Kirk Kenney, born in Florida, has played guitar for over a decade, but switched to fiddle after coming under the spell of Michael Ismerio three years ago in Beijing. He is a cofounder of Beijing’s only old time string band, the Hutong Yellow Weasels, and performs for weekly square dances. He is also the organizer of an informal group of bluegrass and old time musicians that meets every week in the capital to jam. He is currently on a tour around China that includes a performance at the major Guinness Wood+Wire Festival in Shanghai and the Musicians and Dancers Summit in Beijing. Kirk has two years of experience in early childhood education and studied Chinese at Bennington College, where he graduated with a liberal arts degree.

Chris Hawke, born in Orillia, Ontario, cofounded the Hutong Yellow Weasels with Kirk Kenney. He plays guitar and bass for the band and is studying how to play old-time fiddle music. He teaches journalism at Communication University of China and works at the Global Times as an editor. He has worked as a journalist based in New York City, Tokyo, and Bangkok, and has gone on assignment to Kabul, Islamabad, and Beijing for the Associated Press. More information about the Hutong Yellow Weasels can be found on their site: www.yellowweasels.com

Josh Dyer is a professional translator consumed by the twin delusions that he is a country musician and that Beijing is an up-and-coming Nashville where his songwriting and guitar-strumming talents will be richly rewarded. When his translation duties allow, he dons blue jeans and western shirts, grabs a guitar or dobro, and hops on stage with locally acclaimed American music acts such as the Randy Abel Stable, the Hutong Yellow Weasels, and the Honky Tonk Angels. In the past, he has done translations for UCCA and other arts organizations in China, but he is delighted to be appearing at UCCA as a musician, more evidence that the larger world is buying into his carefully cultivated musical fantasies.

In March 2014, UCCA and Ping Pong Productions launched the Performing Arts Platform Series. Through a wide variety of performances, open rehearsals, performing arts workshops, master classes, arts management seminars, lectures, talks, and discussions with artists, critics, and scholars, this program series creates unprecedented opportunities for Chinese and international performing artists and audiences to meet and interact. It facilitates cross-genre and cross-cultural exploration, enriching cultural exchange and collaboration between Chinese and international artists, audiences, and students.

Ping Pong Productions is a catalyst that brings China and the world together through the performing arts. As artistic ambassadors, they engage cultures through discourse, searching for points of cooperation, mutual exchange, and understanding. They develop cultural exchange projects and facilitate creative collaborations between Chinese and international artists, scholars and audiences. With teams based in China and the United States, PPP has extensive experience providing production, consulting, management, and planning services.

http://www.pingpongarts.org/