Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 13, 1992 TAG: 9203120018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Donna Alvis-Banks
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats and Magicians of Taipei will perform in Virginia Tech's Burruss Hall Thursday. The show starts at 7:30 p.m.
The troupe of 18 acrobats, dancers and magicians will keep you on the edge of your seat with their death-defying stunts and colorful dances.
Daredevils plunge through rings of fire squeezed between rings studded with knives; acrobats balance on towers of chairs supported by champagne bottles; Kung Fu athletes brace metal rods against each other's throats - this is show business Oriental style!
The company is directed by Danny Chang, who began training with the Chang family acrobatic school in Taipei when he was only 8. His father, Lien-Chi Chang, heads the Taiwanese National School of Acrobats, where more than 200 hand-picked students, ages 8 to 18, pursue academic studies as well as ancient arts such as Kung Fu and Chi-Kung.
The Changs have appeared on several U.S. TV shows, including "That's Incredible" and "The Wide World of Sports," as well as at theaters across the country. They have wowed audiences at Madison Square Garden, The Kennedy Center and Ford's Theatre, to name a few.
The National Association of Campus Activities has voted the Chinese Golden Dragon Acrobats "Performing Artists of the Year" for four consecutive years.
Their performance at Burruss Hall is part of the Virginia Tech Union's Entertainment Series. Tickets are available at the box office on the first floor of Squires Student Center.
Admission is $14 for adults, $7 for children under 12, $11 for Tech faculty and staff and $4 for Tech students. For ticket information, call the box office at 231-5615, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.
\ LIVE FROM FLOYD, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT: The king of bluegrass, Ralph Stanley, will perform with his band Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Floyd County High School auditorium.
Ralph Stanley and The Clinch Mountain Boys will be picking some of your favorite old-time country tunes. How could you forget "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms?"
The concert is a benefit for The Old Church Gallery of Floyd. Advance discount tickets ($7) are available from Friends of the Gallery and at Floyd County businesses.
Admission at the door is $8.
\ FOOD FOR THE FAMISHED: Slusser's Chapel on Mount Tabor Road in Blacksburg is having its annual oyster and turkey dinner Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. Bring a big appetite to this spread.
The menu features fried oysters or turkey with stuffing, baked potatoes, green beans, coleslaw, homemade rolls and desserts and beverages. The cooks will serve in the fellowship hall of the chapel.
Tickets will be available at the door or you may call 552-8737 for advance tickets. The cost is $6.50 for adults. Children under 12 eat for half-price.
\ IN THE MOOG: Gilbert Trythall, a speaker, composer and performer who has worked to bring electronic music to the forefront, will give a public performance Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Hall.
Trythall's "Switched on Nashville," a collection of country music favorites performed on Moog synthesizer, was the first totally electronic recording to reach the Billboard charts.
In his appearance at Radford University, Trythall will discuss changes in the arts brought on by technology. The Center for Music Technology and the Scholarly Lecture Series at the university is co-sponsoring the event.
Soprano Janis Peri of West Virginia University will join Trythall in several of his compositions for synthesizer, including "The Twelve Deadly Sins" and "The Egyptian Book of the Dead." One of Trythall's compositions, "Hard Start Variations" is based on President Bush's speech about the liberation of Kuwait.
Trythall has written a book, "Principals and Practice of Electronic Music," and has recorded on the CRI, Golden Crest and Pandora-Synthe labels. He and Peri also have toured extensively in this country and in Europe.
Admission to Wednesday's performance and lecture is $3.
\ ST. PATRICK'S DAY TREAT: Buddy Pendleton and the Highlanders of Galax will play their toe-tappin' bluegrass music Tuesday at a dinner concert sponsored by New River Community College and the Appalkids of Pulaski County High School. It's happening at the Valley Pike Inn in historic Newbern.
Organized in 1970, Pendleton and the group have recorded five albums and performed at more festivals and fairs than they can count. They recently played at the New River Valley Fairgrounds for the newly formed New River Valley Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club.
The Highlanders will perform traditional and original bluegrass music following the St. Patrick's Day home-style buffet dinner at the Valley Pike Inn. Serving begins at 6:30 p.m.
Because of limited seating, reservations must be made by noon Monday. The fee of $15 per person includes dinner, tip, tax and entertainment.
For more information, call Debbie Lineweaver at New River Community College's Office of Continuing Education, 674-3607.
\ NEW MUSIC: Nitza Kats, pianist, will give the premiere performance of "Sonatina for Piano" Monday at 8 p.m. in Radford University's Preston Auditorium. The unpublished piece was written by Israeli composer Yardena Alotin.
Kats, an instructor in the university's music department, also will play selections by Beethoven, Schumann, Alexander Scriabin and Frank Martin in this recital.
Admission is $3 for adults and $1 for children. RU students will be admitted free.
Donna Alvis-Banks is an editorial assistant in the Roanoke Times & World-News' New River Valley bureau.
by CNB