HEIDI DUCKLER DANCE THEATRE

EXPULSION STORES—- ...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 13:11:00 -0400

EXPULSION STORES—-

MARGARET YASUDA

My memories of Boyle Heights take me to my grandparents’ house on Pennsylvania Avenue. They were one of many Japanese American families who settled in Boyle Heights due to its proximity to Little Tokyo and the garment district.

My grandparents lived around the corner from Higashi Hongwanji, a Buddhist temple and a few blocks away from Chuo Gakuen, a Japanese language school, that I attended every Saturday with my cousins for 6 years in the early 70’s. My Saturday routine consisted of struggling through 4 hours of Japanese-only instruction in reading and writing, followed by a short walk to my grandmother’s house where she, along with my great-grandmother would be waiting to serve us burritos and coke, and we could watch what little remained of Saturday morning cartoons — 2 episodes of Fat Albert.

Burritos were not uncommon alongside sushi in our family, in those days the neighborhood was eclectic, filled with Japanese, Jewish and Mexican families. At that age, I never thought about how my grandparents ended up in Boyle Heights, or the life they led before settling there.

I would later come to learn that my great-grandparents, Isokichi and Sato, left their small fishing village of Kaminoseki, in the Yamaguchi prefecture in Japan in 1898 in search of better opportunity when they were just young teenagers. After much hardship working in the sugar cane fields of Hawaii, they moved to Seattle, and eventually to Nebraska. In 1905, Sato returned to Japan where my grandfather was born, but soon returned to the US to continue working. As the doors of the Exclusion Act of 1924 were closing to prevent any aliens from entering the US, my grandfather Seiichi, hastily married my grandmother Tsuru, and immigrated to the United States to join his parents. My grandparents first worked as an automechanic in little Tokyo and later in Mesa Arizona as farmers, and eventually grocers.

By the time of WWII, the family was spread across 2 continents, with my grandfather detained in Crystal City internment camp due to his involvement in the Japanese American community, while my father, Henry, the oldest son had been sent back earlier to Kaminoseki to live with my great-grandmother.

After the war, and in the decades to follow my father made it his mission to reunite his family and eventually in 1961, Private Bill H.R. 1572 co-sponsored by Congressman Gordon McDonough and Senator Thomas Kuchel was passed by the US Congress and signed by President John F. Kennedy to grant Seiichi, Tsuru and Sato Yasuda permanent resident status allowing them to return to America, where the rest of the Yasuda clan had settled.

In 1964, my father left a career in the US Air Force as a procurement officer, and formed a family business with his brothers and my grandfather at the helm, a modest grocery store called Parkside Market near MacArthur Park around the corner from Langer’s famous deli.

Though the small market eventually grew into a chain of supermarkets in the Los Angeles area, Boyle Heights was the place where our extended family of almost 70 relatives celebrated holidays, and birthdays. Where we met in my grandparents’ backyard to take annual family pictures, Easter egg hunts, and best of all, family potlucks of sushi, sashimi, tamales and burritos.

Expulsion East LA!

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:35:58 -0400

Expulsion East LA!

Expulsion East LA Moments

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 16:34:43 -0400

Expulsion East LA Moments

EXPULSION STORIES Olga Garay—Executive Director, City of...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:43:51 -0400

EXPULSION STORIES

Olga Garay—Executive Director, City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

Danza Floricanto/USA- Dia De Los Muertos

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:21:34 -0400

Danza Floricanto/USA- Dia De Los Muertos

Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre presents a conversation between...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:29:00 -0500

Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre presents a conversation between Artistic Directors—and friends—Gema Sandoval of Danza Floricanto/USA and Heidi Duckler of Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre. They discuss their work, friendship, and upcoming collaboration, EXPULSION: East LA.

Expulsion East LA- Curbside Conversations Panelist: Edward...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:26:03 -0500

Expulsion East LA- Curbside Conversations

Panelist: Edward Padilla, President of Casa 0101 Theater

Edward Padilla is President of Casa 0101 Theater. He is an actor, singer, director, and producer. As an actor, he was in Matthew Modine Saves the Alpacas at Geffen Playhouse, Luisa Fernanda at Ricardo Montalban & Million Dollar Theaters, Salsalandia for La Jolla Playhouse. He was in the workshop productions of Sister Act at Pasadena Playhouse and Zorro the musical in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Film credits include Spider-Man 3, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Mr. Jones. Partial TV credits include a recurring role on Suburgatory and co-starring roles on SouthLAnd, General Hospital, Dirt, The Shield, Windfall, Bones, King of Queens, Drew Carey Show, and a recurring role on Los Beltran. He has been in numerous on-camera national TV commercials, and has done a lot of voice over work. He graduated with honors from the USC School of Theatre where he received his BA and the David Dukes Scholarship for Acting. He studied acting and Shakespeare with British American Drama Academy at Oxford University. He previously directed Teatro Izcalli at SD Lyceum in Anthology (2009-2011) and Juan More Beer (2008), and at the Jacobs Center (Nopal Boy, 2012). Other stage directing credits include new and published works such as Soledad (When Soleda’s Stream Birthed Her Amazon) by Janine Salinas, Trio Los Machos by Josefina Lopez, and Split Second by Dennis McIntyre at Casa 0101; and Hands On Therapy by Toby Campion at Secret Rose Theater; among others.

