SANFORD — Exciting and colorful Chinese folk dances, music and martial arts light up the stage at the Dennis A. Wicker Civic Center as the Ethnic Arts Troupe of Jishou University performs.

Central Carolina Community College’s Confucius Classroom hosts this performance by faculty and students from the university’s College of Music and Dance. The show runs from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 7, at the Civic Center, 1801 Nash St. Admission is free, but those wanting to attend must reserve their free tickets by calling (919) 718-7268.

“We are delighted to bring this unique, high quality program to the community,” said Central Carolina President Bud Marchant. “It is another opportunity to build bonds of friendship and understanding among people and to enjoy a cultural performance that will enrich all who see it.”

The college is able to bring the Ethnic Arts Troupe to the Sanford area through its partnership with North Carolina State University’s Confucius Institute. N.C. State is the first university in the United States to develop a partnership with a community college for a Confucius Classroom. Shuya Che, a visiting professor from Nanjing University, is the instructor for the college’s program, which teaches Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture.

N.C. State University signed a memorandum of agreement with Jishou University last year for cultural exchanges between the two institutions. The Ethnic Arts Troupe is the first fruit of that agreement. It performs at NCSU on Nov. 6 before appearing in Sanford on Nov. 7.

“This is a very special performance,” said Anna Lamm, deputy director of NCSU’s Confucius Institute. “Most people in China and the United States have never seen this troupe. This performance has special significance because it brings the culture of some of China’s ethnic minorities to the stage.”

The Ethnic Arts Troupe was founded in 1998 to preserve and share the dances, music and costumes of the various ethnic groups that make up Hunan Province, where the university is located.  Through dancing, singing and playing instruments, the troupe will share the folk music of the Miao and Tujia minorities of Hunan. Demonstrations of gongfu martial arts are also part of the program.

The troupe is composed of faculty and students from Jishou’s College of Music and Dance. Its dances and programs have received many medals in professional contests both in China and the world. The female chorus won the silver medal in the fifth China International Chorus Festival. The dance team took first prize for both arts creation and acting in the China national college students dance contest. The troupe has performed on Chinese television in the Hearts to Hearts arts show hosted by the State Ministry of Culture and China Central Television Station.

The eight faculty and seven student performers will be accompanied on their visit to Sanford by Jishou University administrators: Vice President Xiaoxian Cao, Dean Shuping Zhang, Vice Dean Zhiming Tang, and delegation deputies Zhushou Yin and Dr. Hauzhong Zhou.

This is the second Chinese cultural performance that CCCC’s Confucius Classroom has brought to Sanford. On Oct. 17, the public enjoyed a performance by the instrumental ensemble March Rain, from Nanjing Normal University.