May Lee-Yang

By SAYMOUKDA VONGSAY
AAP staff writer

Hmong American, May Lee-Yang, has been a household name in the Minnesotan arts community for over a decade, known as a playwright, poet, prose writer, and performance artist.

Lee-Yang was born in Ban Vinai, a refugee camp in Thailand following the Secret War in Laos. Nine months after her birth, her family resettled in St. Paul, Minnesota where she lives to this day. Her work often explores the lives of Hmong women and living in a bicultural world.

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Celebrate Chinese New Year with a nasty dragon! (Southern Theater photo)

By Mary Tan
AAP Staff Writer

MINNEAPOLIS — It’s the year of the dragon, so what better way to showcase Chinese culture by taking your family to Tiger Lion Arts’ premier performance of The Dragons are Singing Tonight.

The performance is based on a series of poems about dragons written by United States Children’s Poet Laureate Jack Prelutsky.  Composer Laurie MacGregor turned the poems into 16 songs, which feature a unique storyline about an ordinary boy, a magical girl and a very nasty dragon.

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Vibha-Minnesota presents Taal, a dance and music competition for children on April 21, starting 9:30 a.m. at the University of Minnesota St. Paul Campus Student Center, 2017 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108.

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Jennifer Yuh Nelson, inset, directed “Kung Fu Panda 2” (DreamWorks Animation, Distributed by Paramount), which is nominated for Best animated feature film of the year by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 84th Annual Academy Awards. (Photo courtesy of Paramount)

AAP staff report

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ announced the nominees this week for the 84th Annual Academy Awards, with a few notable Asian Americans up for the Oscar.

The 84th Annual Academy Awards will be aired Sunday evening, Feb. 26, 2012 on ABC TV.

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Amy Chua

The eleventh annual Bob and Kim Griffin Building U.S.-China Bridges Lecture presents Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother: Increasing Mutual Understanding Between U.S. and China from author Amy Chua, a Professor at Yale Law School and author of best seller

“Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” on Friday, February 10, 2012, 4:30 p.m. Lecture and Q&A, Book signing to follow with all three of Amy Chua’s books available to purchase on-site.

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Twin Cities Chinese Dance Theater

Led by Asian Media Access, and collaborating with East Culture Center, Pan Asian Arts Alliance and Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center, the Chinese Lantern Carnival, which is the closing ceremony for our Lunar New Year series, will be held on Feb. 5, from 2 to 7 p.m. at the Great Hall in Saint Paul downtown, 180 East Fifth Street, St. Paul, MN 55101.

At the Great Hall, there will be lantern making, lantern riddles, other children’s games as well as traditional Asian Lunar New Year food. Furthermore, Iny Asian Dance Theater and Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center’s youth dancers will be performing throughout the afternoon and evening. Games and performances will start at 2 p.m.

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It used to be that the art of picture taking was something only hobbyists and professionals worried about, but today most cell phones and smartphones have built-in cameras that border on the quality of the top cameras of only a few years ago.

So, basically, everyone has gotten into the act. Judy Holmes and Greg Baer think most people could use a little help. Okay, in some cases, a lot of help. The have just written the friendly, no-nonsense, how-to book That Picture Stinks! (www.thatpicturestinks.com)

“Taking good pictures is about so much more than pointing and shooting,” said Holmes, a 20-year veteran professional photographer.

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New York, NY January 26 – AsianInNY, New York’s premier online destination for multicultural networking and entertainment, is throwing a festive celebration of the Lunar New Year on Feb. 11, 2012 from 7 to 10 p.m. The event will be located at Bennett Media Studio, 723 Washington Street.

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Janaki Ranpura in Stories of the Crash.

Janaki Ranpura debuts Stories of the Crash at The Third Place Gallery, Saturday, Feb. 18. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the performance starting at 7 p.m., followed by discussion, ping pong and karaoke. Suggested Donation: $5 to $10.

“We are excited to have Janaki Ranpura debut her original work Stories of the Crash, a series of episodes about accidents,” said Wing Young Huie, curator.

A small city will be the stage for illustrations, illuminations, and projections about how we see ourselves in relation to the economic and political developments of our world. Janaki created this piece in response to time spent in October at the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City.

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Blues, Gospel, Reggae and Afro-pop will fill the Ordway’s Music Theater when the Playing for Change band brings its musical message of peace to Saint Paul on February 12, 7:30 p.m. at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington Street, St. Paul, MN 55102.

Playing for Change is part of the Ordway’s 2011-2012 Target World Music and Dance Series. Performance. Tickets start at $26, contact the Box Office at 651-224-4222 or visit ordway.org.

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