Day 1 – Lecture demonstration and shopping adventures – African American Dance Company in Beijing

AADC’s first performance of the week was a lecture demonstration held in the Min Zu building on the China University of Mining and Technology Beijing (CUMTB) campus. The students stayed in a campus hotel, just one block from this building, for the duration of the visit.

7-copy — During the lecture demonstration, AADC dancers performed warm-up exercises and choreography. Professor Iris Rosa structured the performance to demonstrate for the CUMTB audience what a typical AADC company class is like.

Director Iris Rosa led the dancers through the lecture demonstration explaining the significance of each movement to the CUMTB students. — Director Rosa led the dancers through the lecture demonstration explaining the significance of each movement to the CUMTB audience.

The “moving sculpture” is always a crowd favorite. Audience members joined the dance company in the exercise and explored creating different shapes in the space.

2-copy — Each AADC student was paired up with a CUMTB student for the week. Their new Chinese friends were excited to engage in the lecture demonstration.

AADC dancers performed their student choreographic pieces that they created during fall semester at IU. Students select their own music, costumes, movements, and concept for this project. — AADC dancers performed their student choreographic pieces created during fall semester at IU. Students selected their own music, costumes, movements, and concept for the project.

Participating in the lecture demonstration was an adaptive experience. We felt as if the Chinese students enjoyed watching us demonstrate our warm-up and choreographic pieces. Doing the moving sculpture with the Chinese students was exciting because many of the students wanted to be involved and move with us. Performing our collaboration was invigorating because we were able to share what we created with the students, and they enjoyed watching our pieces and interpreting their own meaning.

—Savasia, Junior, Fashion Design

shop-1 — IU and CUMTB students explored the streets of Beijing. The Chinese students were enthusiastic tour guides, happy to share their lifestyles, hobbies, fashion, and culture with their new American friends.

shop-2 — The students took a special trip to visit the Olympic Stadium. There, the IU and CUMTB students put on a spontaneous dance performance that attracted many passersby.

shop-3 — The sun set on the IU students’ first day in Beijing. The heavy smog is a constant reminder of the hazardous levels of pollution in the city. The IU students took precautions by wearing masks over their noses and mouths.

Being in Beijing thus far has been an outstanding adventure, from the different foods that we tasted to the shopping we experienced. Today a group of us went with our Chinese partners to do a little shopping.

Our first stop was the mall. Some stores there were very similar to stores that are in the U.S., but of course their names are different. I am a lipstick fanatic, so I was definitely looking for a Chinese lipstick. But I quickly noticed that most of their makeup brands are the same as what we have in the U.S. This surprised me because I didn’t think they would embrace so much from the U.S. Another thing that I noticed was that things are inexpensive here, meaning USD is more valuable. I know this now because after the mall we all took the subway—which was a fantastic experience—and went to the Olympic Park (where the Olympics were held in 2008). I went to a gift shop there and spent a total of 256 RMB, which is equivalent to about 38 USD. With that amount of money I bought 4 bags, 3 lipstick holders, 3 small mirrors, a Chinese plate, a key chain, a small Chinese bottle, and a Chinese pen, which I thought was absolutely amazing. You cannot beat that.

Today was great, and I had a great time with the Chinese students. They are so caring and are always making sure that we are having a good time, which I appreciate very much. I am so grateful to be able to come on this trip and have this opportunity. Thank you AADC and OVPDEMA for this incredible experience!

—Lauren, Senior, Health Administration

Day 1 – Lecture demonstration and shopping adventures

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