Festival of China

Rich with 5,000 years of history and 1.3 billion people strong, China has moved into the 21st century at a breathtaking pace. As this dynamic civilization catapults to prominence upon the world stage, the Kennedy Center was the site of the single largest presentation of Chinese performing arts ever hosted by a single institution, even in China itself.

Throughout the month-long festival, ARTSEDGE worked to capture the celebration for classroom audiences. From the unpacking of the 2,200 year-old Terra Cotta Warriors to a behind-the-scenes look at preparations for artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s pyrotechnics event on the Potomac River, we will be giving classrooms unprecedented access to Festival musicians, actors, dancers and puppeteers through video and audio pieces, slideshows, performance guides and deep interactives.

Use the lessons and links here to start your study of China, and check back throughout the next few months— we will be adding new content to the site as the Festival unfolds!

Lessons:

In this lesson, students learn basic calligraphy strokes for the creation of Chinese writing as an art form.

Students learn music vocabulary and use it to assess music from The Nightingale.

Students explore David Maddox's music from The Nightingale and create an original composition personifying the nightingale.

Students identify and classify Western and traditional Chinese instruments, then create an instrument from recycled materials.

Students will compare and contrast different versions of the Cinderella story.

Students will recognize the various contributions of immigrants to the United States.

Students learn the parts, history, and construction of the cello, and listen and respond to music by Yo-Yo Ma.

Look·Listen·Learn:

Using audio clips from the Kennedy Center's production of The Nightingale, students explore how music can communicate a story.

During the entire month of October 2005, the Kennedy Center hosts of the single largest celebration of Chinese performing arts ever presented by a single institution, even in China itself.

Discover the secrets behind the art of shadow puppetry in this multimedia exploration, designed for grades 5-8, which explores this age-old art form through animations, videos, interactive activities, and more.

This multimedia exploration, designed for grades 9-12, explores the science and art of pyrotechnics and chronicles the making of Cai’s Tornado: Explosion Project for the Kennedy Center.