SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University Dance Company will join professional Chinese dancers from Philadelphia, New York City and Toronto in a Chinese Dance Concert at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 19, in the Thurber Theatre of the Drake Union at The Ohio State University.

Presented by The Weaving Pine, a non-profit organization , the concert will include traditional Chinese opera and its evolution into contemporary Chinese dance. The mission of The Weaving Pine is to develop mutual understanding by promoting Chinese arts and culture in the United States.

The concert will feature three fan dances - the first in opera style, complete with singing; the second in a folk dance with handkerchief and fan; and a contemporary fan dance by Teena Custer from Ohio State's dance department.

Echo Dance, a professional Chinese dance company, which originated in Taiwan, will perform several numbers, including dances to classical Taiwanese folk songs and a modern Chinese dance with 10 dancers from Wittenberg. Echo Dance will also present "A Beautiful Butterfly," which features dancers with butterfly wings and classical Chinese costumes.

A pre-performance introduction will be presented by Shih-Ming Chang, associate professor of theatre and dance at Wittenberg University, at 2 p.m. Conversations with the artists and a reception will follow the performance.

For tickets, call (614) 451-3550 or e-mail lu@math.ohio-state.edu, or contact Chang at (937)327-7466 or via e-mail at schang@wittenberg.edu.

The program is cosponsored by The Institute of Chinese Studies, Ohio State and Wittenberg University.