Cecilia Nadal
(right), President of Gitana Productions
At ceremonies held at University City's City Hall on Saturday, January 18, 2003, Gitana Productions received top awards for their film "Dance of the Dragon: A Profile of Chinese Music." After a welcome from Mayor Joseph L. Adams and presentations from Masters of Ceremony Agnes and Bob Wilcox, Gitana Productions received two awards in the categories of Best Program and Best Technical in the Arts Category. The awards were given by the Committee for Access and Local Origination Programming (CALOP).
CALOP's mission is to provide funds for the development and promotion of a wide variety of local programming that enriches, entertains and provides cultural and educational enhancements for the greater St. Louis Metropolitan area. The CALOP Academy Awards Night is held every three years to recognize the best CALOP-funded films in the categories of Art, History and Education.
Gitana Productions, Inc. is a not-for-profit arts and education organization dedicated to increasing cultural awareness by bringing international music, dance and drama to the St. Louis community. The documentary "Dance of the Dragon: A Profile of Chinese Music" was completed on the eve of the St. Louis premier performance of the world renown China National Orchestra, an eighty-member orchestra composed of China's best musicians. The Orchestra has traveled throughout Europe, South America, Asia and Australia, leaving with rave reviews. The China National Orchestra performs from a large repertoire of fine folkloric musical works originating from various regions in China using instruments dating back three thousand years.
The film was the result of collaboration between Gitana Productions, Maven Films, the St. Louis Chinese Association and China's Ministry of Culture as a part of their combined efforts to educate St. Louisans about the cultural, historical and literary influences on the traditional music of China.
Gitana Productions produced "Faces of Love From the East" featuring the China National Orchestra at Powell Symphony Hall on September 3, 2000
to a near capacity crowd of ethnically diverse St. Louisans. "Dance of the Dragon: A Profile of Chinese Music" is the first documentary produced by Gitana Productions used exclusively for long-term educational purposes.
The film required approval from the China's Ministry of Culture because of the participation of musicians from the State sponsored China National Orchestra. Cecilia Nadal, President of Gitana Productions Incorporated's Board of Directors, secured Beijing's approval and the film was produced on location at Webster University in St. Louis.
For more information, you may call (314) 721-6556 or e-mail us at gitana@stlouis.missiouri.org. You may also visit the Gitana Productions web site at
www.gitana-inc.org.
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