Seeds of Toil: Three Asian American Stories of Resistance and Resilience
Founding Artistic Director, Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Assistant Artistic Director, Felipe O. Moltedo Managing Director, Christine Doyle
February 8th, 2025 4:00 pm
by
This evening’s work is a trilogy titled Seeds of Toil: Three Asian American Stories of Resistance and Resilience. This dance consists of three sections; The Pineapple Plantation, Prisoner #44257, and Coalición. Each section is connected by the historic relationship of Asian Americans to land.
My family immigrated to Oahu, Hawaii in January, 1903 on the steamship Gaelic from Korea. They were among the first 102 Koreans to arrive to the plantations of Hawaii where they became indentured agricultural workers on the sugar and pineapple plantations of the Del Monte corporation. For three generations they worked the fields. When I was a child I asked my mother about the scars on her hands and she answered simply, “I picked pineapples as a child and carried 50 pound bags out of the field.”
I first learned about the imprisonment of Japanese Americans when I was told that my childhood neighborhood in Santa Fe, NM, was built over a leveled Japanese American Internment Camp. Executive Order 9066 (EO9066) imprisoned over 120,000 Japanese Americans and those with Japanese heritage during WWII. Many were farmers on the West Coast who had helped build America’s thriving agricultural industry. Due to EO9066 they lost their land and were sent to desolate prison camps spread throughout some of the harshest environments of America for the duration of WWII.
Change occurs through open conversation and alliances between communities. The historic collaboration between Filipino and Mexican agricultural workers in the 1960’s led to the Delano grape strike, a major labor strike organized against table grape growers who were exploiting workers. The strike lasted 5 years. It began in September 1965 and in August 1966, the AWOC, a predominantly Filipino labor organization and the NFWA, a predominantly Mexican labor organization merged to create the United Farm Workers (UFW) Organizing Committee. In July 1970, over 10,000 farm workers were granted victory from the strike, affording them safer working conditions.
This cooperation of cultural communities, positively changed the landscape of American agriculture working conditions forever.
Choreography: Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Dancers: Natasha Ames, Joan Ayap, Tomas Fischer, Trevor
Frantz, Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo, Justin Rustle, Aleny Serna, and Baylee Wong
Collaborative Pianist: Dana Nichole Scott
Music: Metamorphosis Five by Philip Glass, Opening by Philip Glass © 1988, 1981 Dunvagen Music Publishers Inc. Used by Permission.
“Dead Things” Writer: Philip Glass Publisher: Used by Permission of Sony/ATV Harmony. All rights reserved.
Clair de Lune, L. 32, Préludes Book 2, L. 123 III. Feux d’Artifice, and Pour le Piano, L. 95:11, Sarabande Avec élégance grave et lente by Claude Debussy
Madaling Araw and Anak ng Dalita by Francisco Santiago, Bayan Ko by Jose Corazon de Jesus
Rehearsal Direction: Anne Sidney and Sarah Halzack
Costumes: Sigrid Johannesdöttir
Light and Projections: Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo
Set: Nina and Charles Southall
Props: Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo and Kelly Southall
Stage Manager: William Robinson
In 1903, the first Koreans arrived to the plantations of Hawaii aboard the steam ship Gaelic. They dreamed of a new life free from political persecution, but most would sign contracts with plantations binding them to becoming agricultural workers; picking sugarcane and pineapples. These individuals ended up on the Hawaiian plantations where they lived and worked tirelessly under harsh conditions, often for generations.
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Executive Order 9066 (EO9066) was a United States presidential executive order signed by Franklin Delanor Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, imprisoning over 120,000 Japanese Americans and those of Japanese descent, in desolate locations in America for the duration of WWII. These individuals lost their homes and their land. Many were agriculturalists who had built the California agricultural industry.
-- Brief Pause --
In the 1960’s grape pickers in California worked in unsafe, underpaid conditions. A major coalition formed between the Filipino and Mexican workers and together, they organized the Delano grape strike. The major labor strike was organized against table grape growers who were exploiting workers. The strike lasted 5 years. It began in September 1965 and by August 1966, the AWOC a predominantly Filipino labor organization and the NFWA, a predominantly Mexican labor organization merged to create the United Farm Workers (UFW) Organizing Committee. In July 1970, over 10,000 farm workers were granted victory from the strike, affording them safer working conditions.
Please join us immediately after today’s performance for a Q&A with Dana Tai Soon Burgess and Sojin Kim.
Now in its 32nd season, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) is a culturally diverse company that performs dances that uplift, inspire, and bring new insights to seasoned dance lovers and new audiences alike in Washington, DC, around the United States, and the world. DTSBDC creates and performs modern dances that explore intersectional identities—the flowing together of diverse perspectives, histories, and traditions that result in shared audience understanding.
