The Program

I drew inspiration for this festival from Final Bow for Yellowface’s annual 10,000 Dreams Festival celebrating Asian choreography in classical ballet. However, I plan to showcase multiple styles and histories of dance in this opening ceremony. The greatest challenge I anticipate in curating this program is making sure as many Asian American identities are represented as possible without making the program feel like checking boxes. A week is already a long time for a dance festival for a museum opening, but representing every single style of traditional, contemporary, and fusion dance forms is nearly impossible. This is why I believe it is vital to create a space in the museum that fosters more frequent performances and gatherings so that everyone has an opportunity to incorporate their dancing heritage into the life of the museum.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture took four years to construct, so if the projected timeline remains the same, the National Asian Pacific American Museum would open around 2038-2040. It is a challenge to predict programming for an event that could be 10-15 years in the future, but I reviewed lists of current choreographers, politicians, committees, and artists of Asian descent who could likely be involved in this project. Additionally, I studied choreographies that could be revived, such as Choo San Goh's "Fives," choreographed for The Washington Ballet based in D.C. Timeless classics like Goh's work give some idea of what the program could entail.

The rest of the week will continue with a mix of performances, panel talks, networking events, and collaborations with other performing arts disciplines. I envision events that directly tie into the permanent exhibitions, such as a guided tour of one display in the museum that culminates in a movement-based exercise in the studio that helps process the information gleaned from the display. Additionally, site specific works around the museum space could help bring dance into the space rather than being relegated to a single room. However, these ideas would be more fruitful in future projects, as the grand opening will already have many moving parts.