Urna Chahar-Tugchi
Acting
Biography
Urna was born into a family of herders in the grasslands of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, a society where song was a ubiquitous part of everyday life. Her first musical training was learning to play the yangqin—Chinese dulcimer—from a Shanghai Conservatory of Music professor who was visiting Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia. Then, at the age of 18, she moved to study at the Shanghai Conservatory, a challenging step since she had no knowledge of the Chinese language. She now performs around the world, and is based in Bavaria, Germany and in Cairo, Egypt. In 2003, she was awarded the RUTH prize in Germany for Best International Artist.
Known For
Alus is a nomadic electronic musician who accompanied his mother with Alzheimer's disease back to the grassland and spent the last time with his mother.
The Cord of Life
An old, broken morin khurr (horse head fiddle) compels renowned Mongolian singer Urna Chahar Tugchi to take a road journey to Ulan Bator and the steppes of Mongolia.
The Two Horses of Genghis Khan
Living in a city is punishment for a nomad who moves freely across the land. Simply waiting at a stoplight is akin to being in a cage.