TARIM, UYGUR SONG AND DANCE ENSEMBLE TO BRING MUSIC OF WESTERN CHINA TO LCCC

The melodies and rhythms of Western China will come alive when Tarim, Uygur Song and Dance Ensemble performs at Lorain County Community College.

The ensemble will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 24 at Stocker Arts Center. The performance is part of Arts Midwest World Fest.

Tarim, Uygur Song and Dance Ensemble perform the ancient songs of the Silk Road, the melodies of the Uygurs, the Kazaks, the Kirkiz; the rhythms of the Hui, the Uzbek and Tatars. The sounds transport listeners to the spice markets, deserts and vineyards of western China, a land of vast contrast, scale and history. Tarim is a unique ensemble of musicians and dancers from the Cultural Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for students with a valid ID; and $10 for children 12 and under. Tickets can be ordered online at www.stockerartscenter.com, or by calling the Stocker Arts Center box office at (440) 366-4040 from 12-6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Tickets are also available at the box office, located in the lobby of the Stocker Arts Center. Take-a-Chance tickets are available at the box office beginning 90 minutes prior to the show as long as tickets remain. Take-a-Chance tickets are half-off the top ticket price and are available until curtain time.

The performance will cap off a week long residency that Tarim, Uygur Song and Dance Ensemble will hold on the LCCC campus and throughout Northeast Ohio the week of Sunday, March 18 to Saturday, March 24. During their residency week, the ensemble will conduct workshops with students, school groups and for community organizations. Information about the available residency activities can be obtained by calling Janet Herman Barlow, Stocker Arts Center Director at (440) 366-7105.

The group will also perform a student matinee at 10 a.m., Thursday, March 22 in Stocker Arts Center. Tickets are $4 each. The show is appropriate for students in second grade and older.

Tarim, Uygur Song and Dance Ensemble is the second international group to perform at LCCC as part of the Arts Midwest World Fest. LCCC is the only stop in Ohio for the tour, which includes four ensembles in two years.  Upcoming residencies will be with Wust el Balad from Egypt and Cudamani from the island of Bali in Indonesia.

An Arts Midwest initiative, the 2011-13 Arts Midwest World Fest is generously sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, 3M Foundation, MetLife Foundation, the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China, and the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. Arts Midwest World Fest is also generously supported by Illinois Arts Council, Indiana Arts Commission, Iowa Arts Council, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, Minnesota State Arts Board, North Dakota Council on the Arts, Ohio Arts Council, South Dakota Arts Council, and Wisconsin Arts Board.

Locally, Tarim, Uygur Song and Dance Ensemble’s residency is sponsored by the Beth K. Stocker Trust.

For more information about Tarim, Uygur Song and Dance Ensemble and Arts Midwest World Fest, visit www.stockerartscenter.com.