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• Wittenberg Alumni Honored For Years of Support
• Students Help Inmates Discover Their Creative Voice
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• Dance Company Delights During Wittenberg Series
• University Dragon Dance Team Benefits From Masters’ Visit
• Alumnus’ Gift Transforms Commencement Hollow
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Members of the Wittenberg and greater Springfield communities enjoyed the rare opportunity to learn about Chinese traditional culture through the ancient art of the Dragon Dance with master dragon dance teachers Wang Yuxi and Yang Hua last fall.

Shih-Ming Chang, associate professor of theatre and dance, arranged the visit with help from the nearly $2 million Freeman Foundation grant awarded to Wittenberg six years ago. While on campus, the dance masters privately tutored members of Wittenberg's newly established Dragon Dance team and assisted in the establishment of a Lion Dance team within the existing club. Chang said she is not aware of any other U. S. colleges with Dragon and Lion Dancing as a school-endorsed club.

Combining an impressive array of gymnastics, rhythm, strength and stamina, the centuriesold dragon dance features the fiery monster giving dynamic chase after a golden pearl. Since the visit, Wittenberg's team has performed the ancient art numerous times, including for the Year of the Pig Chinese New Year Celebration at the Landmark Church of Christ Life Center in Montgomery, Ala., hosted by the Central Alabama Association for Chinese.

Hailing from Beijing, China, dance masters Wang and Yang have traveled the world with their team, the Shunyi Dragon and Lion Dance Artistic Group, participating in more than 280 performances both within their home country and abroad. They have also trained and worked with martial arts actors Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and are in the Guinness Book of World Records for creating a 5,000- member team to perform with a 10,000-footlong dragon on the Great Wall of China.

The masters' visit to Wittenberg also recently received extensive coverage in Beijing, China, including in the city's weekend guide and city magazine.