Global citizenship as a TCK

Global citizenship is a buzzword that we are constantly throwing around these days as it has become paramount that today's citizen be aware of current events, politics, business, economic, and cultural awareness. So much of our society runs globally but this can and will cause quite a bit of misunderstandings as well.

On a personal level as a TCK, I still feel like there is so much to experience and see in the world. My biggest pet peeve with some TCKs is the "greater than thou" attitude just because they grew up globally. We never stop learning. Also one has to learn about other cultures and look from the outside in to analyze where the other is coming from.

I'm currently enrolled in a postgraduate program in an International Hospitality Management school and the experience has its ups and downs. Last weekend, we had a 'Cultural Night' event that showcased the numerous amount of cultures that embody the student population here. I grew up with United Nations days and International Food fairs from all the International schools, even when I was guest teaching for International schools and even the immigrant heavy populations in the public schools have this celebration in their school curriculum. It is wonderful. My dance students performed at the performance and I'm so proud of them.

I chuckle whenever someone asks what country I was representing. I was representing myself, so I replied "Alaine world". hehehe.... Because I am a global citizen and each global citizen is unique. A melting pot of different cultures. A proud Adult Third Culture Kid.


(The following video is about an hour long, if you want to watch my students fast forward to about 53 minutes)

Re-setting Chameleon on Young TCKs

Singapore American School students, alumni, & faculty performing in Kuala Lumpur

. Sept. 22, 2012.

Happy New Year!

I'm jetting off next week to teach dance and art-making workshops on the Third Culture Kid experiences in Guangzhou, China. Utahloy International School has given me an artist residency and they have made arrangements with their faculty and student body to do "TCK week". I am honored to get this kind of opportunity. At the end of the week, about 30 students will be performing a version of Chameleon, the Experiences of Global Citizens in a local area theatre for the entire student body, faculty, and parents. It has been a dream of mine to bring this project to International Schools around the world to teach and re-set this piece. A piece that is very dear to me as it speaks volumes to the multicultural and cross-cultural identity I grew up with and still growing as an adult. It was an honor to re-set an excerpt of the choreography from Chameleon, the Experiences of Global Citizens on selected dance students from Singapore American School the past fall. And that experience of working with such young raw talent was exciting.

I'm excited about this new challenge of working with 30 students to re-set a piece that had a cast of about 3-7 dancers and on non-dancers as well. The 30 students who be pre-selected by the faculty and staff of Utahloy International School prior to my arrival next week. They asked me what criteria they should look for in the students who would be involved in the production. I answered them with the following criteria to look for in the students I'd like to work with.
- Students are excited about performing in front of peers
- Some background in performing (Drama, Dance, Music, etc.)
- Not afraid to dance, act, speak on stage
- Great Attitude & Open mind
- Dependable and available to be at all the rehearsals

Check out the flier they made for TCK Week: http://srcnewsletter.weebly.com/ (Check out January 2013 if the event has passed)

If you are affiliated with an International School, I would love to bring Chameleon, the Experiences of Global Citizens to your school for workshops, re-setting choreography from the piece! Please don't hesitate to contact me.

The following video is the performance footage my sister took during the performance in Kuala Lumpur this past fall. Heather's solo (dance teacher at SAS) and then the "Frozen Memories" section of Chameleon performed by 3 SAS dance students and 1 recent alumni.

Coming full circle with dance & TCKs & Chameleon

I haven't mentioned it in my past couple posts because I thought you'd be more interested to read about my reverse culture shock experiences... I can't not mention it since its pretty exciting stuff (at least to me.

I've been re-setting an excerpted version of Chameleon, the Experiences of Global Citizens to TCKs/CCKs (faculty and dance students at Singapore American School) to be performed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Sept. 22nd. The process has been pretty exciting to work with so many TCKs. As with the previous performances of Chameleon, I work with each dancer's personal story especially for the solos. It is very much a collaboration between the dancer and myself in creating a solo that is completely personal. The dance teachers have been cast for solos, a recent alumni and three current students have been cast to learn the choreography from "Frozen Memories" section. The sound for the solos are personal interviews that I've conducted with the dancer and I'm truly fascinated by their stories. It is super inspiring to have this experience!

I'll be looking for more opportunities to work with Third Culture Kids, Expats, Cross Culture Kids, Adult Third Culture Kids, Dancers/Non-Dancers, Artists of other Genres to re-set a version of Chameleon in the near future!

My other part-time gig at the moment is teaching tap dance at a performing arts centre and all of my students there are TCKs as well and all the teachers there are Expats/CCKs/and maybe even TCKs themselves!

