Asian Improv aRts presents

new interdisciplinary works drawing upon cultural legacies that reveal new possibility

Where is Tibet?

(work-in-progress)
by Genny Lim with Tsering Dorjee Bawa

Hebi

(premiere)
by Melody Takata with Sri Vishnu Tattva Das

Friday, December 4, 2009 / 8pm - post-performance discussion
Saturday, December 5, 2009 / 8pm - reception to follow

CounterPULSE
1310 Mission Street (at 9th Street) San Francisco, CA 94103
Admission: $15 general, $10 students
For tickets, visit http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/88449
or call (800) 838-3006

For venue information, visit www.counterpulse.org
For more information, visit www.asianimprov.org, call Asian Improv aRts (415) 908-3636, or email francis - at - asianimprov.org

www.asianimprov.org, www.tanc.org, www.kearnystreet.org

Genny Lim by Bob Hsiang

Where is Tibet? focuses on the theme of cultural identity and loss, in a historic, first time interdisciplinary collaboration between Bay Area Chinese and Tibetan American artists.

Playwright/Director: Genny Lim
Composer: Francis Wong
Actor/Musician/Dancer: Tsering Dorjee Bawa
Dancer: Lenora Lee
Technical Consultant: Ellen Sebastian Chang
Presented in association with the Tibetan Association of Northern California and Kearny Street Workshop

Melody Takata by Lei Chen

Hebi explores the belief in the existence of spirituality in all things and the possibility of community through self-transformation.

Director: Melody Takata
Dancers/Musicians: Melody Takata, Sri Vishnu Tattva Das, Gen Ensemble
Presented in association with Genryu Arts

THE ARTISTS

Genny Lim is a native San Franciscan poet, performer, playwright, educator and cultural activist whose artistic vision strives to express the uniqueness and universality of her experience as the child of immigrant Chinese, deeply engaged in the civil rights and Asian American arts movement since the early 1970s. Her two books of poetry, Winter Place (1989, Kearny Street Workshop) and Child of War (2003, Kalamaku Press) have been widely recognized for defining a distinctive Asian American voice in the Bay Area and international literary landscape. Her award-winning play about Angel Island immigrants, Paper Angels aired on American Playhouse in 1995 and the anthology she co-authored, Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island, brought national attention to institutional racism against immigrants. Bitter Cane, a second play set in the Hawaiian sugar plantations of the 1920s, has also been published and performed nationally and overseas. Her work has been featured on the PBS series, The United States of Poetry; and KQED'sfeature, San Francisco Chinatown.

Tsering Dorjee Bawa by Kalsang DolmaActor/Musician/Dancer Tsering Dorjee (Bawa) graduated from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA), Dharamsala , India in Tibetan music, opera and sacred/monastic dance in 1994. In 2000, he completed his Masters degree in advanced Tibetan Performing arts. Since then he has toured worldwide performing Tibetan music and dance and has acted in numerous films including the year 2000 Oscar nominated film- ' Himalaya '
Photo by Kalsang Dolma

Sensei Melody Takata is a taiko artist (Japanese drumming) and dancer/choreographer trained in classical Japanese dance. In her 20+ year career she has engaged in the interpretation of traditional pieces as well as created new works in the tradition. She has further explored the role of innovation as a means to advance the tradition as living culture, experimenting both with interdisciplinary integration of traditional art disciplines (taiko, folk dance, folk music, ozashiki music, classical dance) as well as the use of contemporary forms such as modern dance, spoken word and improvised music.

Sri Vishnu Tattva Das by Andy MoggSri Vishnu Tattva Das is recognized as one of India's prominent male Odissi dancers and choreographers, and has received acclaim for his performances throughout India, Italy, Canada, and the U.S. He has presented hundreds of solo performances, lecture-demonstrations, and master classes. He has also collaborated, choreographed and performed with many dance artists in India and the U.S. Vishnu is the founder-director of Odissi Vilas: Sacred Dance of India, formally known as Sri~Krishnasraya, and is a founding member of Kala Sri Sangha, a group of professional Odissi dancers in the San Francisco Bay Area whose interest is to collectively promote Odissi dance. Photo by Andy Mogg

Supported by CA$H, a grants program administered by Theatre Bay Area in partnership with Dancers' Group, James Irvine Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Grants for the Arts/SF Hotel Tax Fund, San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grants Individual Artist Commissions, Zellerbach Family Foundation.