The events of March 27
concluded in a “full house” Asian Voices
evening
storytelling concert at Divine Word International.
Storyteller Sue O’Halloran
hosted the concert that focused on stories about Asian-American
heritages and
personal, family and community journeys in becoming
Asian-American. Six of the
SVDs who participated in the day-long Vietnamese storytelling
workshop gave
moving testimonies about their journeys out of Vietnam.
Professional storytellers
ETH-NOH-TEC with Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo (Filippino-Japanese
heritage), Nancy
Wang (Chinese American), Anne Shimojima (Japanese-American)
and Arif Choudhury
(American born of Bangladeshi-heritage), performed
captivating stories that
created a rich mixture of challenge and inspiration.
Communal songs and drumming
brought the very successful Asian Voices day to an
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Nancy Wang and Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo
have shared the artistic directorship of San
Francisco-based ETH-NOH-TEC since its founding
in 1982. Whether in recounting an age-old
folk tale or a contemporary statement on modern
themes, they create a seamless performance
of music, movement and the spoken word. They
weave the cultures of East and West into new
possibilities.
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Anne Shimojima
has delighted youth and adult audiences of
all sizes with her graceful and spirited telling
of folk tales from around the world, with
a special emphasis on Asian tales. Stories
of magic, humor animal antics, clever folks
and strong women are told in a clear, warm
inviting style.
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Arif Choudhury
of Northbrook, Illinois, is a Certified Public
Accountant, and a newcomer to the world of
professional storytelling. Arif recently enthralled
hundreds of high school students with his
real-life stories of his parents’ journeys
and his growing up with a different skin color
in suburban Chicago. He also presents some
post 9-11 experiences from the perspective
of an American of Bengali heritage.
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The good
will, enthusiasm and energy of the storytellers
was contagious. The
audience of more than two hundred responded
to a call for participation.
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The evening’s
guest of honor, BridgeBuilder Award winner
Debra dePalma Youssef, enjoyed the storytelling
concert.
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