August 3, 2004 > Chinese Performing Arts Sparkles at Smith Center

Fremont based Academy of Chinese Performing Arts (ACPS) treated an enthusiastic audience on Saturday, July 24th to a delightful series of dances highlighting a year of effort by approximately five hundred students and ten professional instructors. The academy, founded in 1995 as an outgrowth of the David Chen Dance Studio, began in 1991. ACPS has since added another location in Cupertino as well.

The focus of the academy is to "spread, disseminate and establish traditional Chinese performing arts in the multicultural American society." Founder and Artistic Director, Mr. David Chen, has worked to encourage understanding of Chinese culture and artistic expression through presentations by the academy of over three hundred performances in the community.

Two years ago, ACPS participated as a dance ensemble of the Trade and Cultural Exchange delegation of the City of Fremont to a number of Asian cities. This year, the group has been invited to participate in the Northern California International Children's Festival and next year, in honor of the academy's tenth anniversary, the academy plans to stage a "new twenty-first century version" of a classical children's dance and music drama, "Ma Lan Flower."

A small dance troupe from China joined local dancers to present a myriad of dance presentations featuring bright, colorful costumes and a myriad of styles including classical ballet, free-flowing modern dance, Chinese Folk Dances and classical Chinese dance. Dances exhibited Asian flavors of Tibet, Mongolia, Korea, many areas of China and a few non-Asian favorites including Tchaikovsky and a rendition of Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs.

For more information about classes in art, music and drama at the Academy of Chinese Performing Arts, call (510) 683-8701 or (408) 865-0891 or visit www.acpausa.com.

Academy of Chinese Performing Arts
40900 Fremont Blvd., Fremont
1015-1019 S. De Anza Blvd., San Jose
(510) 683-8701 or (408) 865-0891
www.acpausa.com