A cooperative grant and part of a larger grant from the Taiwan Ministry of Culture allowed Marywood University and The University of Scranton to host the Taipei Folk Dance Theatre from Taiwan and a conference on Asian Studies

Dr. Philip Jenkins, chairperson and associate professor of philosophy, and Ann Pang-White, director of Asian studies and professor of philosophy at the University of Scranton, have been working together to ensure the success of the Taipei Folk Dance Theatre event as well as an Asian Studies Conference that will be held at the University of Scranton March 28 and 29.

“I think probably this is one of the first large scale collaborations between the colleges,” said Pang-White. “I hope that we can do more mutual collaborations; it is great for our local community that when two universities combine to work on a project. It brings the communities together.”

The two faculty members have been working on events this semester and last semester that have been building up to the conference. Beginning in October the University of Scranton hosted the first installment of the three-part series of films directed by Ang Lee titled “Three Decades of Fearless,” where “The Wedding Banquet” was shown. Then Marywood hosted the second installment, featuring “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” The University of Scranton hosted the final installment in March “The Life of Pi.”

All three films were followed by a discussion and a question and answer session led by experts on Ang Lee’s work. Before each film showing, 20 invited guests attended a catered dinner with that night’s film experts who were speaking. Each film hosted a different expert on Ang Lee’s films. The film series was free and open to the public.

The Asian Studies conference is also free and open to the public. It will kick off on Saturday, March 28 with a keynote address by Nancy S. Steinhardt, Ph.D., professor and department chair of East Asian Languages and Cultures at The University of Pennsylvania. Buses will shuttle attendees to Marywood University to see the Taipei Folk Dance Theatre.

The Taipei Folk Dance Theatre will perform in the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts on March 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Since 1988, the Taipei Folk Dance has performed over 700 times in 40 different countries. Tickets can be reserved by contacting Dr. Jenkins at [email protected]. Unreserved seats are available first come, first served.

“It is a unique opportunity to see a world class dance group perform right here on our campus,” said Jenkins.

The following day’s agenda, Sunday, March 29, will include speaker presentations, workshops, and art exhibits from international scholars and artists. At 1 p.m., attendees have the opportunity to take the Taipei Folk Dance Theatre Workshop. The conference will conclude with keynote speaker Stephen C. Angle, Ph.D., chair at the College of East Asian Studies; professor of Philosophy at Wesleyan University, followed by refreshments.

To pre-register for the conference and to register for the Taipei Folk Dance Theatre Workshop visit their blog here.

Contact the writer: [email protected]