How exciting all of this is for me. I'm feeling a little bit more like myself again these days... (more on readjustment at a later post).


btw- I'm excited to also be performing as a Professional in the region for the first time ever! Salud!

While walking through the familiar hallways of SAS, I found these billboards of past dance productions. I was a part of these productions when I was a student at SAS!

UPDATE:
Here's the information about the performance in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 22nd.

New video posted from Toronto Fringe 2011!

I'm finally getting around to posting some video footage highlights from Toronto Fringe last summer! Here's Lauren & Tsubasa's duet to TCK Nikki's story about her experience of growing up in Japan and hanging out with other children of a different culture but embracing that culture as her own.





Choreography by Alaine Handa in collaboration with the dancers
Dancers: Lauren Calzolaio, Tsubasa Ogawa
Film: "I am a TCK" directed/produced by Alaine Handa, Film editing by Nicholas Fox & Alaine Handa; Nikki Felt appears in this film clip

For more information about A.H. Dance Company please visit http://www.ahdancecompany.com 

Watch the APAP 2011 Showcase of Chameleon

I've uploaded the full 20 min. showcase from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters 2011 Showcase at Dance New Amsterdam. This was in Jan. 2011.

I'll be posting up some new trailer videos with footage from our performances in Canada soon!

Chameleon (A.H. Dance Company) – 2011 Toronto Fringe Review

By Tiffany Budhyanto

"My favourite part of this show is the dancing – it is intimate, unique, and full of intent. The multimedia is a great partner to the dance as well."

Pictures from Cool NY 2011

We performed a short excerpt from Chameleon at the Cool New York Dance Festival in February 2011 and I received the CD of pictures taken during the performances. I want to share them with you because the pictures came out amazing.

Photography by Yi-Chun Wu

If you're in Toronto, Please save the dates to see Chameleon in your city!

July 6, 2011 Dance Workshop at O.I.P. Dance Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada. 4-6 pm. C$20 per person

July 6-17, 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival. Toronto, ON, Canada. http://www.fringetoronto.com/
Location: Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse, 79A Saint George Street, Toronto, ON, Canada
C$10

Friday, July 8, 2011 - 10:30pm - 11:30pm
Sunday, July 10, 2011 - 7:15pm - 8:15pm
Tuesday, July 12, 2011 - 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Wednesday, July 13, 2011 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Thursday, July 14, 2011 - 11:15pm - Friday, July 15, 2011 - 12:15am
Friday, July 15, 2011 - 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Sunday, July 17, 2011 - 5:45pm - 6:45pm

(If you're a TCK in Toronto - check out the Toronto Third Culture Kids group on Facebook!)

Chameleon project - TCK arts in the community

Chameleon Project- TCK Arts in the Community from Alaine Handa on Vimeo.

For more information about Chameleon project please visit http://tckcckahdanceproject.blogspot.com

Pictures from APAP 2011

I got some fabulous pictures from the showcase performance of Chameleon during APAP 2011 at Dance New Amsterdam that I took. Enjoy!

Another video posted. "Frozen Memories" section from Chameleon

Chameleon excerpt "Frozen Memories" from Alaine Handa on Vimeo.

A video of Anna's and Ivi's Solo

A video of Anna's solo and Ivi's solo from Chameleon @ University Settlement



Choreography by the dancers in collaboration with Alaine Handa

Each dancer was interviewed to share their cultural story. We worked with imagery, memories of smells, sounds, sights, touch, people, and events to create solos that were unique to each dancer.

Footage taken from Chameleon performance on 5/14/2010 at University Settlement in NYC

Chameleon is supported by the Singapore International Internationale grant from Singapore International Foundation (http://sif.org.sg)

A Review of Chameleon from our APAP Showcase last month!

http://ballet-dance.com/201002/articles/ahdance_chameleon_20090108_dombroski.html

A.H. Dance Company

'Chameleon'

by Victoria Dombroski

January 8, 2010 -- Dance New Amsterdam, New York, NY

The A.H. Dance Company performed a piece of work entitled “Chameleon” at the APAP Conference Showcase at Dance New Amsterdam. This piece choreographed by Alaine Handa incorporated both dance and film to carry out a variety of notions dealing with children growing up in various countries all over the world, more than likely due to the careers of their parents demanding travel. The title of the piece “Chameleon” was perfectly proper, as it was about fitting in wherever one goes. These diverse young adults, who spent their upbringing in many different countries, spoke of issues including homesickness, multi-cultural influences, and race. Overall this amalgamation of film and dance to portray the sense of homesickness and lack of belonging to one culture was remarkable. This piece was able to bring awareness of this topic and lifestyle to an audience with true beauty and creativity.

