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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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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Students in grades 6 to 12 are invited to an open-call dance audition for Interlochen Center for the Arts on Sun., Jan. 22, 2012 at James Sewell Ballet, 528 Hennepin Ave., Suite 205, Minneapolis.

Auditions will include ballet, pointe and modern technique. Participating students will be considered for admission to Interlochen’s world-renowned summer arts program or fine arts boarding high school.

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SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Dec. 1, 2011) — The Dance to Learn program at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts takes the stage in its fourth year with a unique cross-site performance and reflection event happening today in the Ordway’s McKnight Theatre, where new original work will be presented to children from a handful of schools by local choreographers Karla Nweje and Leah Nelson.

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Ananya Dance Theatre (Photo by V. Paul Virtucio)

By MAYA NISHIKAWA
AAP staff writer 

MINNEAPOLIS — Ananya Chatterjea and her fellow dancers are trying to ignite inspiration and action with their latest production “Tushaanal: Fires of Dry Grass”.

“When you see the work. It’ s not highly intellectualized, it’s experiential,” explained Chatterjea, Founder and Artistic Director of the Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT).

The theatre, now in its seventh season, combines art and social justice in a unique way.  The artistic pieces not only bring to light the stories of the oppressed, in particular women, but the dialogue also provides a channel for change.

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Linda Hashimoto van Dooijeweert, left, and a student of her sansei Yonsei Kai, a Japanese traditional dance group. (Photos by Maya Nishikawa)

By MAYA NISHIKAWA
AAP staff writer

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Aug. 21, 2011) — Thousands of people crowded the streets and gardens near the Como Park Conservatory to see, hear, and taste a bit of Japanese culture during this year’s Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival last Sunday.

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Pride of Vietnam: Legends & Rituals and Mid-Autumn Festival will be held Sat., Sept. 10, 2011, from 2:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Mall of America, 8100 24th Ave S, Bloomington, MN 55425.

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A Hmong Dance Drama, the Water Bucket Dance from “Longing for Qeej.” (Photos courtesy of the Mionnesota Fringe Festival)

By ANGE HWANG

MINNEAPOLIS — Iny Asian Dance Theater, in collaboration with Asian Media Access, and Pan Asian Arts Alliance, presented Longing for Qeej, a Hmong dance drama, at Minnesota Fringe Festival last week, with huge success, and rave reviews.

Longing for Qeej is the traditional Hmong creation story of the Qeej (pronounced “kang”) instrument.  Qeej is a bamboo and wooden mouth organ found throughout Eastern Asia, and is a traditional music instrument played by the Hmong people. The Qeej has six pipes of different lengths attached to a wooden air chamber, and is played in major holidays and ceremonies.

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Please join Ananya Dance Theatre (ADT) for an open rehearsal of the company’s new work, “Tushaanal: Fires of Dry Grass,” on Monday, August 8, at 6:00 p.m. at the Barbara Barker Center for Dance, University of Minnesota, Room 100.

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By MARY TAN
AAP staff writer

Echo Huang has rhythm. Whether doing the Foxtrot, the Viennese Waltz or the Cha Cha, Huang is a dancing diva who moves with grace.

As a recent competitor in the 2011 Twin Cities Open Ballroom Dance Competition at the City Center Marriott in Minneapolis, she placed in the top three for the American Rhythm, American Smooth and International Standard dance categories. It’s an accomplishment that is no easy feat and she’s absolutely thrilled she’s done so well in her part-time pursuit of being a top-notch ballroom dancer.

When you think of this art form, most don’t think of it as an activity that’s popular with Asians. It’s something Huang never dreamed she’d be doing; not a typical hobby for an immigrant who came to the United States back in 1992 from China.

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