BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Oakland Asian Cultural Center - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Oakland Asian Cultural Center X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://oacc.cc X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Oakland Asian Cultural Center REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20210314T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20211107T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20220313T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20221106T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20230312T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20231105T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20240310T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20241103T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20250309T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20251102T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240126T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240302T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115242 CREATED:20240112T003828Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240318T214058Z UID:17315-1706270400-1709398800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Love and Protect Mural Series DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/loveprotect/ LOCATION:CA CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/murals-jpeg.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231209T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231209T150000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20231118T093621Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240206T204413Z UID:16612-1702126800-1702134000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Elder Voices: Chinatown Legacy Businesses Exhibition Opening Reception DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/elder-voices-opening-reception/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/roy-chan-exhibit-reception-thumbnail-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231117T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231117T153000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230915T222835Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240318T212013Z UID:15919-1700229600-1700235000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:“Everything I Learned\, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir” Book Launch with Curtis Chin DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/everything-i-learned-i-learned/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/thumbnail-5-1024x1024-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20231011T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20240122T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20231118T084415Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240321T200858Z UID:16549-1697029200-1705942800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Elder Voices: Chinatown Legacy Businesses Exhibition DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/elder-voices/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/roy-chan-exhibit-reception-thumbnail-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230916T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230916T200000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230620T202749Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240318T213247Z UID:14053-1694883600-1694894400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Save the Date: Vibe\, Vine\, & Vino Fundraiser and Mixer DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/vibevinevino-2/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Save-the-Date-Vibe-Vine-Vino-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230916T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230925T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230915T215912Z LAST-MODIFIED:20231003T205412Z UID:15865-1694851200-1695661200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:7th Street’s Secret Sauce: Celebrating Everett and Jones Barbeque’s 50-Year Legacy DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/everettjones/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/EJ-thumbnail-300x300-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230913T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230913T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230620T201251Z LAST-MODIFIED:20240318T212333Z UID:14037-1694617200-1694624400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Book Reading with Grace Lin DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/chinesemenu/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Grace-Lin-thumbnail-3.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230720T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230720T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230720T080740Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230915T213445Z UID:14540-1689840000-1689872400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:"Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage" Performing Arts Series DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/celebrating-our-heart-filled-heritage-performing-arts-series/ LOCATION:CA CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Screenshot-2023-07-05-at-6.11-1.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230610T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230610T160000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230427T054910Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230726T131908Z UID:13908-1686398400-1686412800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:AAPI Mental Health and Wellness Jam DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/aapi-wellness-jam/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PEERS-Mental-Health-Instagram-Post-Square-2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230602T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230602T213000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230329T223404Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230606T200648Z UID:13551-1685734200-1685741400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: Pasifika Futurism\, the SPULU Experience DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/cohh-spulu/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/the-spulu-experience-11-square-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230528T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230528T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230419T205257Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230530T172120Z UID:13547-1685282400-1685293200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Strong Like Bamboo: Stories of Resilience for Healing in the Era of Anti-AAPI Violence DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/strong-like-bamboo/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Sunday-May-28-2023-200pm-1-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230519T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230519T200000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230406T221701Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230522T191245Z UID:13557-1684519200-1684526400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Find Your Crew: Connecting Bay Area Filmmakers and Content Creators DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/findyourcrew/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/6.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230513T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230513T200000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230329T222814Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230516T184739Z UID:13553-1684000800-1684008000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: Son of Paper DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/cohh-sop/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/05132023-COHH-SOP-2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230510T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230730T170000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230411T223757Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230915T220020Z UID:13775-1683720000-1690736400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Unsigned\, Unsealed\, Delivered (I'm Yours) DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/poinciana/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Poinciana-thumbnail-REVISED.