About Chinese Dance and Music

          Chinese Classical Dance is the richest in the world because it combines all the folk dances of each ethnic group along with intense training in the classical forms which include flexibility training and a whole repertoire of movement and jumping techniques.  The expressive qualities of the dance are deeply moving and make us feel a deep connection with our inner roots. This stems on one part from the traditional music and folk songs which express true human feelings most genuinely.

          Since the beginning of China's history, the Chinese people were fortunate to have passed down to them so many secrets about life and the universe.  They had they opportunity to study the meaning of life's existence from an internal perspective and understand its relationship with nature.  Furthermore, they took this understanding to research other aspects of human life such as the fundemental reason behind health and illness, and continually expanded the develop our human culture in harmony with fellow human beings, the earth, and heaven. 

          The development of the arts naturally followed the same path, starting with expressing the inner spirit, our longing to reach our primordial nature, our reverence and respect for higher realms, as wellas demonstrating the best inner qualities of human beings.  All art work from China, in order to be considered true proper art had to promote peace, goodness, truth, virtue, true inner beauty and strength, and the ascension of the human spirit.  This included painting, sculpture, music, architecture, dress, and dance. 

          The entire culture of China was built on this foundation, with profound knowledge and understandings of the true manifestations of the Universe and the infinite life within it.  This is what accounts for the feeling of awakening of our consciences and our hearts when we hear the melodies, the songs, and see the traditional dances performed.  This is the result of the long cultural background that is 5,000 old.  The inner connotations reveal the true characteristics of our human spirit, man's longing for truth, harmony, and the search for eternal happiness.

          Unfortunately, there is no true education available anywhere in the world for those who truly wish to learn this art form. The very few schools to offer serious education and training in the traditional arts are very selective.  Their admissions criteria are not based on the students’ genuine interest, understanding, abilities, or commitment, but rather whether they were lucky to have been given the support and training from a young age and have already achieved a certain degree of proficiency in a particular art form.  In some cases, if the student barely passes the standard of admissions, and is not awarded a full scholarship as a result, the ability to pay the high cost of tuition becomes the deciding factor.  All these factors restrict the dissemination of traditional art forms to a very small population, leaving out tremendous talented artists who would have otherwise made great contributions to society.

          Our meet-up group is the beginning step to changing the educational industry in many ways.  We are creating the first school of its kind, with the highest artistic, cultural, educational, and training standards in the world.  The new school is based on community, a long forgotten yet most essential way of human life; it's the way of giving, and living honorably.  In our community, we teach each other, help one another, inspire and motivate each other.  It's a mutual supportive environment.  Each member of the community cares about the best interests others.  We never let money get in the way of our human relationships and our duties as human beings.  Education is the most basic foundation of community living.  Capitalizing on knowledge and skill for a profit or power, especially when it comes to our cultural heritage, our traditions, would break the bonds of our community and ruin the integrity of the arts.  The criteria for imparting various art forms to future generations should be the students' sincerity and willingness to learn. 

The organizer

          Steven's inspiration to seriously learn Chinese classical dance came in 2003 while participating in a volunteer project to promote traditional Chinese culture through the performing arts, by putting together a Chinese New Year show with fellow students.  Prior to this time, his search for serious dance instruction proved disappointing and practically gave up his search.  But the opportunity to contribute for a good cause rekindled Steven's determination to seek professional training.  He had also found his right element within the arts of China which finally settled the confusion over which art form to focus on.

          Working with fellow volunteers presented another obstacle.  Competition within the organization made participation difficult.  Eventually, students with more favorable social connections and supportive parents got the opportunity to continue and have access to more formal training with room and board included.  Steven wasn't selected, but had the most sincere wish to contribute his abilities towards this cause.  Already possessing a background in music and physical training, Steven would have been able to put his talents to good use and progress rapidly while helping fellow students improve together, but some members of the organizing commitee quickly developed

 a set of rules for adminission similar to other institutions.  However, the rules form admission were enforced only when they wished to block someone from entering.  If they wanted to allow a student to enter because of his personal connections, the rules didn't matter anymore.

          Steven, having abandonned everything for this project, and moved to NY for this cause, was now with no support, and had to find a way to survive while paying for his own education and carving out a training program though whatever means he could.  Fate had an interesting way of turning things around.  Steven's aspiration to receive the highest level education possible led him to find the most unique and advanced training methods.  By taking classes in various different schools, Steven began improving his physical posture and developing a deep level of understanding of the proper training methods necessary to achieve the best results for training as a professional dancer.  The training cost a fortune, and could not be pursued for very long, nor did all the classes fit into a systematic program under a single institution.  This made training professionally very impractical and financially impossible.

This is why this meetup was created.  The members of this meetup consist primarily of a student community creating their own opportunities, giving themselves access to higher education by participating in a mutually supportive environment.  Anyone wishing to explore the taditional arts of China is welcome to join, and contribute their time and effort to make this community work and grow.