Clips Ending August 29, 2003

By Chau Nguyen

Dragon's Roar Festival to Showcase APA Music Talent

Toby Preciado Jr., Lew Soratorio Jr., and Angelo Arce of InnerVoices are just one of many musical talents that will be appearing at the Dragon's Roar Festival on September 5 at the WCETV studio. Courtesy of unitymusicworks.com.

A wide range of Asian Pacific American artists will be gathering at the second annual Dragon's Roar festival on September 5 at WCETV's Concert Venue/Television Studio in the City of Industry to showcase their talents. Not only that, but the event will be filmed for an upcoming DVD, expected to be released sometime during Christmas, which will include interviews with the artists as well as behind the scenes footage of the festival.

This year's musical guests will include Ill Again, CreAsian, InnerVoices, Element of the Outer Realms, Prach Ly, Corinne May, and Digital Cutup Lounge. These are all image-breaking artists who represent the diverse APA community while covering a broad-spectrum of musical styles. Throughout the event, there will also be showings of recent breakthrough films such as Justin Lin's "Better Luck Tomorrow," Eric Byler's "Charlotte Sometimes," Daisy Lin Shapiro's "YlloGrl" and Jimmy Lee's "Close Call." Special guests, directors, participants, and actors from these films will also be present to share their experiences.

Ticket information:
$15.00- At the Door
$10.00- Advance (Purchased by September 1, 2003)
$7.50- Group Purchases (7+ tickets purchased by September 1, 2003)
For further information, please contact dragonsroar@earthlink.net or call (562) 925-8813.

A Taste of Chinese Opera at SilkROAD 2003

A character from "Monkey King Wreaks Havoc in Heaven," a story about a monkey who possesses magical powers, and uses them to cause trouble in heaven. Courtesy of silkroad2003.com.

Hydra Ventures and The Koo Foundation have collaborated this year to produce SilkROAD 2003, a two-day theater performance of Kunqu Theater, a genre of classic Cantonese Opera that originated over 400 years ago. The event will take place in New York on September 5-6 and will feature Maestro Bao-Chun Li, one of the most renowned stars of classic Chinese Opera. Accompanying him will be more than 40 performers from the Taipei Li-Yuan Chinese Opera Troupe.

The first day of the event, September 5th, will feature "The Monkey King Wreaks Havoc in Heaven," a tale about a monkey who causes trouble in heaven with his magical powers. The second and final day, September 6th, will feature "Farewell My Concubine," a classical Chinese opera piece about a king and his favored concubine, and "Golden Falcon," a story about forbidden love between a golden falcon and an angel.

The name of the production was inspired by the historical route that had connected China with the rest of the world in ancient times. Not only facilitating the transport of economic goods, the Silk Road also allowed for a transportation of ideas. In this sense, the producers hope to promote a modern day exchange of culture among different groups through the experience of classical Chinese theater. Sponsored in part by New York's MoCA (Museum of Chinese in the Americas), SilkROAD 2003 will be shown at the Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center in New York. For more information, please visit www.SilkRoad2003.com. For tickets, please visit www.lincolncenter.org.

Honoring Asian American Contributions to the Seattle Hip-Hop Scene

Many paintings will be on display in "It's Like That: Asian Pacific Americans and Seattle's Hip Hop Scene" including this one entitled "DJ" by Hoven Vida. Courtesy of seattlepi.com.

Many think that hip-hop is strictly a black phenomenon originating from either Los Angeles or the Bronx, but the new exhibit at the Wing Luke Asian Museum in Seattle proves this wrong by displaying Asian American contributions to Seattle's hip-hop culture.

The exhibit entitled "It's Like That: Asian Pacific Americans in the Seattle Hip-Hop Scene" pays homage to artists such as DJ Nasty Nes, Emcee Karim Panni, and break-dancing crews like Emerald City Breakers.