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230422T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230422T213000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230221T192837Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230424T194501Z UID:13420-1682191800-1682199000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: Joe Kye\, SURRIJA\, and Nikbo DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/cohh-rootingself/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/04222023-COHH-Rooting-Self-IG-flyers-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230402T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230402T160000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230302T012100Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230406T231937Z UID:13525-1680444000-1680451200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Have You Eaten Yet? A Conversation with Cheuk Kwan & Martin Yan on Food and the Chinese Diaspora DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/have-you-eaten-yet/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Have-You-Eaten-Yet-IG-2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230324T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230324T193000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230106T184132Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230327T145813Z UID:13211-1679680800-1679686200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Singles Oakferno: 21+ Singles Mixer for Young Professionals DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/singlesoakferno/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/singles-oakferno-updated-website-thumbnail.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230317T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230317T200000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230131T064746Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230321T001816Z UID:13345-1679076000-1679083200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:SOLD OUT: 48 Years After the End of the Vietnam War: A Continued Conversation About Empathy & Healing DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/dustchild/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/03172023-Dust-Child-IG-Flyer-4.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230316T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230318T213000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230302T184843Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230321T001907Z UID:13530-1678995000-1679175000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Dancing Moons Festival with Oakland Ballet Company DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/dancing-moons-festival/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Dancing-Moons-Festival-IG-Square.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230315T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230430T150000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230307T191355Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230412T222839Z UID:13574-1678881600-1682866800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:2023 Virtual Community Night Market DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/vcnm-apply/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Vendor-application-live.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230303T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230422T210000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230221T195319Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230424T194523Z UID:13438-1677862800-1682197200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Current Exhibition: Li Ching World DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/lichingworld-2/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Copy-of-20230301_LiChing_Opening_Panel.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230218T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230501T120000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230105T225516Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230402T214941Z UID:13235-1676721600-1682942400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Day of Remembrance Community Map Project (Ongoing) DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/dor-community-map-project-2/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Day-of-Remembrance-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230217T170000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230217T193000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230111T192311Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230301T071903Z UID:13229-1676653200-1676662200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:MY BOYFRIEND APOCALYPSE: Chapbook Reading and Writing Workshop with antmen pimentel mendoza DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/my-bf-apocalypse/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/MY-BOYFRIEND-APOCALYPSE-instagram.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230211T133000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230211T150000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230105T231744Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230321T001956Z UID:13222-1676122200-1676127600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:PEONY AMOUR - Sultry Ecstasy and Frosty Agony: Book Talk with Raymond Chong DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/peonyamour/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/20230211Peony-Amour-BookTalk_Thumbnail-3.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230204T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20230204T160000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20221207T214608Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230406T231330Z UID:13160-1675508400-1675526400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Lunar New Year x Black History Month: Celebration of Black & Asian Solidarity DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/lnyxbhm/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/CO-PRESENTED-BY-Instagram-Post-Square.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230117 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230225 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20230113T233852Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230406T231846Z UID:13281-1673913600-1677283199@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Bandung To The Bay: Intersections of Solidarity DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/bandung-to-the-bay-exhibition-2/ LOCATION:CA CATEGORIES:Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/20220715BandungtotheBay_Thumbnail-e1673653068165.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221203T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221203T153000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20221117T010720Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221214T195553Z UID:13136-1670076000-1670081400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:CRESCENCIANA Book Talk: Connecting with our Ancestors’ Narratives DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/crescenciana/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/20221203CrescencianaBookTalk_Thumbnail.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221105T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221105T160000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20221005T211519Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221214T195601Z UID:12986-1667656800-1667664000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Uncommon Ground: Write Now! SF Bay's New Anthology DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/uncommonground/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/uncommon-ground.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221104 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221219 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20220914T223149Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230524T225521Z UID:12918-1667520000-1671407999@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Distant Journeys of Cultural Exchange DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/distant-journeys/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events,Past Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/distantjourneys_thumbnail.