(Kingston, NY) The Bardavon is pleased to present The Shaolin Warriors on Thursday, October 22 at 7pm at UPAC in Kingston. For over one thousand years, the Shaolin Temple has been the heart and soul of Chinese kung fu. Now, in a fully choreographed theatrical production, The Shaolin Warriors bring the remarkable skill, stunning movement and spectacular imagery of Kung Fu to the Bardavon stage. The performance is sponsored by Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union.

Today, the Shaolin Temple is best known as the home of one of China's national treasures, the legendary fighting monks. The Songshan Shaolin Martial Monks Troupe consists of more than 20 warriors who have each perfected the art of hand-to-hand and weapons combat. With the precision of Olympic gymnasts, the grace of ballet dancers and the magic of Cirque du Soleil, The Shaolin Warriors demonstrate their sacred and deadly art form in a dazzling kung fu theatrical display.

Located at the base of Mount Shaoshi in the Henan province of central China, the Shaolin Temple was founded in 525 AD by a Buddhist monk from India named Ta Mo. Leader of a Buddhist sect, Ta Mo laid the foundation for the martial arts out of the commitment to enhancing harmony between mind, body and spirit through Ch'an(Zen), an intense form of meditation. The early monks found themselves in need of protection during China's brutal feudal wars and developed a system of defense by meditating on the attack and defense movements of animals that lived near their monastery. The Shaolin monks called their system of fighting wushu and after a few centuries of practice, their order was famous far and wide for being a brand of Buddhist monks that one would be unwise to provoke.

Today, the monks still train for several hours every day to perfect the art of hand-to-hand and weapons combat. Each monk is required to achieve an extraordinarily high level of proficiency in each of the temple's 18 traditional weapons and to become a master of one. Weapons include: the common axe, cudgel, spear, halberd, sword and broadsword, 3-section staff, dart, dagger, black tiger hammer, plumblossom broadsword, Bodhidharma staff, tiger hooks and many others. Through a practice known as Ch'an (Zen), the monks calm the body and focus the mind to a single collected point in order to attain a mental state known as Samadhi, or complete mental absorption. It is in this quiet yet highly focused state of mind that the monk is able to sustain extreme physical discomfort and pain and enable him to undergo the intense daily training required to achieve and maintain the level of adeptness for which they are so highly praised. As the Toronto Star reported, "The monks perform feats one thought possible only with cinematic trickery."

Tickets for The Shaolin Warriors on Thursday, November 22 at 7pm are available at the UPAC Box Office, (845) 339-6088, 601 Broadway in Kingston or at the Bardavon Box Office, (845) 473-2072, 35 Market Street in Poughkeepsie and through Ticketmaster, (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com. Seats are $37 (Adults) $32(Bardavon Members) $25 (Children 12 and under). For further information, please visit: www.bardavon.org or www.upac.org.