Vancouver Chinese Instrumental Music Society and Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden present
Monkey King & Other Folktales
Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble feat. Gerardo Avila
~ Magic, mime, music, stories and tons of laughs for kids and kids-at-heart ~
Saturday, May 23, 2015, 3:00pm
Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden | 578 Carrall St.
Tickets at door, online or by phone: monkey-king-vcme.eventbrite.ca | 604 662 3207
General $15, Students & Seniors $10, Youth 15 and under $6
Family (two adults, two youth 17 and under) $35; additional youth $5
One of the most enduring Chinese literary characters comes to life to entertain children and adults and to celebrate the Asian Heritage Month. Through mime, magic, jokes, stories and music, the audience will be introduced to the Monkey King and other Chinese folktales as well as traditional instruments. Physical theatre artist Gerardo Avila and Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble (VCME) invite all to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden on May 23, 2015 for an hour of interactive musical comedy.
Monkey King (Sun Wukong) is the main character in the Chinese classical novel Journey to the West. Inspired by this legendary character, the actor/comedian Gerardo Avila will use magic, mime and jokes to entertain all ages and introduce them to Chinese folklore. The music and sounds will be provided by VCME members and their traditional instruments: Jirong Huang (erhu), Sarah Tan (guzheng) and Zhong Xi Wu (suona)
Gerardo Avila has been performing professionally since 1974 as a solo clown, mime, magician and storyteller. He has a MA in Hispanic and Italian Studies at UBC. Gerardo has presented the original sketches for Cirque du Soleil (1984-1987) and performed in major festivals in Canada and Mexico: the Vancouver Children´s Festival, Yukon and Vancouver Storytelling Festivals, Winnipeg Clown Festival, Festival Internacional Cervantino, Festival de Baie-Saint Paul, Festival d´Eté du Quebec, Expo 86, Sechelt Arts Festival, Sweetwater 905, the 2010 Winter Olympics Torch Relay, the Homeground Festival and the Heart of the City Festival in Vancouver.
Formed in 1989, Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble (VCME) is the first professional Chinese music group established in Canada. VCME performs an eclectic repertoire that embraces traditional Chinese and contemporary Canadian music. The Ensemble’s primary educational goal is to advance the understanding and appreciation of Chinese instruments, music and culture in Canada.
For online tickets, please visit: monkey-king-vcme.eventbrite.ca
The presenters gratefully acknowledge the support of Artvest, the City of Vancouver and Government of British Columbia through Direct Access to Charitable Gaming.