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CORVALLIS - The Chinese Performing Arts Ensemble from the Province of Henan will present a free show featuring acrobatics, martial arts and classical music at on Monday, July 25, at Ashbrook Independent School in Corvallis (4045 S.W. Research Way). The event begins at 7 p.m.

This Corvallis appearance, jointly sponsored by the Oregon State University Department of Music and Ashbrook School, will be one of only two Oregon performances for the 29-member ensemble. Their American tour also includes engagements in San Francisco and at Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where they have performed regularly since 1997.

The Corvallis performance is part of an educational and cultural exchange between Oregon and the Province of Henan, initiated in the year 2000. Last April, Marlan Carlson, chairman of the OSU music department and music director for the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra, conducted the Henan Province Symphony Orchestra in a concert featuring Alexander Tutunov, a pianist from Southern Oregon University, and Michael Curtis, the first bassoonist for the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, as soloists.

In October, Richard Poppino, OSU's director of vocal studies, will participate in a three-week residency at the State University in Zhengzhou, the capitol of Henan Province as part of this cultural exchange.

"We are very excited to bring an international ensemble of this caliber to perform in Corvallis," Carlson said. "It's quite a show, with three different types of performance art on one program."

The martial arts team has its home in the Shaolin Temple, which was the birthplace of Chinese kung fu in the fifth century. The art was originally cultivated as a part of Chan Buddhism, and since its founding, has spread throughout the world.

The acrobatics team, whose youngest members are eight years old, is the international touring ensemble of the Puyang Acrobatics Center. In addition to being one of China's most respected acrobatics groups, it has won many national and international prizes.

The musical ensemble of five players performs on traditional Chinese instruments, including the pipa (a lute-like instrument), the Zheng (similar to a hammered dulcimer), the bamboo flute and the er-hu (a two-stringed violin).

Admission to this performance is free and early arrival is advised as seating is limited in the school theater. For more information, call the OSU music department at 541-737-4061.