On Friday evening, November 15th, the acclaimed, Washington D.C. based Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) returns to New York City for an evening entitled Korean American Journeys: An Evening of Modern Dance.
The event will feature their signature repertory at the new Korean Cultural Center, located at 122 East 32nd street, steps away from Manhattan’s Koreatown neighborhood.
A recent press release describes the program:
- Hyphen which represents the turbulent struggle that Asian Americans feel as they solidify their identity in the American cultural tapestry. The mixed-media piece features the full Company and a video backdrop of some of Nam June Paik’s earliest experimental films.
- Becoming American. Based on the real life story of Katia Norri, a dancer with DTSBDC who was adopted from Korea by an American couple in New Jersey. The work delves into her journey to understand her new home.
- And, Leaving Pusan. Based on Dana’s great grandmother’s emotional and physical departure from Korea in 1903 – voyaged to Oahu, Hawaii on the first steamship, the Gaelic, to deliver Koreans to work on sugar cane and pineapple plantations. She would work on the Del Monte plantation her entire life.
“This is a timely moment to dialogue about the Asian American experience. We’re focusing on emotionally complex stories,” says Dana. “The dances encourage audiences to contemplate often overlooked historic challenges that Asian Americans have encountered in their journey to be included in the American canon.”
The evening will also include a post-performance question and answer session with the artistic director and a newly minted author as Dana discusses his memoir Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly. This top-selling and deeply personal memoir shares heartfelt insight into his own unique modern dance aesthetic informed by his Korean American identity.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company presents “Korean American Journeys: An Evening of Modern Dance” Friday November 15 at 7:30pm. Korean Cultural Center New York 122 E 32nd St. between Park and Lexington. Tickets are free and can be reserved here.