Eurasia discovered in Indiana

In from the hot Saturday sun, the cool sounds of the East were inviting many to venture into the Buskirk-Chumley for an afternoon of culture, music and unity.\nThe Central Eurasian Concert and Art Exhibit set up shop in the early afternoon and closed down at 6 p.m. Throughout the day, the audience was delighted by dancers, storytellers, painters and singers.\nFrom its onset, the performances were to guide the viewers on a journey through the Silk Road, the traveling route for traders made famous by Marco Polo in the 13th century. \nWe started in 100 B.C., in cold Siberian Northern China with the folk songs of James Ming-Yang. With his Er-Hu, an eastern instrument that represented a cross between a lute and a violin, Yang played his lonesome songs amidst a stage of empty chairs and unmanned instruments, soon to be played by the other performers. Yang's one-man instrumentation was truly captivating.\nNext were the more upbeat vocal stylings of Talant Mawkhanuli. His bright traditional Kazakh garb brought a new life and ease to his act.\nRenowned Mongolian dancer Gegen Tana Hangen was the highlight of the first act. Her grace sent her floating across the stage. With her robe flowing beyond the sight of her feet, her movement seemed to be that of spirits. Her arms wafting in the air at once resembling a butterfly, then a bird and then a river.\nPerformances by Waheed Mardan, a vocalist from Afghanistan, and Jon Liechty, a pianist and composer from China, followed Hangen.\nRegardless of rhythm and the happy themes employed by the music of this area, these artforms were also telling tales of suffering. The concert was given to stress an optimistic yearning for peace and love, yet this traditional and regional music proved that art is truly a reflection of the artists' environment. \nUnderneath every note and bang of the drum, was a slow and subtle weariness. The songs carried with them their nation' fatigue with war, conflict and strife. Yet, the most beautiful and heart-wrenching aspects of it all involved that constant attempt to expel the struggle with song and love.\nBefore the second act, a performance by the Sabá Ensemble, the words of poet Jalal-ad-din Rumi were read. They truly typified the intentions of the event. \nIt read, "My religion is love, and my nationality is the nation of man."\nThese notions fueled the members of the ensemble, each members of the ECHO world music institute, a newly formed Bloomington-based organization whose goal is to provide opportunities for the study of traditional music and dance from the diversity of world's cultures.\nThe work of the four-member ensemble certainly lived up to its organization's desires. Its blend was of one voice and one instrument. The crowd was certainly pleased, clapping along as the musical climax approached.\nAlthough the songs performed were all sung in their original language, no themes were lost on the audience. In addition to the power of music to supercede language barriers, a helping hand was offered in the back of the program. Translations were provided for the songs so that the whole experienced could be relished by all.\nIt was an afternoon of cultural education and enlightenment. The event hopes to continue to be an annual occurrence. It will certainly be one to be watching for and reserving room for on the calender.