DTSBDC is a leader in the national movement to collaborate with and perform at visual arts museums as well as theaters. In 2016, DTSBDC was named the Smithsonian Institution’s first-ever resident dance company. Last year the company began a series of new residencies including a yearlong “social impact” residency at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. DTSBDC has a long history of artistic collaborations and partnerships with other organizations including: NASA, the U.S. State Department, National Gallery of Art, the Kreeger Museum, the Mayor’s Office of Asian Pacific Islander Americans, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. DTSBDC has been presented at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, Arena Stage, the United Nations, La MaMa, the Asia Society, the Korean Cultural Center, as well as at the White House at the invitation of President and First Lady Michelle Obama.
As a U.S. State Department cultural envoy, DTSBDC has toured extensively both nationally and internationally to 5 continents and over 30 countries. For more information about DTSBDC visit www.dtsbdc.org
Dana Tai Soon Burgess (Founding Artistic Director) is a leading American choreographer and cultural figure known worldwide as the “Diplomat of Dance.” He is a 4th generation Korean American whose ancestors arrived on the plantations of Hawaii in 1903. In 1992, he founded the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC), Washington, DC’s preeminent modern dance company.
Burgess’s work often focuses on the intersectional identities of Asian Americans by exploring —the flowing together of diverse perspectives, histories, and traditions. He has served as a Cultural Ambassador for the U.S. State Department for over two decades, an appointment he uses to promote international cultural dialogue through “the global language of dance.” Burgess has been awarded three Fulbright Senior scholarships for dance and recently received two prestigious awards – the Selma Jeanne Cohen Fulbright Dance Lecture Award and the Aaron Stein Memorial Award.
In 2016, Burgess was named the Smithsonian Institution’s first-ever Choreographer-in-Residence. From 2016-2023 he created new works inspired by museum exhibitions, participated in public discussions about dance and art and designed educational programming. The exploration of dance and art is deeply rooted for Burgess. In 2003, Burgess was one of only three artists featured in the Smithsonian Institution’s “A Korean American Century” – an exhibition highlighting the history and achievements of Korean Americans in the US. He was also highlighted in “Dancing the Dream,” the Smithsonian’s first exhibition on American dance. Three portraits of Burgess are part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian and his family archive resides in the American History Museum. He has created works for The National Gallery of Art, The Noguchi Museum, The National Museum of Asian Art, The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, The National Building Museum, The Kreeger Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Art, and The UNM Art Museum to name a few.
Burgess and DTSBDC have received numerous awards and acclamations including the Mayor’s Arts Award for Excellence (2005), seven Metro D.C. Dance Awards, and the Pola Nirenska Award which celebrates trailblazers and leaders of
the dance community. Burgess received the Paul Ré Peace Prize for bridging communities around the globe through choreography.
He has served as a Mayoral appointed commissioner for the DC Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Americans and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Burgess is the author of Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly: A Memoir by University of New Mexico Press and the editor of and contributor to Milestones in Dance History by Routledge/ Francis&Taylor. He is the host of Slantpodcast.com which focuses on the Asian American arts experience.
Dana Nichole Scott (Collaborative Pianist) is the resident pianist of DTSBDC, known for creating and performing dynamic music. Ms. Scott studied at New England Conservatory where she earned her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and received her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Ms. Scott began her musical career at a young age, winning competitions and even exploring her skills as a Disney musical production cast member. A respected collaborative pianist and conductor, she frequently works in operatic and musical theater productions, as well as leads choral and instrumental ensembles.
Ms. Scott has conducted, hosted and performed at the Gala Theatre in DC, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, and The Arts Club of Washington, among many other venues throughout the DC area and nationally. She works as a coach and accompanist for the Little Patuxent Opera Institute, Harbor Opera, Centre Stage, and Washington Opera’s Summer Opera Institute. Ms. Scott also performs with Annapolis Children’s Choral, Arundel Vocal Arts Society, Bach in Baltimore, and Opera AACC.
As a soloist Ms. Scott is a winner of the Sidney DeKnight Piano Competition. She frequently appeared as a soloist with the Imperial Symphony Orchestra in Lakeland, Florida and
was a recitalist on the Mary Baker Eddy Library Millenium Series, and the James George Charitable Trust Series in Boston, MA.
Natasha Ames (Dancer) is in her first season with the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Trained in classical ballet and modern dance at The Washington Ballet and the Kirov Academy of Ballet, she holds a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Towson University. Beyond performance, she is dedicated to expanding dance education and inclusivity. As part of the JUNTOS Collective in 2023, she helped bring cultural dance programs to children in Guatemala, fostering artistic exchange and enhancing education in underserved communities. Natasha advocates for dance accessibility and works to address inequalities and promote diversity within the art form.