Expulsion East LA- Curbside Conversations Panelist: Reina/Rey...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:25:00 -0500

Expulsion East LA- Curbside Conversations

Panelist: Reina/Rey Fukuda, Metro Campaign Community Organizer and Researcher- East Los Angeles Community Corporation

Rey is the lead community organizer and researcher for the Metro Campaign at ELACC. Rey brings an urban planning background and multi-cultural knowledge to the team. Rey grew up in six different cities including Tokyo (Japan), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), and Oslo (Norway). Having lived in cities in First and Third World countries and witnessing and experiencing the racist history of urban development, Rey’s background fit into the field of urban planning and land-use organizing. This past year, Rey supported campaigns to gain a supermarket (a lost asset) and protect family-owned pharmacies and businesses against a proposed Metro CVS development in Boyle Heights. Rey received a B.S. and Master’s in Planning at the University of Southern California. In 2010 Rey helped found and became vice president of the Partnership for and Equitable Los Angeles (PELA) at USC, a graduate student organization that focuses on social equity planning and policy.

Expulsion East LA- Curbside Conversations Panelist: Guillermo...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:23:00 -0500

Expulsion East LA- Curbside Conversations

Panelist: Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez, Assistant Professor of Theater and Cinema at Los Angeles Mission College

Guillermo Avilés-Rodríguez is an Assistant Professor of Theater and Cinema at Los Angeles Mission College. He is a Salesian High School graduate, and holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts from the University of Utah and a Masters of Fine Arts from UC San Diego. Guillermo holds the distinction of being the first Chicana/o ever to star in a main-stage production at the University of Utah. He is the originator od Meet Me @Metro a site specific performance extravaganza performed in collaboration with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority. Some of Guillermo’s directorial and literary highlights include two commissions from Center Theatre Group to write Student Discovery Guides for En Un Sol Amarillo and Culture Clash’s Palestine, New Mexico. His career is built around using theatre as a way of exploring issues of social inequality as well as self-empowerment. He is currently working on Towards a Moving Theater a book exploring exoteric theater in America.

Expulsion East LA-Curbside Conversations Moderator: Michelle...

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:21:38 -0500

Expulsion East LA-Curbside Conversations

Moderator: Michelle Ramos-Burkart, Former Director of Dance/NYC

Michelle Ramos-Burkhart has a twenty-year successful history in business, consulting and work in the arts non-profit sector. She has worked as an Executive Director for multiple non-profit arts organizations. She has served as a panelist for New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, was an adjunct professor at New York University and worked with Columbia University and Cornell University in an advisory capacity on arts initiatives and studies. She recently authored an article “In a Post Graham Word; Choreographing Dance Rights in the World of Media, Technology and Social Media” for the Pace University Entertainment Law Journal. Michelle holds a B.S. in Organizational Behavior from University of San Francisco, a J.D. from Golden Gate University, and an LL.M. from California Western School of Law. Michelle consults in arts-business with non-profit organizations nationwide in addition to her legal practice. She is the proud mother of a professional dancer and since retiring from her own dance career Michelle has become a competitive Ironman triathlete and marathoner.

EXPULSION East LA- Saturday, March 16th 7:00pm!

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 13:18:58 -0500

EXPULSION East LA- Saturday, March 16th 7:00pm!

EXPULSION- MARCH 16, 2013, 7:00PM Free public performance on...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:55:21 -0500

EXPULSION- MARCH 16, 2013, 7:00PM

Free public performance on three stories of scaffolding in the vacant lot at East 1st Street and North Boyle Avenue across from the historic Boyle Hotel and Mariachi Plaza de Los Angeles! Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre collaborates with Danza Floricanto/USA to present Expulsion! The two Los Angeles dance companies will fuse their distinctive choreographic styles – site-specific work and traditional Mexican folk dance – into a dynamic intersection of the contemporary and traditional worlds.

