Chinese performers’ fall tour begins at CC Sept. 23

Performers from Yunnan Province in China.

A troupe of 15 Chinese musicians and dancers will showcase their cultural traditions in a special performance premiering at CC this fall.

Lan-Lan Wang, a CC professor of dance, is the tour’s chief producer and organizer.

“This performance is the result of many years of research and the public has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness some of the most beautiful indigenous cultures of the world,” she said.

The tour, “Yunnan Revealed: Indigenous Music and Dance from China’s Land of Clouds,” will travel the East Coast. It is a part a larger initiative, “The Mekong River: Connecting Cultures Project,” which involves Connecticut College, the Smithsonian Institution, and American and Asian institutions. Their goal is to connect the cultural traditions of Yunnan Province and the Mekong countries to American audiences through performances and research.

In addition to the public performances, there will be school programs, cultural exchanges, workshops and demonstrations at various cities.

Yunnan Province, located in southwest China, is home to 25 ethnic groups — each with distinct customs and religious beliefs. The region is currently under pressure from economic and tourism development, and is also affected by the international movement toward globalization.

The U.S. tour is produced by China Yunnan/Mekong Project at Connecticut College in collaboration with the Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College; the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and the China Yunnan International Culture Exchange Center. It is co-produced with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Festival of China in Washington, D.C.

The premiere performance will take place Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. in Palmer Auditorium.