Lenora Lee Dance – 5th Anniversary Season
Passages: For Lee Ping To (2010) – excerpt
Reflections (2011)
The Escape
with Kei Lun Martial Arts & Enshin Karate, South San Francisco Dojo, featuring media design by Olivia Ting, music by Francis Wong, text by Genny Lim, and videography directed by Tatsu Aoki, filmed by Ben Estabrook & Eric Koziol
Friday & Saturday, October 12th & 13th, 8pm and Sunday, October 14th, 3:30pm
Dance Mission Theater – 3316 – 24th St @ Mission, SF, CA 94110
Venue info: www.dancemission.com
Admission: $15-25 in advance online, $20-25 at the door
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/265448
Note: for ages 16 years old and up
More info: www.LenoraLeeDance.com or email Lenora@asianimprov.org
Program
LLD’s 5th Anniversary performances share a breadth of Lenora’s large-scale interdisciplinary work. This program of three pieces represents a trilogy of works addressing key experiences in the Chinese American narrative.
Passages: For Lee Ping To (excerpt – SF) tells the story of Lee’s grandmother’s immigration through Angel Island during the era of the Chinese Exclusion Act. It utilizes historical documents as source material and includes transcripts of Lee Ping To’s interrogation during her incarceration on the island. Passages was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design.
Reflections (SF) delves into the experiences of 3 generations of men in their search for a sense of place in American society. It addresses the struggle for dominance and survival, the pursuit of wisdom, and ultimately the quest for peace. Reflections was developed through the support of the CounterPULSE Artist Residency Commissioning Program.
The Escape (SF & NY) is inspired by stories of women who had become vulnerable upon arrival into the U.S. during the early 20th Century. The project seeks to shed light on the experiences of these women in the context of the social history of the period for Chinese in America as well as for women in the society as a whole with the struggles and achievements of the 20th Century Women’s Movement, which took on such issues as child labor and human trafficking.
The multimedia projection will highlight a site-specific re-creation of experiences in Cameron House, a historic five-story building in SF Chinatown from the period explored in the work. From its founding as the Mission Home for Girls in 1874 until the 1930s, Cameron House assisted over 2,000 women who sought shelter, education, and opportunities, or sought refuge from forced domestic labor or servitude. These women came through CH to recover their lives and realize positive contributions to the community and society. The Escape is part of a larger commissioned work to be performed at the de Young Museum as part of their 2013 Artist Fellows program.
Live Performers: Lenora Lee, Marina Fukushima, Chin-Chin Hsu, Ronald Wong, Dale Chung, Raymond Fong, Yukihiko Noda, Jon Iiyama, Collin Wong, Melody Takata, SanSan Kwan, Grace Alvarez, Chia-Yi Seetoo, Monica Tzeng, Jenny Leung, Anne Chen, Pamela Wong, Amy Lam, Additionally on Video: Alisa Wong, Chizuru Kineya, Laurene Chan, Corey Chan, Kimberly Elliot, Carl Irons, Olivia Ting, Karina Lee Howe, Kate Lee Howe, James Chan, Nolan Chow, Junichiro Nakanishi, Keith Soohoo, Kevin Ho, and the dragon dancers from Kei Lun Martial Arts
Music Score: composer/saxophonist Francis Wong, with Kei Lun Martial Arts, Tatsu Aoki (bass, taiko), Melody Takata (taiko), Karen Stackpole (drums, gongs). Wayne Wallace (trombone), Kat Parra (vocals), Genny Lim (vocals), and Corey Chan (Chinese drum).
Co-presented by Asian Improv aRts, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Chinese Historical Society of America Museum, and Cameron House. Community Partners: Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Asian Women’s Shelter, Asian Anti-Trafficking Collaborative, San Francisco Department on the Status of Women
Supported by Zellerbach Family Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, California Arts Council, Grants For the Arts/SF Hotel Tax Fund, WKK Donor-Advised Fund, San Francisco Foundation, and Individual Donors.
Photo by Robbie Sweeny
