Pitzer College Events Explore Harmony of Tea and Aikido

CLAREMONT, Calif. (March 28, 2005) – The Japanese tea ceremony, a practice developed by Samurai warriors, strongly connects to spiritual disciplines, including Zen. Pitzer College is pleased to host local artist Sumi Foley for a demonstration of the ceremony at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Mead Hall Living Room.

Continuing the College’s exploration of spiritual and physical disciplines, Susan Perry, chief instructor of Musubi Dojo, will demonstrate and discuss Aikido, a Japanese martial art in which defenders harmonize with their attackers. Her hour-long demonstration will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 31, in Avery 201.

Aikidoists practice flowing, graceful motion that is often confused with dance. (Appropriately, a famous book on the art is titled It's a Lot Like Dancing.) Perry served as editor-in-chief of Aikido Today Magazine for almost 20 years.

For more information, contact Ronald Rubin, Pitzer College Professor of the History of Ideas, at ronald_rubin@pitzer.edu or (909) 624-7770.

All events are free and open to the public. The lecture is presented with the generous support of the Jill Courtney Mason Fund and Pitzer’s Campus Life Committee.

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Founded in 1963, Pitzer College is a nationally ranked undergraduate college of the liberal arts and sciences. A member of The Claremont Colleges, Pitzer offers a distinctive approach to a liberal education by linking intellectual inquiry with interdisciplinary studies, cultural immersion, social responsibility and community involvement.