Half the world away, film and television studies professor David Ehrlich has brought his passion for animation to China, a country that he has visited annually since 1988. This year, he is teaching animation classes at the Beijing Film Academy, as well completing work on his own animation projects.
Ehrlich originally visited China to work for several months on the first Shanghai Animation Festival and to teach animation workshops in various Shanghai schools. Since then, he has been involved in a number of projects in China that have greatly influenced his work at Dartmouth.
Ehrlich first complemented his work at Dartmouth by studying brush-painting with a Shanghai Master, an experience that has had a profound impact on the line work of his animation. Currently, he is finishing a project titled "Line Dance," a three-minute abstract animation that will be accompanied by music. Once completed, "Line Dance" will be shown at animation festivals in Hungary and Taiwan in June and September.
Additionally, Ehrlich is teaching three classes on animation production and one on animation history. He is working with his animation students on projects ranging from self-portraits to one-minute animations to promote the upcoming Beijing Olympics.
"For the promotions, we began with some great scripts that Brian Lananna '06 had written in my Asian Animation course last spring," said Ehrlich in an e-mail. Lananna's script provided a base upon which the BFA students created their own concepts.
Ehrlich enjoys spending time with his students outside of the classroom, as well, and wakes up at 6:30 every morning to play basketball with them on the BFA courts. According to Ehrlich, his students in China frequently ask about life back in Hanover, and have expressed a particular interest in the Dartmouth skiing and ice skating teams.
Ehrlich is also working with Dartmouth Chinese professor Hua-yuan Mowry to bring director Tian Zuangzuang to Dartmouth in the future. Zuangzuang has directed such films as "Blue Kite" and "Go Masters," and heads the directing program at BFA. Ehrlich and Mowry will co-teach a class on Chinese Film for the Master of Arts and Liberal Studies program at Dartmouth next fall.
Ehrlich also travels around China as much as possible, often showing his and his students' work at different film and art schools around the country.
"Traveling in general is inspiring because it presents me with a multitude of new experiences, challenges to overcome, wonderful people, and finally, the continual sensation of movement so essential to animation," Ehrlich said.
In his visits to China, he has paid attention to more than just animation.
"It's been a remarkable experience to witness the economic, political and cultural developments over here in the last 20 years," Ehrlich said.
While he misses the Dartmouth campus, Ehrlich finds ways to connect with his life back in Hanover.
"I get The D every morning on the web, and I'm in e-mail contact with many of my students, so I think I'm getting the best of both worlds," he said.
Ehrlich will return to campus May 18, and said he is looking forward to the Student Animation Festival this spring.
