Led by Pan Asian Arts Alliance, local Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) arts groups have come together to host first ever – Pan Asian Arts Festival, Part II: Pan Asian Dance Festival, at May 29th from 9am – 5pm, at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, a whole day dance event, featuring the top talents from local Pan Asian Dance troupes, ranging from North Asia – Chinese, Japanese, to South Asia, – Indian, etc., and a final performance at 1:30 – 4:30pm, with $5 admission to celebrate May Pan Asian Heritage Month.

There are total 22 Dance troupes will compete for the Best Asian Traditional Dance and Best Modern Dance Titles. Each group is required to perform 2 dances to showcase their talents, and they will be judged by:

• Cultural relevance: Dance style and music show the native dance and must reflect the culture.
• Choreography: How well and thought out the performance is and how creative is it?
• Technical skills: Is the group on beat? Are their movements precise and synchronized? Correct position and steps are executed?
• Group cohesion: Are they together? How does group formation look?
• Costumes and appearance: Do they represent dance style?
• Overall Impression: How does the group perform with energy and spirit? Are they having a good time? Facial expressions reflecting the mood of the dance. Engaging with the audience.

   Please join us for the Final performance at 5/29 (Sun) 1:30 – 4:30pm, a great opportunity for enjoying a high quality performance presented by the top Pan Asian dance teams. Only $5 per ticket. For more nformation, please contact: paaa@amamedia.org, 612-376-7715 or http://www.burnsvillepac.com/event-calendar/view/287/70

Urgent Notice: Cancellation of May 28 (Sat) Competition Day

please join us for a whole day fun at May 29th (Sun) starting at 9am

• Location: Burnsville Performing Arts Center.
• Free admission for 9am – noon for the 1st Dance Competition
• $5 admission with Audience Vote Ballot for 1:30 – 4:30pm for the 2nd Dance Competition and Performance

A BIG success for the 1st ever Pan Asian Arts Festival at May 1st, 2011

      Led by Pan Asian Arts Alliance, local Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) arts groups have come together to host first ever – Pan Asian Arts Festival, Part I: Festival/Asian Style, at May 1st, from Noon – 5pm, at Landmark Center – a Family Day Celebration of May Asian Heritages. About fifteen hundred people attended and enjoyed five hours of fun, full of events with Asian Story telling, Cultural dances, Chinese Music Ensemble, Asian food, popular Bubble tea, Henna body tattoo, face paintings, carnival games, and much more.

      There were at total of 21 dances from 15 different dance academies, and 3 well known Story Tellers. Vietnamese Story Teller – Phước Thị Minh Trần took the spot light and shared a Vietnamese folktale. Mrs. Tran has shared her experiences and knowledge of Vietnamese culture at various cultural events, storytelling programs, libraries, colleges, and schools throughout the state. We also heard two more great stories from Indian Story Teller Bilquis Dairkee, and Karen Story Teller Eh Taw Dwe.

      Modern Indian Dance Academy R.G.K. Dance & Fitness Studio opened up the Dance Performance around 12:30pm, RGK combines Indian, classical, music fused with contemporary western dances. First part was the dance depicting victory theme, and another dance depicting the love theme. Followed by MN Chinese Dance Theater, danced to “Yun Yang Castanets”, founded in 1992 by Ms. Tianjiang Cui. Minnesota Chinese Dance Theater (MCDT) is a community-performing group of 20 dancers ages range from 6 to 60. The Sumunar Dance Ensemble performed a blend of classical court dances, folk dances incorporating the martial arts, and new Choreographies using traditional and modern movements. Beautiful masks and vibrant costumes relate the stories told by the dancers and musicians as they danced to “Panen Dance”.

      Heroes, Rainbow, and Hmong Baby Dolls Dance Groups, choreographed by well-known Dance Teacher Mai Vang and Teacher Jennie Vang. Heroes, an every energetic and all-boys dance group, danced to a drum dance, “Warrior”. Their second routine, “Country Boys”, depicted the days of Hmong boys meeting up to learn kung fu for self-defense. Both Rainbow Dance and Hmong Baby Dolls, wearing traditional Hmong costume danced beautifully along with their folk music.