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221021T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20221022T160000 DTSTAMP:20260421T115243 CREATED:20221013T205538Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221026T182514Z UID:13020-1666350000-1666454400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Community Ofrenda Building 2022: Celebrating Día De Los Muertos with OMCA DESCRIPTION:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide A Performance by Charya Burt Cambodian Dance \n \nSaturday\, Apr. 19\, 2025 \n3 PM \nFREE \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide is an adaptive multi-media dance and theatre work observing Cambodian Genocide Remembrance Day and the 50th Anniversary of the beginning of the Khmer Rouge Genocide. The piece will honor genocide survivors\, the resilience of the Cambodian spirit\, and how Cambodian arts have been\, and continue to be\, transmitted from generation to generation.   The Rebirth of Apsara: Beyond Genocide investigates the relationship between art and war\, exploring how Khmer classical dance\, particularly Apsaras\, fabled female celestial beings\, has embodied the essence of Cambodian culture from ancient mythology to its post-genocide resurrection.   Mirroring her own life’s journey as an artist to explore the impact Apsara has had on both Khmer civilization and Cambodian artists of today\, Charya Burt sets her re-imagined classical dance gestures to music by renowned Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung and traditional Khmer pin-peat. The performance is all tied together by a live soundscape by Marimba Lumina virtuoso Joel Davel and an engaging video backdrop designed by Hsuan-Kuang Hsieh.    Joining Charya’s tour de force performance on stage will be dancer Chakra Sokhomsan and select Bay Area Cambodian community dancers.   A talkback with the artists and genocide survivors will follow the performance\, moderated by Mory Chhom.   OACC’s “Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage” Asian American & Pacific Islander performing arts series will provide a platform for local Asian and Asian Pacific Islander culturally relevant artists that inspire intergenerational and cross-cultural exchange. This program series is sponsored by Matson\, the Bank of Marin\, and Dr. Raymond L. Eng. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Register\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Production Team \n \n \n \n Charya Burt: Creator\, Choreographer\, Lead Performer\n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt is an acclaimed master dancer\, choreographer\, vocalist\, and teacher of Classical Cambodian Dance. After the Khmer Rouge genocide\, Burt trained extensively with Cambodia’s foremost surviving dance masters\, eventually joining the dance faculty of Cambodia’s Royal University of Fine Arts. The Rebirth of Apsara\, her recent Hewlett 50 Arts Commission\, premiered in 2024 at Sonoma State University’s Green Music Center.   An inaugural Dance/USA and 2022 Americans for the Arts Johnson Fellow and Isadora Duncan Award recipient for Individual Performance\, Burt has performed her original works nationwide at venues including Jacob’s Pillow\, San Francisco Opera House\, Oregon Shakespeare Festival\, and many others. Her recent choreographic works include Beautiful Dark (2024)\, about the relationship between colorism and perceptions of beauty\, Silenced (2018)\, Of Spirits Intertwined (2018)\, and Heavenly Garden (2016).   A true culture bearer\, Burt’s mission is to continue preserving and renewing her art form\, elevating the professionalism of community dance groups\, and creating innovative new works firmly rooted in tradition. She is the founding artistic director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, based in the San Francisco North Bay. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chinary Ung: Composer \n \n \n \n “Louk Kru” Chinary Ung was born in Cambodia and spent his early childhood in Prey Lovea\, a small village surrounded by rice paddies. His first exposure to Western classical music was as a teenager\, and he was so drawn to it that he came to New York in 1964 to study clarinet performance (at the Manhattan School of Music) and\, later\, composition with Chou Wen-Chung at Columbia University. During the Cambodian genocide\, where nearly 2 million people died\, Ung feared that the country would lose its precious musical heritage because the Khmer Rouge regime targeted artists. He devoted himself to learning the neat-ek\, the Cambodian xylophone\, and performing traditional pin peat music (the Cambodian gamelan ensemble) throughout the United States. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Kalean Ung: Writer \n \n \n \n Performer and playwright Kalean Ung is an award-winning Cambodian-American multi-disciplinary theater artist whose professional career ranges from Shakespeare to experimental theatre to contemporary opera and solo performance. She has performed at The Kirk Douglas Theatre\, Disney Hall\, REDCAT\, and The Getty Villa\, among others\, collaborating with critically acclaimed theatre and opera companies\, including Critical Mass Performance Group\, The LA Philharmonic\, Rogue Artists Ensemble\, Independent Shakespeare Company\, and CalArts’s Center for New Performance. Kalean’s voice acting can be heard as the lead in Denis Do’s award-winning\, animated feature about the Cambodian genocide\, FUNAN.   For this adaptation\, additional story development and text by Charya and Rob Burt. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel: Musical Director/Performer \n\n \n \n \n \n Joel Davel (Musical Director) is an accomplished percussionist whose performances and compositions range from classical to highly experimental. Davel is known for his many appearances in theatrical productions\, for many performance collaborations with composer Paul Dresher and Vân-Ánh Võ and for his 20 year association with electronic music designer Don Buchla. Davel is the music director and composer for dNaga Dance Company and PCB designer for Buchla. He performs on the Marimba Lumina\, an instrument he built and co-designed. Davel holds a Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and MFA from Mills College. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Chakra Sokhomsan: Dancer\n\n \n \n \n \n Born and raised to Khmer refugee parents\, Chakra is an activist\, artist\, and educator. The Cambodian community in Chakra’s hometown\, Long Beach\, CA\, helped develop his passion for the arts. He carries over ten years of Khmer Classical Dance training under Prumsodun Ok\, Charya Burt\, Sophiline Cheam Shapiro\, and Reaksmey Lath. Recently\, Chakra graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Dickinson College. He has also worked and performed with Alessio Trevisani\, Sarah Skaggs\, Pilobolus\, the American Dance Festival\, and more. Currently he is a teaching artist with the Modern Apsara Company in Long Beach\, CA. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt: Director\n \n \n \n \n Rob Burt\, Executive Director of Charya Burt Cambodian Dance\, is a theatre director\, producer\, and educator. A theatre teacher for over 35 years\, he directed and produced over 100 theatrical productions\, many for his award-winning playwriting program at Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa\, California. The school’s 350-seat theater was named in his honor in 2017. From 1990-1992\, Burt taught playwriting at the University of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh\, Cambodia\, producing original plays with actors from Cambodia’s National Theatre. Here\, he met his future wife\, Charya\, who was on the university’s dance faculty. In 1993\, he helped Charya establish her U.S. dance company and has been her creative partner ever since. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Cambodian Dance Company: \n \n \n \n Charya Burt Chakra Sokhomsan Hannah Chea Baron Lim Moragaut Souet Samounn Sydnee Thy \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Meet the Moderator \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n Mory Chhom is a Cambodian American and a dedicated public health leader with nearly 20 years of experience serving immigrant and underserved communities. Currently serving as the Director of Population-Focused Prevention and Early Intervention\, she oversees culturally and linguistically responsive programs that promote wellness and equity. She serves on the board of the Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants and the Editorial Board for Health Promotion Practice.  URL:https://oacc.cc/event/communityofrenda2022/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Past Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/10212022_CommunityOfrenda_Thumbnail.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR