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: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 BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20260308T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20261101T090000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT DTSTART:20270314T100000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0700 TZOFFSETTO:-0800 TZNAME:PST DTSTART:20271107T090000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250516T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250809T170000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250409T223815Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250625T180524Z UID:21237-1747396800-1754758800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Satr-e Rahayi: An Exhibition of Calligraphy Works by Hakim Karimzada 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/satr-e-rahayi/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Current Exhibitions,Featured ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Satr-e-Rahayi-Exhibition-thumbnail-2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250518T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250518T160000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250326T203839Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250513T002001Z UID:21128-1747576800-1747584000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:"Daryo’s All-American Diner": An Anti-Asian Hate Play 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/daryos-all-american-diner/ 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/2025/03/DARYOs.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250606T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250606T140000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250529T003050Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250529T004555Z UID:21577-1749211200-1749218400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Mending Circle 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/mending-circle/ 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/2025/05/Mending-Circle-Flyer-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250607T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250607T210000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250511T031215Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250527T215315Z UID:21473-1749324600-1749330000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:[Cancelled] Celebrate Pride with OACC! 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/celebrate-pride-with-oacc/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Pride-2025-flyer.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250614T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250614T150000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250518T195746Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250518T200256Z UID:21539-1749906000-1749913200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:OACC Summer Showcase! 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/summershowcase/ 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/2025/05/Summer-Showcase-Flyer-Page1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250621T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250621T170000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250529T004151Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250530T002107Z UID:21583-1750496400-1750525200@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Changing Perspectives on Japanese American Incarceration 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/changing-perspectives-on-japanese-american-incarceration/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2-CP-Conf-NBN-Ad.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250622T090000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250622T170000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250529T004707Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250530T002110Z UID:21588-1750582800-1750611600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Changing Perspectives on Japanese American Incarceration - Day 2 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/changing-perspectives-on-japanese-american-incarceration-day-2/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2-CP-Conf-NBN-Ad.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250802T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250802T170000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133640 CREATED:20250708T090041Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250715T231934Z UID:21700-1754146800-1754154000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Taking Root: Southeast Asian Stories of Resettlement in Philadelphia film premiere and panel 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/taking-root/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Taking-Root-WebPage-Square.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250814T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251101T120000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20250724T221909Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251030T164429Z UID:21799-1755172800-1761998400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:She Isn't A Metaphor: An Exhibition of Mixed Media by Nimisha Doongarwal 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/she-isnt-a-metaphor/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Current Events,Current Exhibitions,Featured ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/She-Isnt-a-Metaphor-1080-x-1080-px.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250816T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250816T170000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20250716T204802Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250721T184440Z UID:21768-1755345600-1755363600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: Hawaiian Arts and Culture Day 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/hawaiian-day/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Featured,Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Hawaiian-Day-2025-Web-1080x1080-v2.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250906T193000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250906T210000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20250812T221942Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250822T184819Z UID:21840-1757187000-1757192400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Celebrating Our HeART-filled Heritage: Ragas in Conversation 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/ragas-conversation/ 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/2025/08/Ragas-in-Convo-Preview-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250920T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20250920T160000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20250721T061943Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250916T200256Z UID:21777-1758376800-1758384000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Panel Discussion: A History of Chinese Life Under American Racial Law (1850s-1960s) 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/chinese-author-panel/ 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/2025/07/UPDATED-Chinese-Author-Panel-Web-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251004T150000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251004T163000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20250807T182331Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250820T214833Z UID:21818-1759590000-1759595400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Oakland Ilokana Film Premiere 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/oakland-ilokana/ 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/2025/08/Oakland-Ilokana-Preview-1080-x-1080.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251105 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260201 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251028T175531Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260106T195915Z UID:22574-1762300800-1769903999@oacc.cc SUMMARY:"The Asian Elder Portrait Project:" an Exhibition of Drawings by Luke Sera-Tacorda 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/asian-elder-portrait/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Current Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Luke-Sera-Tacorda-1080-x-1080-PREVIEW.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251105T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251105T203000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20250927T170106Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251104T034601Z UID:22386-1762369200-1762374600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:"Water Mirror Echo: Bruce Lee and the Making of Asian America" book talk with Jeff Chang 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/jeff-chang-bruce-lee/ 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/2025/09/Jeff-Chang-Bruce-Lee-Book-Launch-Preview-1080-x-1080.