Asian American Dance Theatre
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The Asian American Dance Theatre (AADT) was a dance performance and educational non-profit organization in New York. It featured traditional Asian folk and classical dances along with contemporary pieces that evoke Asian forms and sensibilities. AADT was a pioneer in the development of
AADT also created several programs to expose the public to different forms of Asian dance and culture, and created a community school to provide lessons on many dance forms as well as art.
AADT was founded by Eleanor S. Yung in 1974. In 1987, AADT became the Asian American Arts Centre (AAAC).
History
In the early 1970s, there were very few
In 1974, Yung founded AADT as both a performance venue and a producer of Asian-American works. It began as an outgrowth of the Asian American Dance Workshop of the Basement Workshop.
In 1974, AADT started a dance performance season in New York featuring works from Yung and guest choreographers. AADT performed at the Riverside Dance Festival, the Marymount Manhattan Theater, the Pace University Schimmel Center, the Dance Theater Workshop, Open Eye, Clark Center, and Synod House,
The ADDT performances received coverage in the New York Times,
Dancers who participated in the AADT seasons include Marie Alonzo, Annie Bien, Fa ChingChu, Lauren Dong, Tomie Hahn, Sharon Hom, Junko Kikuchi, Young Soon Kim, Julio Leitao, Yen Leung, Lynn Macri, George Mars, Pam Noschese, Nancee Sasaki, Ray Tadio, Nayo Takahashi, Michiyo Tanaka, Helen Tran, Muna Tseng, Yung Yung Tsuai, and Dwight Wigfall..
During the 1980s, the AADT Traditional Repertoire toured
In 1987, AADT became the Asian American Arts Centre (AAAC). In 1990, the dance season in New York ended and in 1997, the community school ended.
Arts in Education program
AADT started a lecture demonstration program of traditional Asian dance for the
The AADT also started an 8-week Workshop Program in Indian Dance and in Chinese Dance. The program used study guides written by MeriLobel.
In 1985, AADT started the Pointed Brush program, a visual arts workshop, conducted by Nora Shih for public school students. It ran until the late 1980s.
In 1986 AADT initiated D'Asia Vu, a showcase of Asian and Asian influenced performances in puppetry, theater, mask dances, a dancer on skates, to the Guzheng,.
The first D’Asia vu presentation took place at the Balinese American Dance Theater in New York before moving back to AADT space. The performances included Kuang Yu Fong premiering her original creation, "A Day at the Office", Tomie Hahn first performing "Leaf", Bell Yung performing on the Guqin, the Leela Puppets, and East-West Fusion.
Community school
In 1974, AADT started offering ballet classes for children in the
Children's classes took place on the weekends while adult classes usually in the evenings. The loft space was divided into a dance studio and an art classroom. AADT held annual dance recitals for the children at public school PS 124.
See also
References
External links
- Asian American Arts Centre official site
- Yung, Eleanor. (1984). Asian American Dance Theatre.(VHS tape) New York: Asian American Arts Centre.
- Yung, Eleanor. (1985). Asian American Dance Theatre tenth anniversary. (Visual Material) New York: Asian American Arts Centre.