      Hoang Anh Vietnamese Dance Group performed to “Don Xuan”. They have been performing for the past 8 years at various cultural festivals and events throughout the Twin Cities with the purpose of helping promote and preserve the Vietnamese culture through song and dance.

      Later the show turned the focus to North Asian with the “Doll Dance (or Puppet Dance)” and “Fan Dance”, performed by Mu Gung Hwa Korean Dance Academy, which illuminates the Korean culture. One of the traditional games during the Korean Lunar Year festival is dramatized in this Doll Dance. Each participant makes and decorates a beautiful Korean doll. Then she manipulates the doll she has made, puppet fashion, in the various movements of the dance. Here, the Mu Gung Hwa dancers actually become the dolls and give their interpretation of this ancient Puppet Dance of the New Year. Another traditional dance – Fan Dance, widely regarded as the most unique Korean traditional dance, this splendid dance with luxurious dresses and brilliant fans of painted blossoms illustrates the beauty of vivid colors and the harmony of group movements.

      Twin Cities Chinese Dance Center danced to “The Little Girls with Penguins” and Choreographed by Huanru Zhang. These adorable penguins and playful little girls are having such a good time playing together! This light-hearted dance encourages all of us to protect the environment in order to continue the harmony between humans and nature. The Japanese dance group Sansei Yonsei Kai was formed over 35 years ago, and continues the long-standing tradition of the Japanese American community in the Twin Cities. Made up of multicultural dancers, Sansei Yonsei Kai fosters the understanding and awareness of Japanese culture through the recreation and presentation of traditional and contemporary ethnic dances. They performed two folk dances – “Sukiyaki” and “Fuji”.

      Cultural Society of Filipino-Americans Dance Troupe danced to two songs, each connected to the other, “Cordillera Festival Dance” and “Ragragsakan”. The Cultural Society of Filipino-Americans (CSFA) is a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve, promote, and share valued Filipino custom and traditions through cultural, educational, social, and philanthropic activities.

      From Bhutanese Dance Group, Renuka Humagai and Shara Motey, danced to “Mati Ghar”. The song is about the time after the couple getting married, they will go to the husband’s house, but the home of his parents’ house is at “mati ghar”.

      Moonlight and Fireflies Dance Groups, are made up Hmong girls ages of 9 to 13 years old. They come from Dao Lan Dance School, which tailored to the Hmong community and opened to students of all ages and sexes, consists of approximately 80 students or 6 classes ranging from ages 6 to 45 years old.

      Last but not least, with over 40 dancers, Karen Cultural Organization of MN performed rapturous to “Karen Done Dance” and “Karen Traditional Dance”, with live music and drum. The Festival/Asian Style ended with the Music Performance by the MN Chinese Music Ensemble, with the theme of “100 Years of Journey:  Remember the Past, Honor the Present, Celebrate the Future”. The music ensemble has been carefully selected for music pieces that were composed at specific times or that reflect significant events from various eras during the past 100 years. 

      This May 1st Festival/Asian Style event kicks off a month-long celebration of the May Pan Asian Heritage Month. The following events include:

• Part II (May 29th at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, from 1:30 – 4:30pm): Pan Asian Dance Festival, a 2-day dance event at the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, featuring the top talents from local Pan Asian Dance troupes.
• Part III (May 1st to June 13th at Landmark Center): Photo Exhibition, 100 Years of Chinese American History in MN, from 1911- 2011.

      This unique project is sponsored by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund from MN State Arts Board (which that was created by a vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov., 2008.), City of St Paul’s Cultural Star Grant, and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC), with a Special Thanks to all our Advisory Committee. Asian Media Access, Dao Lan Dance Studio, Hoang Anh Vietnamese Dance Group, MN Sunshine Dance, MN Ocean Dance, Mu Gung Hwa Korean Dance Group, Pan Asian Story-Tellers Assn., Sansei Yonsei Kai Japanese Children and Adult Dance Group, and Sumunar Indonesian Dance Ensemble, c/o Indonesian Performing Arts Association of Minnesota.