Celebrating Diversity in Tai Chi Wellness

—a World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day Special Event

The last Saturday of April is the World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day (WTCQGD). Tai Chi practitioners from hundreds of cities spanning 80 plus nations around the world will join and celebrate this special event that forms a 24-hour wave of Tai Chi. Edina Community Education / United Tai Chi Center (UTCC) are proud to bring you this free community event and invite you join the celebration!

Date:               Saturday, April 25, 2015

Time:               10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Location:         Community Auditorium at Normandale Elementary School (NOT Normandale Technical College)

Agenda:

10:00 to 10:30    Sign in and set up

10:30 to 10:40    Introduction to Tai Chi and WTCQGD—Barbara Davis

10:40 to 10:55    Tai Chi Gong Demonstration—Jean Waddington

10:55 to 11:10    Chen Style Tai Chi Demonstration—Jose Figueroa

11:10 to 11:25    Tai Chi Fan Demonstration—Sasha Szutu

11:25 to 11:40    Birthing Life T’ai Chi—Robert Larsen & Rob Grunewald

11:40 to 11:55    Wu Style Tai Chi –Yang Ye

11:55 to 12:00    Closing remarks—Yang Ye

12:30 to  2:00    Dim Sum at New Beijing Restaurant (Seating is limited and a 7-day RSVP required via email below)

Cost:               FREE ($20 per person for Dim Sum at New Beijing Restaurant)

Contact:          Info@UnitedTaiChiCenter.com

Website:        www.UnitedTaiChiCenter.com

Presenters:

Barbara Davis

Barbara Davis is director of Great River Tai Chi in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has trained in Taiwan and the USA with senior students of Professor Zheng Manqing (Cheng Man-ch’ing), one of the first people to teach widely in the USA, and is at work on a biography of him. In addition, Barbara is the author of The Taijiquan Classics: An Annotated Translation, and translator of Chen Weiming’s Taiji Sword. She served on the editorial advisory board for the Journal of Asian Martial Arts, and was the chief editor for Taijiquan Journal.

Jean Waddington

Dr. Jean Waddington is a 20-year veteran instructor at Edina Community Education. She did scientific research at the University of Minnesota, and when she retired was able to further study her lifelong interests in Asian Arts and how the human body works. She developed Tai Chi Gong as a program that incorporated the ancient arts of Chi Gong, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Meditation. She studied every available method of meditation and self-healing and offers her insights as a program that is unique to Edina Community Education. Jean will demonstrate how Tai Chi Going is exercised.

Jose Figueroa

Shih-fu Jose Figueroa is Founder and Director of the Mind-Body Synergy Institute. He specializes in Chen Style taijiquan and has been an indoor disciple of Ren Guang Yi since 1991. He and his students will perform various forms of traditional Chen Tai Chi, forms, weapons, and push hands.

Sasha Szutu

Instructor Sasha Szutu was born in Taiwan. She has practiced Chinese dance for over 30 years, focused mainly on Chinese Kung Fu dance. She has performed on the world stage at the Festival of Nations, Peking Opera, and many other Chinese cultural events. When she saw Tai Chi Fan performed on the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch travel, it was love at first sight. She teaches dance in her own studio and at the Twin Cities Chinese Language School. Sasha will perform the Tai Chi Fan form and illustrate how Tai Chi movements can related to the artistic expression of dance.

Robert Larsen & Rob Grunewald

Master Robert Larsen is a psychotherapist in private practice. He originally studied with Master Cheng Man Ching in New York City and founded the Birthing Life T’ai-Chi Center over 30 years ago. Along with Robert is Sifu Rob Grunewald, who has studied and taught classes at the Birthing Life T’ai-Chi for about 20 years. Together they will demonstrate Birthing Life T’ai-Chi and show how movements can express outward into martial applications and how the practice support inner awareness and personal transformation.

Yang Ye

Yang Ye is Director and Chief Instructor at United Tai Chi Center (www.UnitedTaiChiCenter.com) and teaches at Edina Community Education. He studied various traditional Tai Chi Quan under many Tai Chi Masters in China but is constantly trying to incorporate proven evidence-based medical research into the practice and theory of Tai Chi. Yang is an avid supporter and promoter of Tai Chi, and is the co-host of similar WTQGD event in 2005 and is the main sponsor behind this year’s WTQGD event. Yang will demonstrate Section I of the traditional Wu Style Tai Chi Slow Set.