We Stand Together

Growing up, I was always told: “Run from the police!”

I’m not black. I didn’t grow up in the US. However, the message is the same anywhere in the world. The police does not protect you. The police protects the system.

I’m not here to say who’s right or who’s wrong. I’m not here to blame anyone. I’m just saying: If you’ve never noticed the system, you are most likely in it. Anyone outside of the system would know how the system is reinforced.

If you’ve never been frightened at the sight of the police, you are in the system.

Taiwan

To me, the system was the Chinese Nationalists who ruled over Taiwan, through ruthless suppression known as the White Terror [1].

What’s the best way to keep a people enslaved and obedient? Terror.

What’s the best way to have the said people work for a regime that funnels all profits to the ruling class, and leaves only pennies for the laborers? More terror.

What’s the best way to have the said people break their backs to put on grand military parades, so that the supreme leader can satisfy his ego? Oh, most definitely terror.

Hong Kong

I understand emotions are running high right now. Mass protests against racism send a powerful message. Just remember, protests alone do not promote change.

Hong Kongers have been protesting on the streets for freedom for FOURTEEN MONTHS since March 2019. They’ve been arrested. They’ve been pepper sprayed. They’ve been shot with live ammunition by the police.

Seven days ago, China annexed Hong Kong.

In the middle of a global pandemic, Hong Kongers are now fleeing the only home they’ve ever known [2]. As for those who can’t leave, they’re sending their children abroad in the hopes that their kids can escape China and have a better life.

Vote

Unlike China, the United States is still a democracy. You can still change the future of this country.

Vote this November.

Vote out the white supremacists and their terrors.

Vote out the dictators who deploy the military against its own people.

Vote before you lose your chance.

VOTE!!!

Beyond Police Reform

The system is more than just the enforcers.

(a) Do you agree that the SAT fairly assesses a student’s innate ability?

Since 1926, the SAT has been and is still intentionally designed so that African Americans would score low [3] and white middle-class Americans high [4].

(b) Do you go to the bank, to obtain a mortgage for your first home?

(c) Do you go to college and declare a major, to study the said subject?

(d) Do you testify in courts, by taking an oath and stating the facts?

If you answer yes to the above, the financial system, the higher education system, and the criminal justice system are designed for you. Congratulations, you are in!!!

Again, I’m not saying who’s right or who’s wrong. I’m just saying: If you don’t have alternative answers to the above questions, perhaps it’s time to find out who does and what the alternative answers are.

Perhaps, find one more question where your answer differs from those who are not in the system. The dimensions may be more complex than racism. You might be in one system but outside of another.

(e) ?????

What do you think of the answers? How will you do about them? A 400-year-old problem will not resolve itself overnight, so start now.

Please also let me know what I don’t know. We are all in this together. We will stand together.





[1] White Terror

[2] Boris Johnson Pledges to Admit 3 Million From Hong Kong to U.K.

[3] The Racist Beginnings of Standardized Testing

[4] The History of the SAT Is Mired in Racism and Elitism

[Photo] Honoring the victims of the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Hong Kong, June 4, 2019. After annexing Hong Kong, China has banned the annual vigil this year. Photo by Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times.

Dance Lab New York Gala

The coronavirus can’t stop the Dance Lab New York (virtual) Gala tonight. Cheers to an amazing organization that celebrates, promotes, and cultivates the art of choreography.

Diana

First public preview of Diana. ❤️❤️❤️

Wow!!! What a show! Amazing storytelling. Spectacular choreographies. Wonderful singing. Stunning costumes.

The show told not just the story of Diana but also that of Charles, Camilla, and the Queen. Diana’s personality shone through. As tragic as the story ended, nobody was made a villain, but we understood the circumstances and everyone’s perspectives a lot better.

The plot moved fast, and was super engaging from the first flash of the paparazzis’ cameras till the very end.

Choreographed by Kelly Devine, who also put on Came From Away, the dancing and movements were absolutely gorgeous. Of course, there were the big stunning dance numbers. I also loved how the cast filled the stage with continuous movements during the scene transitions, and small accents like everyone tilting their chairs in sync.

Finally, so many beautiful costumes and so many costume changes! 😍

To Kill A Mockingbird

Go see “To Kill A Mockingbird”!!!

The story feels even more relevant today than when I first read the book in high school.

The laws and the general societal attitude may have changed since the 1930s. However, the hatred, the contempt for the laws, and the increasing violence perpetrated by the alt-right have thrusted us right back into history.

Sadly, this is happening not just in the United States but, as last week’s news shows, in Germany as well.

Paul Taylor Dance

Don’t miss Paul Taylor Dance, at the Lincoln Center until November 17!!!

Three wonderful performances this evening.

“Brief Encounters” is lively, at times structured but more often random, as if walking through the streets of Manhattan. “Scudorama” is eccentric and strange. Yet, it’s so weird that it captured my full attention, lest I blink and miss the next surprise.

I had wanted to see the show tonight because of “Company B”, one of my favorite Paul Taylor choreographies. With the changing of the guard, several of the roles are now danced by different company members, and the piece is just as amazing as I had remembered it.

The social dancer inside of me just LOOOVE the polka by Kristin Draucker and Michael Apuzzo. I enjoyed the playfulness in “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!” by Lee Duveneck and the cast women, and “Rum and Coca-Cola” by Eran Bugge and the cast men. I also love the emotional scenes “I Can Dream, Can’t I” by Parisa Khobdeh and “There Will Never Be Another You” by Heather McGinley.

Also, a big thank you to Michelle Fleet for a fun backstage tour!

Paul Taylor Gala Performance

I’m super excited about the start of the Paul Taylor season. Go see this amazing company at the Lincoln Center until November 17th!!!

Tonight’s gala performance features guest artists, Michael Trusnovec and Misty Copeland, and guest choreography by Kyle Abraham.

Kyle Abraham’s “Only the Lonely” started out with various humorous scenes. Michael Trusnovec danced to George Balanchine’s “Episodes”. But my favorite of the night goes to Paul Taylor’s own “Black Tuesday” where Misty Copeland joined the company members for a collection of tales and memories from the Great Depression. I just love how Paul Taylor tells powerful and impactful human stories through movements.

Falsettos

I missed the Broadway revival of Falsettos three years ago, and am super glad to see the show tonight in the West End, where much of the audience left the theater in tears.

At 39 songs, the narrative is long and complex covering various relationships from intimate partners to parent-child, from marriages to divorces, from religion to death, and finding one’s own sexual identity.

Some of my favorite moments: The comical start to the show and “Everyone Tells Jason to See a Psychiatrist”. Trina in “I’m Breaking Down”. The end of Act I was heartwarming, if not slightly unexpected. Overall, the show up to this point felt like a supercharged version of the movie, Love Actually.

Perhaps I should have anticipated what would happen in Act II given the show’s plot, setting, and timing. The end still caught me off guard, and brought back memories of Angels in America.

Six

Catching this awesome show at the Arts Theatre, where it was first professionally staged.

Not your typical musical, but I really enjoyed the hip hop movements and the catchy pop music.

Most of all, I really liked the script and the messaging.

The six characters are based on the six wives of Henry VIII. While there’s only so much one can adapt them to the modern times (after all, two of them were beaded by their husband and one divorced because she didn’t look like her painting), the script and the messaging are surprisingly strong! Bravos to all the queens!!