Joan Ayap (Dancer) is in her eighth season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. She was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Manila Philippines. Ms. Ayap began her dance training at the Hilil-Cruz School of Ballet and the Philippine Ballet Theatre and Conservatoire. She received her B.S. in interior design from Assumption College, San Lorenzo, while pursuing a dance career. Her professional experience began with the Philippine Ballet Theatre, where she worked with acclaimed teachers and choreographers. In Washington, D.C. she has performed with Bowen McCauley Dance and DC Contemporary Dance Theatre. She is also a former American Rhythm Pro Multi-Divisions competitor. Ms. Ayap is on the dance faculty at Georgetown Day School and City Dance.
Tomas Fischer (Dancer) is in his first season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Tomas was born in Lithuania and grew up in Washington, DC. He began his career in ballet in 2008, at the age of 10, with the Maryland Youth Ballet and trained with Olivier Munoz. In 2010, he furthered his ballet training at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. In 2017 he completed the 2 year Men’s Scholarship Program at Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Tomas started his professional dance career with First State Ballet Theatre in 2019. He most recently finished his fourth season with The Florida Ballet as a Company Member.
Trevor Frantz (Dancer) is in his second season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Mr. Frantz was born in Bucks County, PA, where he pursued performing arts and dance throughout his childhood. He continued his dance education at the George Washington University, where he earned a dance minor along with a BFA in Interior Architecture. Mr. Frantz now works full-time as an interior designer.
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo (Assistant Artistic Director & Dancer) is in his thirteenth season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Mr. Moltedo is from Santiago, Chile. He began dancing at the age of 12 and has since received several awards and distinctions, among others, Chile’s Best Dancer Inter-American Circle of Dance Professionals Award. In Santiago, Mr. Moltedo ran his own company, which led to multiple national and international tours. He holds a B.F.A in dance, an M.A. in dance education with honors from the University of Chile, and an M.F.A. in dance from The George Washington University Department of Theatre and Dance. Currently, Mr Moltedo is the Assistant Artistic Director, multimedia designer/creator, and webmaster for Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company; and the producer and editor of SLANTpodcast.com.
William Robinson (Apprentice & Stage Manager) is in his first season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. He was raised in Washington, DC and went on to attend The University of the Arts on a full scholarship, earning his B.F.A. in modern dance performance, and receiving both the Outstanding Achievement in Modern Dance Award and the President’s Award. While in school he used his summers to study at the Paul Taylor School. Mr Robinson was recently the assistant to the choreographer on the film The Young Wife by Tayarisha Poe, and worked as the project manager for Cardell Dance Theater’s Disposable Bodies. Mr. Robinson is currently full-time dance faculty at Georgetown Day School.
Justin Rustle (Dancer) is in his third season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Originally from Maryland, Mr. Rustle began dancing at the Liz Lerman Movement Exchange, and went on to receive his formative training at Maryland Youth Ballet. Justin holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Butler University, and an MA in
Performance Studies from the TISCH School of the Arts at New York University. He has previously danced with companies including Ballet Arkansas and Bowen-McCauley Dance Company. Mr. Rustle has performed work by choreographers including Nacho Duato, Paul Taylor, George Balanchine, Gerald Arpino, Harrison McEldowney, Darelle Grand Moultrie, Kiyon Gaines Ross, and Ilana Goldman. He is also a contributing writer covering dance for Maryland Theatre Guide.
Aleny Serna (Dancer) is in her fifth season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. She was born in New Jersey but lived in Asia for 12 years where she received most of her formal dance training in classical ballet and contemporary. Ms. Serna has a degree in Exercise Science and Dance from George Washington University and is currently full-time dance faculty at Georgetown Day School.
Baylee Wong (Dancer) is in her second season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Born and raised in Carmel, New York, Ms. Wong began her dance journey at age three. Baylee received training at Pinewood School of Dance, Fred Astaire, Joffrey Summer Intensive, AAB Summer Intensive, and Towson University. She learned various dance styles including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and ballroom. In 2019, she took 1st at the Tri-State Dancesport Championship in youth rhythm open gold. Baylee received a BFA Dance Performance and Choreography degree at Towson University. Ms. Wong is currently on the dance faculty at Georgetown Day School.
Sojin Kim (Panel Discussion Moderator), guest curator of the Sightlines exhibition, works at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, an office that collaborates with communities in the U.S. and around the world on cultural heritage policy and cultural sustainability issues. Her past projects spans public programs, exhibitions, workshops, and research and documentation projects. She was the co-curator of the following Smithsonian Folklife Festival programs: D.C.: The Social Power of Music (2019), On the Move: Migration Across Generations(2017), Sounds of California (2016), and China: Tradition and the Art of Living (2014).
