The Black Hills is the latest stop for a group of performers in the International Music Series. The musicians are touring small towns across the Midwest to share international culture through music and art.
The group of musicians are visiting Hill City this weekend to familiarize local residents about the culture of the Uygur. The Uygur are indigenous to Western China – an area influenced by Turkey, Uzbeckistan, Turkmenistan, and the ancient Silk Road. They say their culture and language are fading, and educating Americans is a way to keep them alive.
“These musics were inspired by Uygur life actually. They had a rich cultural life in the past. Now it is part of China, it is a province of China, but in the past it was not," says Kadeer.
Tursun Kadeer is the road manager and translator for the performers in the Tarim: Uygur Song and Dance musical cultural exchange. He says even though the Uygur are from China, theirs is very different from urban Chinese culture, and this is why preserving and promoting their heritage through the international language of music is so important.
"They had their own country, they had their writing system, and in the past the Uygur contributed to art and science, and a lot of things like paper, I believe they invented paper and they invented printing technology. So their lives, their cultural lives greatly influenced their music actually,” says Kadeer.
Kadeer adds that traveling through the Midwest has been culturally educational for his group as well. He says they have got to experience “real America” by taking pictures with cowboys and riding motorcycles.
The performance is open to the public and is being held on Saturday, May 11th at 7:00 pm in the Hill City High School Auditorium.
For more information contact the Hill City Arts Council at hillcityarts.org