World Premiere of Convergent Waves: Boston by Lenora Lee Dance
Boston, MA- Pao Art Center is thrilled to announce Convergent Waves: Boston in celebration of its 5th anniversary! This new site-responsive, multimedia performance by Lenora Lee Dance celebrates the contributions of activists and non-profit leaders, and reclaims space by eliciting stories of community agency, resilience, and transformation. Inspired by rich narrative, this work represents a powerful call for community-oriented development in the face of rapid change, making a collective statement for the preservation of community as neighborhoods across the country inhabited for generations face cultural erosion, loss of businesses, and displacement through gentrification. Convergent Waves: Boston highlights successes in preserving the cultural fabric and accomplishments of these communities.
Lee shares, “We are excited to bring Lenora Lee Dance to Boston for the first time to create and premiere this new work, and more importantly connect the stories of Boston to those across the country. My priority as an artist has always been to connect deeply with audiences, and consider how we can uncover layers of experiences through dance, music, film, installation, research and interviews integrated and grounded in community and place-based work.”
Pao Arts Center Director Cynthia Woo shares, “Especially in times of increased anti-Asian sentiment, it is critical for us to leverage artistic and creative work to shed light to our stories in both a local and national context and to provide a face and voice to these experiences.”
There will also be a virtual presentation of Convergent Waves: Boston presented by ArtsEmerson in Fall 2022. After Convergent Waves: Boston the project will tour to San Francisco (June 9, 2022), Los Angeles (Spring 2023), and New York City (Fall 2023) continuing to shed light on the stories of displacement and gentrification in communities across the country.
For more information: https://www.paoartscenter.org/events/2022/convergent-waves-boston
Performance Details:
Thursday | 7:00 - 8:00 pm - SOLD OUT
Friday - Saturday, April 21 - 23, 2022
7:00 - 8:00 pm and 8:30 - 9:30 pm
Performances will begin on time, please arrive early.
Post-performance discussion after Saturday, 8:30 pm show
Ticket Prices
General Admission: $25
Arts Patron: $50
Student/Senior: $20
Location
COVID-19 Protocol:
As of March 15, 2022, Pao Arts Center is requiring all patrons to be masked. Protocols subject to change.
Filming: Performances will be filmed. By entering into this performance space, guests consent to being filmed and for their likeness to be used in any way.
Conceived, Produced & Directed by Lenora Lee
Choreography by Lenora Lee in collaboration with the performers
Performers / Dance Collaborators: Naoko Brown, IJ Chan, Flora Hyoin Kim Han, Lynn Huang, Johnny Huy Nguyen
Media Design by Lenora Lee
Music
Composed by Vijay Iyer, performed by Fieldwork, Vijay Iyer Trio, Miranda Cuckson, Michi Wianko, Kyle Arrmbust, Kivie Cahn-Lipman, and Wadada Leo Smith. Additional recordings composed and performed by Vijay Iyer and Wadada Leo Smith.
Composed and performed by Tatsu Aoki, with Kioto Aoki, Jamie Kempkers, Edward Wilkerson Jr.
Composed by Francis Wong. Performed by Francis Wong, Deszon X. Claiborne, Tatsu Aoki.
For more detailed information about the music, click here
Interviewee Voiceover by Susan Chinsen, Ken Eng, Paul Lee, Tunny Lee, Angie Liou, Lydia Lowe, Cynthia Woo, Yu-Wen Wu, Cynthia Yee
Convergent Waves: Boston is supported by ArtsEmerson, Pao Arts Center, and by generous individuals. The creation, presentation of and production residency for Convergent Waves: Boston was also made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. To find out more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov.
Special Thanks to: Asian Community Development Corporation, Carmen Chan, Chinatown Community Land Trust, Chinese Historical Society of New England, Susan Chinsen, Ken Eng, Stephanie Fan, Amy Guen, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Harry Lee, Paul Lee, Tunney Lee, Angie Liou, Lydia Lowe, Cynthia Soo Hoo, Cynthia Woo, and Cynthia Yee.
Special thanks to our program supporters.
LENORA LEE DANCE
Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) integrates contemporary dance, film, music, and research and has gained increasing attention for its sustained pursuit of issues related to immigration, incarceration, global conflict, and its impacts, particularly on women and families. The company is directed by San Francisco native Lenora Lee, who has been a dancer, choreographer and artistic director for the past 24 years in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. She has been an Artist Fellow at the de Young Museum, a Djerassi Resident Artist, a Visiting Scholar at New York University 2012-2016, an Artist in Residence at Dance Mission Theater, a 2019 United States Artists Fellow.
LLD creates works that are both set in public and private spaces, intimate and at the same time large-scale, inspired by individual stories as well as community strength, at times crafted for the proscenium, or underwater, or in the air, and at times are site-responsive, immersive and interactive. For the last 14 years, the company has been pushing the envelope of large-scale multimedia, and immersive dance performance that connects various styles of movement and music to culture, history and human rights issues. Its work has grown to encompass the creation, presentation and screening of films, museum and gallery installations, civic engagement and educational programming. LenoraLeeDance.com
About Pao Arts Center:
Pao Arts Center was established in 2017 as a visionary program collaboration between Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) and Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC). Located at 99 Albany Street in downtown Boston, Pao Arts Center is Chinatown’s first arts and cultural center.
Pao Arts Center represents the belief that investing in arts, culture, and creativity are vital to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and vibrant communities. Through its innovative approach, Pao Arts Center empowers creativity, connection, learning, and support. paoartscenter.org
Pao Arts Center is supported by Barr Foundation, Boston Cultural Council/Reopen Creative Boston Fund administered by the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, Massachusetts Cultural Council, Klarman Family Foundation, and New England Foundation for the Arts.