Join renowned modern dance choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess as he shares how his multi-faceted background as a 4th generation Korean American inspires his creative process. Burgess will be interviewed about his dedication to telling APIA stories through dance, and his new memoir Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly. This insightful journey delves into an artist’s process that is inspired by the intersection of varying cultural perspectives, stories, and experiences. Candid and intelligent, Burgess gives the opportunity to experience up close the passion for art and dance that has informed his life.
His acclaimed company will perform four excerpts from their repertoire. Burgess will sign copies of his memoir, also for sale, at the event.
“Burgess makes art with movement. His memoir illuminates how he has navigated his hyphenated world as a gay Asian American man and his metamorphosis as an artist. Finding strength in diversity, his artmaking brings multiculturalism, social justice, and equity to the forefront in the universal language of dance. His voice is honest, open, and important.”–George Takei
About Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Dana Tai Soon Burgess is a leading American choreographer, arts administrator, and cultural figure known worldwide as the “Diplomat of Dance.” In 1992 he founded the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, the preeminent modern dance company in Washington, DC. Burgess has been the Smithsonian Institution’s first-ever Choreographer-in-Residence based at the National Portrait Gallery. He has served as a Cultural Ambassador for the US State Department for over two decades, has received two Senior Fulbright scholarships for dance, and was awarded the Selma Jeanne Cohen Award in 2021. He and his husband, Jameson, live in the nation’s capital with their dogs, Bana and Dali.
You can learn more about him on his company’s website.