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251108T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251108T203000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251008T150709Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251105T011128Z UID:22466-1762628400-1762633800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Arabesque: A Middle Eastern Dance and Music Concert 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/arabesque/ 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/2025/10/Arabesque-Preview-1080-x-1080.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251205T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251205T130000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251119T172208Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251119T173414Z UID:22663-1764936000-1764939600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:December Mending Circle 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/mending-dec2025/ 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/2025/11/Mending-Circle-Evergreen-Preview-White-Background.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251205T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20251205T210000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251107T213211Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251201T201421Z UID:22621-1764961200-1764968400@oacc.cc SUMMARY:“The Empathizer" A Documentary About Vietnam Screening and Discussion 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/empathizer/ 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/2025/11/Empathizer-Preview-1080-x-1080-px-2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260109T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260109T130000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251216T062046Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260106T195717Z UID:22737-1767960000-1767963600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:January Mending Circle 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/mending-jan2026/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Mending-Circle-Evergreen-Preview-White-Background.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260110T160000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260110T180000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251212T053126Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251212T183728Z UID:22709-1768060800-1768068000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Chinese Couplets: A Film by Felicia Lowe 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/chinese-couplets/ 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/2025/12/Chinese-Couplets-Preview-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260111T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260111T143000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251030T163029Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T052106Z UID:22603-1768136400-1768141800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:From Ally to Activated: Breaking Barriers to Community Action 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/activated/ 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/2025/10/Redesigned-Get-Activated-FB-1080-x-1080-px-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260125T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260125T160000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251229T212949Z LAST-MODIFIED:20251229T213238Z UID:22767-1769349600-1769356800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Reparations: A Film by Jon Osaki 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/reparations-film/ 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/2025/12/Reparations-FB-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260204 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260315 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20260114T160348Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260224T185220Z UID:22798-1770163200-1773532799@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Topaz Toddlers Exhibition: Children’s Art from an American Concentration Camp 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/topaz-toddlers/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events,Upcoming Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Topaz-Toddlers-FB-1080-x-1080-px-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260207T110000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260207T160000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251225T030557Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260204T212416Z UID:22758-1770462000-1770480000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Lunar New Year x Black History Month 2026: Celebrating Asian & African-American 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/lny-bhm-2026/ 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/2025/12/Celebrating-Asian-African-American-Solidarity.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260213T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260213T130000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20260121T225442Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260121T225727Z UID:22841-1770984000-1770987600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:February Mending Circle 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/mending-feb2026/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Mending-Circle-Evergreen-Preview-White-Background.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260222T140000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260222T160000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20260120T072722Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260121T042457Z UID:22815-1771768800-1771776000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Honoring Day of Remembrance: Children’s Art from an American Concentration Camp 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/day-of-remembrance-2026/ 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/2026/01/Topaz-Toddlers-FB-1080-x-1080-px-v2.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260228T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260228T130000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20251218T155311Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T203515Z UID:22743-1772280000-1772283600@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Bilingual Bike Commuting Basics Workshop (Cantonese and English) 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/bike-basics/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Bike-Commuting-Feb-28-English-1080-x-1080.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260306T120000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260306T130000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20260303T201924Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T202235Z UID:22986-1772798400-1772802000@oacc.cc SUMMARY:March Mending Circle 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/mending-feb2026-2/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Mending-Circle-Evergreen-Preview-White-Background.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260315T130000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260315T150000 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20260219T084830Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260219T084959Z UID:22932-1773579600-1773586800@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Tales of the Tofu Goddess: A Tribute to the Artful Life of Flo Oy Wong 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/tofu-goddess/ 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/2026/02/Tofu-Goddess-Preview-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260318 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260524 DTSTAMP:20260422T133641 CREATED:20260226T194319Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260226T224303Z UID:22956-1773792000-1779580799@oacc.cc SUMMARY:Our Language\, Our Story: Photos by Joyce Xi 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/joyce-xi/ LOCATION:Oakland Asian Cultural Center\, 388 9th St. #290\, Oakland\, CA\, 94607\, United States CATEGORIES:Upcoming Events,Upcoming Exhibitions ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://oacc.cc/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Joyce-Xi-Exhibition-PREVIEW-1080-x-1080-px.png ORGANIZER;CN="Oakland Asian Cultural Center":MAILTO:programs@oacc.cc END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR