{"id":178,"date":"2007-10-10T11:31:54","date_gmt":"2007-10-10T11:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.wabash.edu\/fyi\/2007\/10\/10\/a-new-kind-of-history\/"},"modified":"2007-10-10T11:31:54","modified_gmt":"2007-10-10T11:31:54","slug":"a-new-kind-of-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/2007\/10\/10\/a-new-kind-of-history\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Kind of History"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Kim Johnson<\/em> – Yesterday I participated in a \u201cStylized Movement\/Kung Fu Workshop\u201d as part of the Visiting Artists Series here at Wabash. The workshop was a follow up to the group\u2019s performance the night before of<\/span> Tales from the Beijing Opera<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

When I was first given my assignment I thought surely Jim had to be kidding me. I\u2019m the rookie in the Public Affairs Office so I was half expecting the rest of the team to break out in laughter and razz me for falling for Jim\u2019s preposterous request! And laugh they did, but I think it was more, \u201cboy am I glad she got called out to do it and not me!\u201d<\/p>\n

Something like this is totally outside my comfort zone. I absolutely hate to be embarrassed or caught off guard (I think most people do but for me it\u2019s almost an absolute fear). Plus, my sister got all of the grace and dancing ability in the family and my brother the martial arts skill. That leaves me on a good day with the ability to walk and chew gum at the same time.<\/p>\n

Granted, Jim did say if I felt uncomfortable participating in the workshop I could just go cover it with a camera, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought, how often does the Beijing Opera come to Crawfordsville? I better take advantage of this!<\/em> Plus it could be really fun!<\/span><\/p>\n

So off I went to Ball Theater for a little Kung Fu!<\/p>\n

The first thing I learned from the program was that \u201cKung Fu\u201d means \u201ctime.\u201d In China, the relationship between skill and time is embedded in the language and the term kungfu<\/em> refers to anything that takes time to learn. Good! They already know if I\u2019m going to learn this stuff, we\u2019re going to have to have lots of time!<\/span><\/p>\n

The workshop began with a brief history of the Beijing Opera \u2013 when it began, how it evolved, the culture of China, how different dynasties of China affected the social class of the actors and how that has evolved over time. The movements, costumes, and colors are all representative of culture and status.<\/p>\n

\"\"The troupe leader, American Merrianne Moore, explained the typical training of actors. Many begin learning skills at a very early age, usually from a parent who is an actor or has a love of the theater. By the age of 10 or 11 they go to \u201copera school,\u201d which is a boarding school where they learn techniques and skills six days a week. (The opera school training now includes academic coursework but didn\u2019t always which served to perpetuate the existence of actors as a low social class.)<\/p>\n

Our workshop followed a \u201ctypical day\u201d at the opera school. We started by learning to walk and how to hold our hands and arms. Each movement was very systematic. There was a rhythm and purpose for everything.<\/p>\n

We did leg training next which included kicks of which we would do 50 to 100 of each if we were students at the Opera School (there were four or five different kicks). Thankfully we only did a few. Between the kicks, jumps and arm movements I was beginning to feel like a plate of spaghetti. (I probably looked about like one too!)<\/p>\n

Next was carpet training to help us stretch our waists and hips. I was thinking, \u201cfinally we get to sit and stretch.\u201d I was imagining something like yoga class \u2013 long stretches with periodic rest poses. NOPE! Carpet training in the Opera School starts with five-minute handstands! Handstands are followed by cartwheels, no-handed cartwheels, front and back handsprings, tucks and whatever other flips, flops, jumps, and contortions the limber body will allow. I decided not to volunteer for this knowing full well the last time I attempted a cartwheel (about ten years ago!) I nearly broke my wrist.<\/p>\n

\"\"We ended our workshop by learning a few techniques with the weapons and how those techniques would fit into a stage battle. By that time I felt like I had endured a battle and wondered if I could ever survive a day in opera school.<\/p>\n

It was fun to share the stage with several Wabash men. (Check out photos here<\/a> and here<\/a>.) I was impressed with their willingness to take off their shoes and participate. Many of them were attempting handstands, cartwheels, and fighting with \u201cthe warrior\u201d and truly enjoying the experience for what it was \u2013 a chance to take advantage of an opportunity that will likely never cross their paths again.<\/p>\n

I figured if they didn\u2019t care how silly they looked walking, kicking, and jumping across the stage there was absolutely no reason why I should! That\u2019s the beauty of learning, right? A safe place to grow and stretch our minds (and bodies in this case), mess up, correct it, and try again, and if we\u2019re lucky it\u2019s in a fun and engaging atmosphere.<\/p>\n

When we reached the end of our three hours together, I really felt like I had accomplished something or at least had given my best. As I headed back across campus, my new experience in hand, I pondered the last couple days \u2013 the afternoon discussion with the troupe on Monday, the Tales from the Beijing Opera<\/em> performance that evening and the workshop I had just completed.<\/span><\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t help but think if I had learned history like that \u2013 experiencing it \u2013 when I was in school, I wouldn\u2019t have gotten a \u201cC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos by Steve Charles<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kim Johnson – Yesterday I participated in a \u201cStylized Movement\/Kung Fu Workshop\u201d as part of the Visiting Artists Series here at Wabash. The workshop was a follow up to the group\u2019s performance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"w_featured_image_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.wabash.edu\/fyi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}