Inspiring workshops in Bloomington, Illinois

By Shigeyo Henriquez

Eric Zeal and Brandy Maloney, Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts (BCPA) staff, escorted us to every school we visited with hot water and green teas. The week went by fast. We went to see a B-52’s concert which was a blast, and Saturday some of us went to the magic show at BCPA, as well. All were generous invitations of BCPA.

The BCPA theater is a beautiful theater, fully equipped with a state of the art sound system and lighting, and plenty of staff to make the concert run smoothly. Beauty & Melody really enjoyed performing at such a fantastic venue. The concert was beautiful.

What I remember the most from this week was the principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Clinton, IL. Normally when we visit elementary schools, Beauty & Melody play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Do Re Mi at the end of the workshop. As they started to play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the principal was the first to sing and dance to the music. I wish I had a video camera to record his gesturing of twinkling little stars, up above the world so high and his motions for “ti, a drink with jam and bread.” Oh, how we enjoyed his energy and enthusiasm for the music and foreign culture! He is a great inspiration to the students and to us, also.

Without an interpreter everyone must step up to communicate. Li Yan teaches about their music in English at an ISU workshop.

The principal of Lincoln Elementary School in Clinton, IL is quite a performer!

Grace Urrutia, a student at ISU, tries her hand at the beautiful and intriguing sounds of the Gu Zheng, or Chinese harp.

The last day of our residency ends at the public concert on the wonderful stage of the BCPA theater.