EXPLORING EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIAN CULTURE

CHINA: LION DANCE/DRAGON DANCE

COUNTRY: China

We celebrate Chinese New Year by dancing like both lions and dragons. (More.)


HONG KONG/TAIWAN: ACTION CINEMA

COUNTRY: China/Hong Kong

We become Hong Kong Action Cinema stars by casting ourselves as heroes in our own cheesy kung fu movie — HYAAAAH! (More.)


INDONESIA: GAMELAN

COUNTRY: Indonesia

Bang a gong — or at least a pot lid! — as we cycle through sixteen beats while experiencing Indonesian Gamelan. (More.)


JAPAN: BON ODORI

COUNTRY: Japan

We celebrate Japan’s Obon Festival, honoring the ancestors, with a free-form “everyone in” bon odori dance. (More.)


THE KOREAS: GANGGANGSULLAE

COUNTRY: The Koreas

We go out wiht Korean women into night during the full moon of Chuseok and follow the leader in a circle as we sing, “Ganggangsullae!” (More.)


MALAYSIA: SEPAK TAKRAW

COUNTRY: Malaysia

We marvel at one of Malaysia’s most popular sports, sepak takraw — a mind-blowing mashup of volleyball and hackey sack. (More.)


MyANMAR: LIFE OF A MONK

COUNTRY: Myanmar

We travel all the way to Myanmar (a.k.a. Burma) where, in about two minutes in class, we live an entire meditative day in the life of a Buddhist monk. (More.)


THE PHILIPPINES: TINIKLING

COUNTRY: The Philippines

Do you have bamboo poles? Or…maybe, broomsticks? Time to try tinikling, a very hoppy folk dance from the Philippines. (More.)


THAILAND: LOY KRATHONG

COUNTRY: Thailand

We float the past year’s regrets down a river in Thailand as we celebrate Loy Krathong. (More.)


VIETNAM: HARVESTING RICE

COUNTRY: Vietnam

We learn the “origin story” of rice, humanity’s favorite food. Then we harvest our children. (More.)