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC), established in 1997, ensures the comprehensive representation and inclusion of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs) across the Smithsonian’s collections, research, exhibitions, and programs.
Through education initiatives, publications, and public programs, APAC provides new avenues to document, celebrate, and share the rich and diverse history, art, and culture of AANHPI communities. Sightlines: Chinatown and Beyond and upcoming exhibitions at other Smithsonian museums will pave the way for a dedicated APAC gallery on the National Mall.
Feb 27 - Mar 1
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Leadership
Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Founding Artistic Director
Christine Doyle, Managing Director
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo, Assistant Artistic Director
Staff
Bianca DeLille, Development Director
Patch Canada, Public Relations Specialist
Jan Tievsky, Educational Principal
Joan Ayap, Educational Program Teacher
William Robinson, Educational Program Teacher and Production Assistant
Aleny Serna, Educational Program Teacher
Baylee Wong, Educational Program Teacher
Isel Perez, Accountant
Artists
Anne Sidney, Rehearsal Director
Sarah Halzack, Assistant Rehearsal Director
Carl Gudenius, Lighting Designer
Sigrid Johannesdottïr, Costume Designer
Millicent Scarlett, Resident Musician
Dana Nicole Scott, Resident Musician
Lauren Victor, Resident Photographer
2024 DTSBDC Dancers
Natasha Ames
Joan Ayap
Tomas Fischer
Trevor Frantz
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo
Justin Rustle
Aleny Serna
Baylee Wong
William Robinson
Board of Directors
Susan Gigli, President
Jan Tievsky, Vice President
Mary Eccles, Secretary
Erick Hosaka, Treasurer
Jameson Freeman
Nicole Hollander
Bonnie Kogod
Ellen Boyers Kwatnoski
Marcia Lim
Leigh Adams Slaughter
Kelly Southall
Dana Tai Soon Burgess (ExOfficio)
Biance DeLille (Ex-Officio)
Advisory Board
Shahab Albahar
Kay Casstevens
Josue Castilleja
Mario Castillo
Diane Dragaud
Sara Gay Forden
Sarah Halzack
Joshua Kaufman
Mark Ohnmacht
Steve Oshana
Anatol Steck
Lauren Victor
Yang-Ro Yoon
Steven Zatarga
Organizational Mentors
Patch Canada
Michael Kaiser
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individuals who supported Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company during our 23-24 season.
$51,000 - 150,000
DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities
$20,000 - 50,000
Georgetown Day School*
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Patch Canada
March Forth Foundation
The National Endowment for the Arts
Philip L. Graham Fund
$5,000 - 19,000
The Share Fund
Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
Mary Eccles
Fulbright Scholars
Cary Fuller
Elizabeth Harter
JBG Smith
Ellen Kwatnoski
Maryland Youth Ballet*
Microsoft
Morningstar Foundation
Katia Norri
Jan and Seth Tievsky
Heinz and Liselotte Nehring
Stiftung Foundation
$500 - 4,000
Anonymous (3)
John Ashford
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Ian Burgess
Michael Caplin
Alan Cariaso
Kay Casstevens
Cherry Blossom Giving Circle
Claudia de Colstoun-Werebe
Laurie Davis and Joseph Sellers
Bianca DeLille
FBB Capital Partners
David Fischer and Joy Kassett
Jameson Freeman and Dana Burgess
Susan Gigli
Sergio Herrera and Kelly Southall
Wayne Hickory
Celia Hoke
Nicole Hollander
Erick Hosaka
Jill and Bill Hudock
Rebecca Klemm
Bonnie Kogod
Richard Kwatnoski
Marcia Lim
Barbara and Robert Liotta
Elizabeth McCallum
Laura McDonald
Kelly and Joel Minton
Elvi Moore
Judith Viggers Nordin
Dr. Susan Ohnmacht
Mark Ohnmacht
Eser Ozdeger
Tom Pallas
Stacey Perelman
Young-Key Kim and Bertrand
Renaud
Sheri and Robert Rosenfeld
Joan and Barry Rosenthal
Stephanie Rosenthal and Scott
Meisler
Stuart Ross and Patricia Devine
Teresa Saavedra
Eric San Juan and Jack Davis
Ben Sanders
Marian and Neel Saxena
Scout Properties
Leigh Slaughter
Steve Slaughter
Arnold Stolberg
Peter and Judith Storandt
Aaron Tievsky and Frank Delaney
*Educational Partner
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This podcast is an ongoing conversation around the Asian American experience through the lens of artists and luminaries. Hosted by
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