Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage month is in full swing. This month is here to celebrate and recognize the contributions and influence that Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans have on the culture in our society. We got the chance to have blog contributor MiYoung Margolis share a story about a Korean folktale that influenced her choreography for her dance company. Read on to learn more about MiYoung’s piece and to learn more about Korean culture!
Read MoreIt’s no secret that many small businesses suffered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and dance studios were no exception. Amid growing dance studio closures, those eager to move were left without a space to practice and without instructors to learn from. In the face of these challenges, local dance instructor and artistic director Mija Bishop founded Flight Feathers, a dance studio aimed at helping each individual dancer sore. Stay tuned to Flight Feathers’ Instagram for details about its June production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Read MorePerfectionism is a challenge that Mindy has experienced in the dance world as well. Her biggest challenge as a dancer has been countering those perfectionist ideals by accepting herself as she is each day. As a “recovering perfectionist,” Mindy shares that it’s a journey: some days it’s a lot harder, some days a lot easier, and other days it’s somewhere in between. She encourages others struggling with perfectionism to practice self-compassion, directing the kindness they offer to others towards themselves.
Read MoreAlex Ung shares that when people ask about his nationality, he often uses an umbrella term, like sharing that his family is from Laos, rather than diving deeper into his more specific tribal culture of the Tai Dam. “It was just easier,” Alex says. “Immigration Stories” provided Alex with an opportunity to share more about his culture, in an effort to “not let it disappear into history books” and simultaneously help write history. “We’re a small tribal culture that not a whole lot of people know about and so I wanted to bring that to light,” he says of the Tai Dam people.
Read More“I would like to see a lot more empathy towards the culture and the people that created the dance,” Miguel says of a change he hopes to see made in the larger dance industry. He shares that many of the people who created dance genres like hip hop and breaking are still alive and accessible to dancers, yet their contributions can get drowned out. More focused on physicality, Miguel also hopes to see more dancers treating and training their bodies like the athletes that they are so that they can keep dancing for as long as they can. “You’ve got to put that work in so that you can keep going,” he shares.
Read MoreHow we are defined is important. It helps tell the world our values, our morals, and our interests. But who makes that definition? Do we set the parameters ourselves by means that we dictate? Or is it determined by our background, heritage, and childhood?
As with most things in life, I suspect it’s a little of everything. There are factors we cannot control that play insurmountably in how we are viewed, including skin color, eye shape, and our parent’s socio-economic status. But there are other things that ebb and flow with our own desires like our morals, our interests, and the places we go. And then there are things that just happen, random events that you may not even realize are significant until ten years later when you look back at your life and realize that one seemingly meaningless decision, event, or person, changes the trajectory of your whole life.
Read MoreAt one time or another, most dancers have worn an uncomfortable, ill-fitting leotard. Donning awkwardly fitting dancewear can be so distressing that it can feel like it has real impacts on one’s dancing. If you’re not feeling confident, how can you expect to move confidently? That’s why Alina Khoo has created AK Dancewear with the motivation to produce flattering and comfortable dancewear that helps dancers feel their best in the studio.
Read MoreAs a chunky Asian baby in a leotard, I had no idea yet how precious or valuable I was when I started in ballet. Instead, I only saw that I was clearly not cut from the same cloth as elegant princesses and swans whose dancing I admired. The chance to don yellowface in the Chinese variation during "The Nutcracker," or to be a kowtowing, shuffling child in "The King and I" in the school play felt like places I was welcome to exist—to shine—as a child who dreamed of being onstage.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic has posed more challenges than benefits for most peoples’ lives. However, in unique and unexpected ways, this time of isolation and solace has allowed people to re-connect with creative parts of themselves and explore ventures they’ve always wanted to. For MiYoung Margolis, MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective or MMDC was born out of the rubbles of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to foster creativity and collaboration across genres.
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