Opera may be unheard-of! However, our workshop will teach you how to perform on stage—to sing, to dance, to recite, and to act (including martial acting). To master Chinese art and its cultural tradition, you should not miss this opportunity to donning the theatrical mask of our Chinese drama! And, you will be taught by professional artists in Chinese Opera, whose careers span over several decades!
Registration
If you are interested in joining our workshop, please visit our website
for more information and registration.
For further inquiries concerning our workshop, please contact Professor Lei Chen by email [email protected] or by phone 626-782-5588 (please leave a message). If you speak Chinese, you may contact Wendy Chang by email [email protected] or by phone 626-376-3527
Teaching Team
We will teach singing, dance, acting, and onstage martial arts with panoply of dramatic paraphernalia. We have a strong team of local artists specializing in Chinese theatres and performing arts. They are all trained professionally in the top-ranking art colleges in mainland China and Taiwan. They have professional careers in performance and teaching for decades.
Instructors
Wendy Zhang
張裕東
Wendy Zhang started her theatrical career as a Peking Opera actress when she was undergraduate student in Taiwan. She is the founder of the Chinese Opera Association in LA, and has taught Peking Opera classes in this country for decades. She also taught Chinese language and culture at Whittier College and other schools in Southern California region. Besides, she is a journalist and activist for the movement of propagating Chinese culture and art in California.
Zhang Ming
張明
Zhang Ming graduated from Chinese Drama Institute中國戲劇學校, the most prestigious institute in China for teaching traditional Chinese Opera. He was the actor of Shandong Peking Opera Troupe, specializing in the roles of Civil and Martial Old Man 文武老生.
Cheng Ning
程寧
Cheng Ning graduated from Chinese Drama Institute中國戲劇學校, the most prestigious institute in China for teaching traditional Chinese Opera. She was the actress of Bejing Storm-Thunder Opera Troupe, specializing in the role of Military Woman武旦.
Master of Music Instruments胡琴指導老師
Instructor for Huqin Zither
Du Yuqi
杜玉奇
Du Yuqi served as a major master of opera music instruments for Shandong Peking Opera Troupe山東京劇院. Over the years, he has been working with many famous Peking Opera actors and actresses such as Fang Rongxiang, Zhang Chunqiu, Xue Yaping, and Li Lifang.
Master of Huqin Zither
He Shirui
何石瑞
He Shirui started her practice of the huqin zither at the age of three, and graduated from Tianjin Art Institute天津市艺术学校, working under the instruction of the famous zither master Ma Yupu. She specializes in the role of Honorable Lady青衣, and Old Lady老旦.
Master of Gongs and Drums
Wang Daliang
王大亮
Wang Daliang was born in Beijing, and graduated from China Drama Institute (affiliated high school) with the specialty in music instruments for Peking Opera中國戲曲學院附中京音科. He was “interior chamber” (a selected few) disciple of the “Drum King” Tan Shixiu譚世秀.
Gao Jiawang
Gao Jiawang is an ordained (non-religious sense) master of Shaolin Temple (the temple which has enjoyed its worldwide reputation as the power house and cultural reservoir of Chinese martial arts). He was delegated as a cultural ambassador of the Shaolin Temple to make a cultural tour across the continents, to perform the martial arts for many countries in the world. He has won numerous prizes and awards in a variety of martial arts race and Taichi performance shows.
Course Schedule for our Summer Workshop (Subject to Change)
All classes will be scheduled on Monday through Thursday. Each day we will three sessions: 1) 1: 10- 2 pm; 2) 2:10-3 pm; 3) 3:10-4pm
Week 1
| Time/Day | 7/3 | 7/4 | 7/5 | 7/6 |
| 1: 10- 2 pm | Overview Introduction to Peking Opera | Role type Aria | Costume Aria (Teach How to Sing) | Mask Aria |
| 2:10-3 pm | Introduction to Martial Arts of Peking Opera | Basic Performative Skills: Handling Knife/Spear/Water Sleeves | Light Spear Fencing Male/Female Spear Dueling | Light Spear Fencing |
| 3:10-4pm | Introduction to Dance of Peking Opera | Male-Single/Double Sword Female-Horse Trip | Dance: Saber Dance, Sword Dance, Horse Trip | Dance: Saber Dance, Sword Dance, Horse Trip |
Week 2
| Time/Day | 7/10 | 7/11 | 7/12 | 7/13 |
| 1: 10- 2 pm | Opera Civil/Martial Stagecraft; Aria | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Men: Three Stores Women: A Woman Prisoner | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Men: Three Stores Women: A Woman Prisoner | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Men: Three Stores Women: A Woman Prisoner |
| 2:10-3 pm | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling |
| 3:10-4pm | Opera Dance Men: Monkey Dance Women: Horse Trip Dance | Opera Dance Men: Monkey Dance Women: Horse Trip Dance | Opera Dance Men: Monkey Dance (Using Stick) Women: Horse Trip Dance | Opera Dance Men: Monkey Dance (Using Stick) Women: Horse Trip Dance |
Week 3
| Time/Day | 7/17 | 7/18 | 7/19 | 7/20 |
| 1: 10- 2 pm | Introduction to Kunqu Opera Opera Introduction to Aria | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Men: Three Stores Women: A Woman Prisoner | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Men: Three Stores Women: A Woman Prisoner | Cosmetics of Peking Opera— Cosmetics for Women |
| 2:10-3 pm | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress; Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling | Martial Arts/Kungfu of Peking Opera: Mu ke Fortress (Review); Dance for Exeunt |
| 3:10-4pm | Double Sword Opera Dance: Farewell to My Concubine | Farewell to My Concubine Men: King Dance Women:Double Sword Opera Dance | Opera Dance Men:Monkey Dance King Dance Women:Double Sword Opera Dance | Opera Dance Men: Monkey Dance King Dance Women:Double Sword Opera Dance |
Week 4
| Time/Day | 7/24 | 7/25 | 7/26 | 7/27 |
| 1: 10- 2 pm | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Farewell to My Concubine | Aria (Teach How to Sing) Men: Three Stores Women: A Woman Prisoner | Aria (Teach How to Sing) | Cosmetics of Peking Opera— Cosmetics for Women |
| 2:10-3 pm | Peking Opera Dance Men: Review Monkey Dance Women: Concubine’s Double Sword Dance | Opera Dance Men: Review Saber/Spear Women: Concubine’s Double Sword Dance | Opera Dance Review Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling; Mu ke Fortress | Opera Dance Review Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling; Mu ke Fortress |
| 3:10-4pm | Opera Martial Arts Opera Dance Review Basic Skills of Peking Opera; Double Sword Opera Dance | Opera Dance Review: Light Spear Fencing/ Dueling; Horse Trip Dance | Opera Aria Review: Three Stores; A Woman Prisoner; Farewell to My Concubine | Review All: Opera Aria Opera Martial Arts Opera Dance |
Final Show
July 30, 2;00 pm
Useful resources for understanding Chinese Opera