Gema Sandoval’s Danza Floricanto/USA is the proud...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:52:01 -0500

Gema Sandoval’s Danza Floricanto/USA is the proud recipient of the 1994 and 1995 Lester Horton awards for staging of traditional dance, the year 2000 CAC fellowship award in dance, and in 2001 the Irvine Foundation’s California Dancemaker’s Fellowship in Dance In 2004 the company and choreographer were awarded a grant from the New England Foundation of the Arts’ National Dance Project to create Fandango Without Borders. Floricanto was granted the Irvine Foundation’s From Creation to Performance 2006 Award for the creation of “Un Zapateado Chicano.” Her latest production, Alma Llanera-Spirit of the Plains, inspired by Rudlofo Anaya’s novel Bless Me Ultima, has toured throughout California and is scheduled to be part of the company’s offerings during their 40th Anniversary season during 2013-14.

Founded in 1975, Danza Floricanto/USA is the oldest existing...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:47:52 -0500

Founded in 1975, Danza Floricanto/USA is the oldest existing professional Mexican folk dance troupe in Southern California. From an Aztec ritual to the vibrant fiestas of today’s Jalisco, from the Spanish-influenced tropics of Veracruz to the conflictive realities of the Chicano experience, Danza Floricanto/USA presents the bold, colorful panorama of its Mexican heritage as it interacts with its American reality.

Danza Floricanto/USA, under the direction of Gema Sandoval, has...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:45:27 -0500

Danza Floricanto/USA, under the direction of Gema Sandoval, has recreated the movement, costume, and song of 17 different regions of Mexico, and over half a dozen works on the Chicano experience which celebrate cultural identity for the Mexican American community and the immigrant experience for the rest of America. This award-winning, 36 year old company has been enthusiastically received on tour throughout California and the American Southwest.

Expulsion Portland Highlights

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:14:42 -0400

Expulsion Portland Highlights

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EXPULSION PORTLAND

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 19:11:04 -0400

HIGHLIGHTS FROM EXPULSION PORTLAND

Expulsion Portland Curbside Conversations Panelist: Flora...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:42:27 -0400

Expulsion Portland Curbside Conversations

Panelist: Flora Sussely- Writer, Publicist, and Singer

As the daughter of a Chilean actor and Mexican pianist, Flora spent her childhood in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago and Los Angeles. She trained in bel canto and went on to work as writer and producer of television, radio, later on becoming a columnist and critic. Since moving to Portland from Los Angeles, twelve years ago, Flora has worked in non-profit cultural arts programming, film, advertising and is currently performing and working as publicist for several producers, performers and performing arts companies, including Luciana Proaño Dance. She is the mother of one son who is also a performance artist.

August 18th, 8:30pm at River Street Studios, Portland,...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:54:00 -0400

August 18th, 8:30pm at River Street Studios, Portland, OR…

PORTLAND, OR—On three stories of scaffolding…Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre/Northwest (HDDT/NW) will collaborate with the captivating Painted Sky Northstar Dance Company to present a public art performance that will weave cultural stories of expulsion into risk-taking choreography. With the support of Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, HDDT/NW and Northstar are looking forward to an exciting Portland event.

The performancewill engage in across-cultural conversation about how one interprets their idea of home, and the experience of being forced to leave it. Performed in a vacant lot, the piece will serve as a vehicle for dance, culture, and architecture. Northstar Dance Company will use traditional Native movement and vibrant Regalia to translate the Native American cultural and historical meaning of being forced away from home. Four athletic male dancers from HDDT/NW will dance the biblical story of Cain and Abel upon industrial scaffolding echoing promises of growth and development. The two companies will collectively present a danced interpretation of the communities’ “expulsion stories” and initiate an open dialogue about the impact these stories have on individuals, families, and neighborhoods.

Expulsion Portland Curbside Conversations Panelist Bryan Suereth...

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 18:42:46 -0400

Expulsion Portland Curbside Conversations

Panelist Bryan Suereth -Executive Director of DISJECTA Contemporary Art Center

Bryan Suereth is founder and director of Disjecta Contemporary Art Center. Established in 2000, Disjecta Contemporary Art Center aspires to present forward-thinking work from visual and performing artists. Disjecta provides a professional platform in which artists can realize their best work and engage new audiences. Dynamic programs showcase new work and fuel collaborations between artists, curators, and viewers that impact and intervene in the larger contemporary arts dialogue. Disjecta exacts equal rigor from local and national artists, while keenly recognizing and supporting the talent of the region. Bryan Suereth is founder and director of Disjecta Contemporary Art Center. Established in 2000, Disjecta Contemporary Art Center aspires to present forward-thinking work from visual and performing artists. Disjecta provides a professional platform in which artists can realize their best work and engage new audiences. Dynamic programs showcase new work and fuel collaborations between artists, curators, and viewers that impact and intervene in the larger contemporary arts dialogue. Disjecta exacts equal rigor from local and national artists, while keenly recognizing and supporting the talent of the region.