To bring hip-hop closer to the audience, the exhibit is set up to look like a typical teenager's room where visitors are encouraged to browse through the wide range of hip-hop paraphernalia such as a turntable, boom boxes and graffiti-painted clothes. Hip-hop influenced paintings line the wall along with local posters, decals and fliers. Visitors can watch tapes featuring local break-dancing crews, or listen to oral histories on headphones. The museum curator, George Quibuyen, an MC with the Blue Scholars (an MC-DJ duo from Seattle), developed the idea for the exhibit, which opened on July 5 and will continue to run until November 30. For more information, please visit www.wingluke.org.

A Blending of Chinese and Western Art in Landscape of Memory: The Art of Mu Xin

This is an ink-and-gouache painting entitled "Spring Brilliance at Kuaiji" that Mu Xin created during his period of house arrest from 1977-1978. Courtesy of asiasociety.org.

The Asia Society Museum in New York is currently exhibiting "Landscape of Memory: The Art of Mu Xin" until September 7. These are writings and landscape paintings produced by the artist during his imprisonment during China's Cultural Revolution (1965-1976). The exhibit includes "The Prison Notes," a collection of 66 pages of notes that he composed during his incarceration from 1971 to 1972, and 33 ink-and-gouache landscape paintings that he created during his period of house arrest from 1977 to 1978.

Even though he incorporates aspects of both Chinese and Western artistic idioms, his works still come across as distinctly Chinese. But it is the fusion of the two cultures, coupled with the commentary about China's cultural past and present that sets his work apart from other artists. Given the conditions under which they were produced, these works serve as powerful reminders of Mu Xin's remarkable response to political terror.

The exhibit is co-organized by the Yale University Art Gallery, and David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago. It is curated by Alexander Monroe and Wu Hung. For more information, please visit www.asiasociety.org.

Premiere of New Vietnamese American TV Show in Huntington Beach

A flier promoting the VAX (Vietnamese American Xposure) premiere at Club Majestic in Long Beach. Courtesy of thsv.org.

The Vietnamese American TV show "VAX," which stands for "Vietnamese American Xposure" made its premiere at Club Majestic in Huntington Beach on August 28. Aimed at a younger generation Vietnamese audience, "VAX" is an English-speaking magazine show featuring youth lifestyles, talent showcases, celebrities, and cultural diversity. The show is scheduled to broadcast in late September on Time Warner Channel 16 on Fridays from 7:30-8 pm.

The premiere featured an exclusive screening of the show's first two pilot episodes as well as a fashion show sponsored by Manhattan Ave. and live performances from Seven, Nuthouze, and Chosen 1. Guests included Director Tony Bui, winner of the Sundance film festival awards, Director Timothy Linh Bui of "Green Dragon," and many Vietnamese singers such as Nhu Quynh, Linda Trang Dai, and Trish Thuy Trang. The premiere was sponsored by Viejas Casino, 411 V.I.E.T., New World Electronics, Manhattan Ave., Select Printing and Graphics, and Mega Leap.

Secret Wonderland Brings Korean Films to New York Audiences

Joo Kyung-Jung's "A Little Monk" starring Kim Tae-Jin was just one of 18 movies that were shown at the New York Korean Film Festival. Courtesy of koreanfilmforum.org.

Featuring films such as "A Little Monk," "Oasis" and "Jail Breakers," the third annual New York Korean Film Festival gave east coasters a taste of contemporary Korean cinema. The showings were held at the Quad Cinema (August 15-21) and the BAM Rose Cinemas (August 22-24) in New York. Presented by the Korean Film Forum and Samsung Electronics, the theme this year was "Secret Wonderland" and included a line-up of 18 films.

The Korean Film Forum is a group composed of students and enthusiasts based in the greater New York area. The group's goal is to promote and exhibit Korean cinema in New York. To learn more about them, please visit www.koreanfilmforum.org.

9th Annual Boulder Asian Festival Celebrates Colorado's Diverse Asian Community

Denver Taiko, a self-taught group of third and fourth generation Japanese American drummers, was one of many performances present at the Boulder Asian Festival. Courtesy of denvertaiko.org.

