Asian Improv aRts, API Cultural Center, Chinese Historical Society of America & Donaldina Cameron House present
The World Premiere of “The Eye of Compassion”
A new multimedia immersive dance experience
by Lenora Lee Dance
Lenora Lee Dance (LLD) celebrates its 9th Anniversary Season with the World Premiere of “The Eye of Compassion,” a new site-specific multimedia immersive dance experience premiering in a two-week run in San Francisco’s historic Donaldina Cameron House (CH). This work for six dancers integrates contemporary dance, film projection, original music, and serves as a meditation on healing, resilience, compassion and transformation, inspired by the work done at Cameron House over the years. It features a collage of vignettes, stories about, and interviews of people previously served in its programs, and also speaks to the power of individuals and communities to transcend.
Started as the Occidental Mission Home for Girls in 1874, the initial purpose of the work done at Donaldina Cameron House (CH) was to intervene on behalf of young, Asian, immigrant females who had become vulnerable upon arrival into the United States. From its founding to the 1930’s over 2,000 women and girls sought shelter or sought refuge in Chinatown at CH from forced labor and indentured servitude.
Conceived & directed by Lenora Lee
Choreography by Lenora Lee in collaboration with Peter Cheng, Yao Dang, Christian Felix, Yi-Ting Hsu, SanSan Kwan, Chloe Luo
Music score by Francis Wong, Tatsu Aoki, Melody Takata, Kioto Aoki, Jonathan Chen, Ari Brown, Mark Chung, Chizuru Kineya, Jim Norton, Deszon Claiborne, Yangqin Zhao, Wayne Wallace
Media Design by Lenora Lee
Cinematography directed by Tatsu Aoki and Lenora Lee
filmed by Ben Estabrook, Eric Koziol, Lenora Lee, Joel Wanek
edited by Olivia Ting, Tatsu Aoki, Eric Koziol, and Lenora Lee
Voiceover by Xiao Y. and Hazel Chen, translated by Katie Chan and Sharona Cheung
Additional artists on video: Corey Chan, James Q. Chan, Laurene Chan, Kara Davis, Kimberly Elliot, Raymond Fong, Chizuru Hamada, Karina Lee Howe, Kate Lee Howe, Chin-chin Hsu, Carl Irons, Amy Lam, Lenora Lee, Yukihiko Noda, Melody Takata, Olivia Ting, Alisa Wong, Pam Wong
Lighting Design: Lenora Lee & Timmy Leong
Audio & Lighting Equipment: Sound Innovations
Costumes: JoAnn & Lenora Lee
Stage Manager: Wilbur Obata
Production Staff: Gab Baisas, Siska Blaz, Francisco Cayabyab, Katie Chan, Sloan Chau, Demetria Chi, Louisa Chin, Marina Fukushima, Danich Ho, Timmy Leong, Rika Lin, Jean Liu, Robert Mayberry, Queenie Quan, Melody Takata, Tolsen Wilmot, Krystina Wong
Hospitality: JoAnn & Alson Lee
Poster & Postcard Design: Olivia Ting
Marketing & Outreach: Veronica Sese
“The Eye of Compassion” is supported in part by San Francisco Arts Commission, Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Portsmouth Plaza Parking Corporation, Fleishhacker Foundation, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, Dance Mission Theater and Generous Individuals.
Special thanks to our Arts Patron Sponsor DAE Advertising, our Community Circle Partners Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach and OCA, San Mateo, to Katie Chan, Laurene Chan, Ming Quan Chan, Chris Cheuk, Yulanda Kwong, Wei-Shan Lai, Sue Lee, May Leong, Mary Wong Leong, Vinay Patel, Morrie Warshawski, Francis Wong, SF State University, USF, and to Donaldina Cameron House for supporting the creation of this piece.
LENORA LEE DANCE
For the last nine years, LLD has been pushing the envelope of large-scale multimedia dance performance that connects various styles of movement & music to culture, history & human rights issues. Its work has grown to encompass the creation, presentation & screening of films, museum & gallery installations, civic engagement & educational programming. 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. LenoraLeeDance.com
