The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities Partners with Arts Midwest

As a part of our ongoing collective efforts with the Chinese Ministry of Culture, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities partnered with Arts Midwest to help sponsor a U.S. performing arts tour of a musical troupe from Inner Mongolia called An Da Union. “Anda” means “good friends” in Mongolian, and all 14 members of this performing ensemble hail from the Xilingol Grassland area of Inner Mongolia. The members of this talented troupe, which came together in 2003, studied the folk music they now perform at the Inner Mongolia Ethnic Opera and Dance Theater. The group specializes in traditional Mongolian music and dance, which has roots in the rural grasslands of inner China and also includes the ancient art of throat-singing, or khoomii, that can be heard here. Khoomii replicates sounds heard in nature and also evolved from melodies sung by nomadic herders. Throat singers such as the members of An Da Union are able to manipulate their throats, lips and mouths to produce several tones at one time. Traditionally performed by a soloist, throat singing is occasionally accompanied by a percussion instrument that resembles the sound of horse hooves, which would have been a permanent fixture in the ears of the herdsmen who originated this music many years ago.

As part of a partnership between the President's Committee and Arts Midwest, Mongolian performance troupe An Da Union traveled the Midwestern United States, where they performed traditional dances, music and Mongolian throat-singing for sold-out crowds.

During their tour, An Da Union traveled through various cities in the Upper Midwest, stopping in Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and North and South Dakota, from March through the end of April. Along with sold-out public performances, the group visited local schools, museums, and libraries for workshops and other interactive opportunities with each community. Throughout their tour, the group reached thousands of students and enthralled audiences with their energetic instrumental work, dance performances and traditional singing styles. Although this style of music is very foreign to Western ears, the group was met with great enthusiasm in each community they performed in, often getting standing ovations from audiences that then waited in long lines for autographs and photos with the group. The response was so positive that some cities have already expressed interest in having the group return to perform in the future.

Members of the An Da Union performing troupe with traditional instruments. This unique musical stle has roots in Central Asia, where herdsman learned to mimic the sounds of nature by shaping their throats, lips and mouths in a way that produced several tones at once.

Photo by Tiffany Rodgers. Courtesy of Arts Midwest

The President's Committee continues to pursue opportunities for broadening cultural ties between the U.S. and China. Under the leadership of the President's Committee, a series of diverse projects are under development by the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. China's participation in the The Library of Congress’ World Digital Library project is one tangible result of the PCAH's cultural diplomacy efforts. The President's Committee is also continuing its commitment to recognizing Chinese youth arts and humanities learning programs through the youth initiative program Coming Up Taller. Finally, a multi-year partnership between the PCAH and Arts Midwest will support tours of diverse Chinese performing arts programs for U.S. audiences.

The group has also traveled to Korea, France, Sweden, Finland and Spain to perform their craft. For more information on An Da Union, click here.