The 9th Annual Boulder Asian Festival took place at the Pearl Street Mall in Colorado on August 22 and 23. Organized by the Boulder Asian Pacific Alliance (BAPA), this festival is the longest running Asian event in the Denver Metro area. The event is an annual summertime outdoor festival that celebrates the thriving and diverse Asian Pacific culture within the community. The festival included song, dance, martial arts demonstrations, Puppet Theater, and authentic cuisine from over 15 Asian cultures. This year's special guest was Watanabe, a renowned Japanese Taiko Drum artist, who performed with Denver Taiko on August 22. The event was free and open to the public.

Family Fundamentals Explores Homosexuality in the American Family

Arthur Dong is the producer/director of several acclaimed independent documentaries, including "Family Fundamentals." Courtesy of pflag.org.

Arthur Dong's "Family Fundamentals" (2002), a film exploring homosexuality in Christian fundamentalist families, premiered on PBS on August 26 at 10 pm. The film was Dong's latest installment from his ongoing efforts to understand the contempt that many Americans have towards homosexuality. His other films that dealt with this particular theme were "Licensed to Kill" (1997), a film about convicted murderers of gay men, and "Coming Out Under Fire" (1994), a documentary about anti-gay military policies during World War II. In "Family Fundamentals," Dong takes viewers into the public and private lives of three families who have responded to gay family members by actively opposing homosexuality.

Dong is the producer and director of several acclaimed independent documentaries made within the last 20 years including "Sewing Women" (1982), which received an Oscar nomination, and "Public" (1970), which won first place at the California High School Film Festival. Between 1991 and 1992, ten of his documentaries, including "Dust of Life" and "Echoes in the Grid" appeared on KCET-TV, a public television program based in Los Angeles.

Dragon Boats Compete at the Third Annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon boats line the shore of Sloan's Lake at the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival. Courtesy of coloradodragonboat.org.

From the shore, it looked as though numerous dragons were gliding across the water, but these weren't dragons-not real ones at least. These were the dragon boats competing against one another at the third annual Colorado Dragon Boat Festival held at Sloan's Lake Park on August 17. The event was an opportunity to celebrate the tradition and cultures of Colorado's diverse Asian communities. The festival included a marketplace that featured over 80 shops and food vendors, an entertainment stage that featured 16 performances, and of course the highlight of the event, the Dragon Boat race.

Dragon boat racing is a sport that originated in China over 2000 years ago. The canoe-like boats get their names from the dragon designs found at the front and back. Each team is made up of 18 paddlers, a drummer and a flag catcher, who pulls a flag out of the water at the end of the race. This year, 48 teams competed in the race for the Colorado Dragon Cup, but the winner was the Coors team. With only 15,000 spectators in its first year in 2001, this year brought in more than 50,000 people making the event quite a success.

K-Pop Artists Join Together at Staples Center for Power Concert

Shinhwa was one of the K-Pop groups to perform at the "Power Concert 2003" held at the Staples Center on August 22. Courtesy of soompi.com.

On August 22, thousands of K-Pop fans gathered at the Staples Center for the "Power Concert 2003" to see their favorite Korean artists perform. This year's line-up included Boa, Shinhwa, Seven, Jo Sung Mo, NRG, Park Jin Young and many others. The concert also featured special performances by the Manhattan Transfer Band and Lee Oskar. Hosted by Red Won Entertainment, this was the 3rd major K-Pop concert held in the United States in recent months. The first was at the Hollywood Bowl on April 26, and the second was at the RFK Stadium in Washington DC on June 28. These first two concerts commemorated 100 years of Korean immigration, and were sponsored by Korea Times newspaper, and the Korean television network SBS.

Commemorating 100 Years of Korean Immigration at Korean Culture 2003

The NCKTPA performing the Cheoyongmu, the masks dance of the Silla kingdom. Courtesy of kccla.org.

Celebrating the centennial of Korean immigration to the United States, "Korean Culture 2003" was held on August 15 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. The event included performances from the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts (NCKTPA). The 55-member group gave audiences a taste of traditional Korean arts and music through five songs, three dances, and a vocal recital.

In accordance with its North American Tour, the NCKTPA also held performances in Canada on August 12 and 19 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Canada and Korea. NCKTPA is recognized as the country's bastion for preserving Korea's rich tradition in the field of arts.

August 29, 2003