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Thursday Night
Lemongrass & Anise performance with Hien Huynh and family
Fragrant herbs set the stage for this unique and moving performance by two generations of a Vietnamese American family.
Lemongrass & Anise transports the audience through a combination of dance, storytelling, atmospheric sounds (including lullabies, Vietnamese music, and ocean waves), and the aroma of fragrant herbs used in Vietnamese cuisine. While honoring the war-torn generations bearing the weight of history, this performance also speaks to the children holding and transcending their inherited stories. Dancers and Bay Area natives Hien Huynh and Yi-Ting (Gama) Hsu are joined onstage by Hien’s mother and father, Muoi Lu and Cuong Huynh, who draw upon their separate accounts of postwar Vietnam and a shared skill for improvisation. Presented with support from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Lemongrass & Anise relates the resilience of the refugee experience, depicting individual and community adaptation and ingenuity in the face of societal barriers and emphasizing the capacity to thrive, despite harsh conditions, with unrelenting love.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS
Hien Huynh‘s artistic and creative practice is driven by the courage and resilience of his parents’ journey from Vietnam. Empowered by their strength and story, Hien’s movement practices stem from the spirit of improvisation, an ingenuous ancestral form of survival and navigation. His work to continue sharing, exchanging, and empowering through the arts using stories and reflection has included performances with Lenora Lee Dance, Kim Epifano, Robert Moses’ Kin, Kinetech Arts, Christy Funch & Nol Simonse, PUSH, DSDT, and punkkiCO.
Yi-Ting (Gama) Hsu trained in contemporary, ballet, modern, Chinese martial art, Chinese folk dance, Tai-chi initiation, composition, choreography, and improvisation. Yi-Ting is a graduate of Tsoying High School and received her BFA from University of Taipei of the Arts. She has danced with Hsu Chen Wei Production, Les Petites Choses Production, David Harrera Performance Company, Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project, Epiphany Dance Theater, and Kinetech Arts.
Muoi Lu, born in Da Nang, Vietnam, is a culinary master; with no formal training, she has created countless recipes and heightened her own approach to Vietnamese cuisines. Her recipes have been sought by many in the food industry but are especially adored and savored by her children.
Cuong Huynh was born in Nam O, a cove village of Vietnam. After the Vietnam War, Cuong endeavored to make his way across the Pacific in search of a brighter future for his family. He has labored extensively throughout his life as a fisherman, landscaper, restaurant owner, entrepreneur, and survivor of the oceans, having journeyed throughout Hawaii, Oklahoma, Texas, Florida, California, and Vietnam.
Thursday Nights are supported by Wells Fargo.
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