the beat of a different drummer

By Jim Callicott

Jiang Ya Ru and Hou Xuan, members of the Jung Jo Drum Girls at Cirque de Chine in Sevierville, are both avid readers but for now they have to read the books they brought from China as neither read English and the library doesn't offer books in Chinese. Spencer Perry knows a few things about books too as he is employed by the Seymour Library.

Before moving to Seymour two years ago with his wife of 27 years, Karen, Spencer had retired from the Army and was employed as a military contractor, usually working 16 hour days. Looking for slower pace employment, and being an excellent story teller, he was offered the position at the library. “I really love working there,” he said

In fact, it was at the Seymour Library that Spencer became acquainted with the drum girls. During the summer, the drum girls made a special appearance at the library to accent the children's reading program. “I was so impressed with their brief performance at the library that when the opportunity came to see the entire Cirque de Chine show, we readily took advantage of it. The entire show is great and the drum girls are fantastic performers.”

Becoming fantastic isn't an easy road for the drum girls. Both Jiang Ya Ru and Hou Xuan was accepted by the troupe when they were 12 years old. A remarkable feat as most girls who audition are turned down. They are judged on their height, appearance, figure and pace of playing drums. Drum school begins with practice of 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, for approximately a year until the instructor feels they are ready to perform on stage. The girls are only allowed to return home once a year during training.

The hardest part of the training is for all the girls to be in unison with their motions. To learn the Family Yang act, with the heavy costumes, a Chinese opera instructor is employed to teach them movements and facial expressions. This is usually the audience's favorite act.

The name, Jung Jo Drum Girls, comes from their home town of Jung Jo, China. This is where the history of Chinese drums began thousands of years ago and stone drums from the early stages of mankind have been unearthed there.

With the season winding down and a return to China in about a month coming up, both Jiang Ya Ru and Hou Xuan are excited to return home but also hesitant to leave as they love the American audience. The first thing they will do when they arrive in China, “Eat the food we miss!”