PRESENTING CHAMELEON: The Experience of Global Citizens.
ABOUT CHAMELEON
Chameleon is a multi-disciplinary presentation about global
citizens who have been exposed to several cultures in their
developmental years. Exploring the notions of home, cultural
identity and relationships through dance with film, spoken word,
music, photography and jewelry design, Chameleon draws on the insight and experience of Third Culture
Kids: thosewho have spent a significant period of time in a culture
other than their own.
The documentary film "I am a TCK," directed by Alaine Handa, is a collection of
in-depth interviews with global citizens, and explores issues of
cultural mis understandings, asks what is home and shares
memories of expatriate lives abroad. Interspersed throughout
the film is
choreography performed by A.H. Dance Company, with each section
of the dance inspired by the individual cultural experiences of the
performer.
Chameleon, the experience of global citizens: 2011 Trailer from Alaine Handa
> Past Events
{About Alaine Handa}
Alaine Handa is attracted to work that engages audiences from a sociological context. Her choreography has been described as "quirky, honest, athletic, and lyrical."
Alaine received her B.A. from UCLA's department of World Arts & Cultures in dance studies. In Los Angeles, she has worked with Yvonne Rainer, Simone Forti, Mandala Danceworks, Space + Movement Exchange, Victoria Marks, among others. Since relocating to New York City in 2005, she has performed for Larry Keigwin + Company, Sasha Soreff Dance Theater, Open Floor Dance, The Movement Collective, High Frequency Wavelengths, Gabrielle Lansner & Company, Scott Lyons & Company, and Stephanie Liapis.
Her own work has been shown at Dance Forum, University Settlement, Abrons Art Center, Dance New Amsterdam, Movement Research, Merce Cunningham Studio Theater, Meridian International Children's Festival, Capital Fringe Festival, Cool New York Dance Festival, and various other venues. Ms. Handa has lived in Indonesia, Singapore, Los Angeles, and New York.
For more information please visit: alainehanda.com.
{About A.H. Dance Company}
A.H. Dance Company is a multicultural modern dance company based in New York City and performs work that reflects the diversity of the cast and various collaborators. Founded in December 2007, A.H. Dance Company has performed in various theaters, studios, community centers, conferences, and festivals in the United States. A.H. Dance Company's mission is to present and support independent contemporary artists and companies in New York and worldwide. Through collaborations with local dancers and artists of other mediums, A.H. Dance Company strives to share modern dance with communities that lack exposure to it. Through the work of Ms. Handa and the company members, A.H. Dance Company aims to present work that is engaging to a vast range of audiences.
For more information visit: ahdancecompany.com.
{Press Quotes}
"My favourite part of this show is the dancing -- it is intimate, unique, and full of intent. The multimedia is a great partner to the dance as well."
- Tiffany Budhyanto, Mooney on Theatre review, 7/9/2011
"Our body is where the soul dwells. If life as a Third Culture Kid is culture in motion, and dance is a body in motion -- imagine the sense of home TCKs find when we put the two together."
- Olivea Shure for Expat+Harem, 7/3/2011
"Handa presents some thought-provoking anecdotes on what it means to grow up with many homes or no real home at all."
- Ann Willemssen for Washington City Paper for Fringe and Purge, 7/14/2010
"How do you get comfortable while your body is one place and your brain in another? That's great movement metaphor, and the mark of a work that encourage viewers to think more than the average multidisciplinary Fringe show."
- Rebecaa Ritzel for Washington Post, 7/12/2010
"What makes Handa's production intriguing is that she has researched and interviewed Third Culture Kids (TCK), people who, like Handa, have lived in diverse cultures and integrate elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture. As a choreographer, Handa draws liberally from movement vocabularies of India, China, American modern and post-modern dance."
- Kate Mattingly for DC Theatre Scene, 7/10/2010
"The music selections are lovely, and the performers are all technically secure, vivacious, and handsome."
- Eva Yaa Asantewaa for Infinite Body blog, 5/14/2010
"Rich with experience, both interviewees and dancers share their stories of how it felt to be a chameleon, to blend in with new societies and people, and in many ways, how their environment took them in as well."
- Janifer Cheng for Media Mind Candy blog, 5/15/2010
"The dancers were like feathers on the wind and I liked the dreamlike quality that I felt from it. At one point the dancers were using a hand shaking gesture as they moved quickly in a circle with an edgy and tense quality, reinforcing the overwhelming sensation of always being on the move with constant change over people."
- Victoria Dombroski for CriticalDance Ballet-Dance Magazine, 1/8/2010
"Most of Alaine's work is based on some sociological observation or a desire to inform and enlighten through dance. In fact, she epitomizes the best traits of global nomads and is an excellent ambassador."
- Lisa Finnegan "Changing the World through Dance" for Parenting While Abroad, 9/12/2010