The presentation started with a film that displayed different young adults talking about their upbringing in different parts of the world. It was fascinating to hear them speak about, for example, growing up in Japan for six years, Fiji for another two years, China for a year and a half, and finally to America, as one discussed. One young woman described herself as having the initial presence of an America, but really the Japanese culture was more in her blood than American culture. When she thinks back to what home truly is for her, she naturally thinks of where she spent most of her time growing up, which in her case was Japan. Another young man, due to his constant travel as a child, was unable to create deep connections with others. For all the speakers, their only constant in life was that they were sure they would have a new home and set of friends wherever they traveled next. Their ability to adapt to constantly changing environments became second nature.

The piece had a consistent flow between the themes in the film and the dancing on stage. At the conclusion of the first section of the film, the dancing started as a solo, using slow hand gestures of circular delicate movements in front of and above the dance’s head that almost created a dream-like atmosphere. Dressed in a Japanese-style dress, the dance moved gracefully with control and intensity about the stage. When she was on the floor she used her fingers to make it appear as a person walking, and created a circle around herself. It seemed to be symbolism for travel around the world and perhaps a wandering soul. As the piece continued with more dancers, voices spoke strongly in the background talking about lost souls not entirely having a home. The term home was considered an ambiguous term due to the constant traveling and adaptation to yet again another place to live. They spoke about this movement as creating happiness and sadness simultaneously. You create friends wherever you go next with ease because you acquire a skill in it from the constant practice, but you know that you have been quickly replaced wherever you just came from.

The dancing seemed to have a bewildered quality to it as the dancers moved their arms about their heads as if in anger and confusion. There was one phrase that was repeated a few times, “Confusion of cultures, uniquely me.” The dancers would look around themselves, searching for something that never quite seemed to be at their grasp. It was a motion of looking for that next new home and place to settle once again. The swaying arms towards the head reminded me of a bubble of confusion and there was a lot of running from corner to corner creating a panicking, uneasy emotion. The dancers would grab at the air in front of them and move through space with no sense of stability and contentment. It was that yearning for more that kept me wanting to watch and see if there would ever be a sense of resolution. The dancers were like feathers on the wind and I liked the dreamlike quality that I felt from it. At one point the dancers were using a hand shaking gesture as they moved quickly in a circle with an edgy and tense quality, reinforcing the overwhelming sensation of always being on the move with a constant change over of people.

Overall this piece was a beautiful representation of a lifestyle that is not commonly discussed or even acknowledged by most. It allowed an audience to learn about and interpret this way of life for themselves through the art of film and dance, thus leaving the audience with a unique perception of the individuals’ lives in relation to their own.

Families in Global Transitions (FIGT) conference in Houston, TX

Join me at the 12th Annual Families In Global Transition Conference in Houston, TX on March 4-6, 2010

I am thrilled to have been selected to receive one of their prestigious David Pollock Scholarships this year! In addition I was also selected to present & perform at the conference.

Speakers and attendees registered to date will be traveling from: Brazil, Switzerland, France, Japan, Germany, Thailand, Norway, Chile, Iceland, South Africa, Canada, the UK and the United States

And will include: The World Bank, U.S. Department of State, various U.S. American Universities, European Embassy Offices, University of Switzerland, missionary workers, University of Iceland, writers, coaches, U.S. Military Branches, publishers, corporations, MIT, international schools and many more who empower individuals living abroad.

Register today and join me to become a part of this 2010 dynamic worldwide community ready to share cross-cultural education, top research and best practices to support families in global transition across all sectors. And hurry, the $110/night hotel rate only goes until Feb 16th!


Here is the description of my concurrent session at the conference:

The Expat Experience through the Arts (5B)
Alaine Handa

The arts (visual and performing) are used to experience culture as well as a form of communication and therapy. Sometimes when our world is constantly changing and we struggle to keep up, the arts can play a wonderful tool to describe your experiences and feelings in a non-verbal way. This is a lecture/demo with Third Culture Kids in the arts showing their experiences through photography, video, music, drama, and dance.

I will also be screening a short preview of "I am a TCK" film:

A Short Screening of "I am a TCK" (1B)
Alaine Handa

"I am a TCK," directed/produced by Alaine Handa, is a documentary film that includes interviews with third culture kids describing their experiences growing up among worlds, frustrations with non-TCKs upon their return to their passport country, their future plans that are affected by their TCK upbringing, and how they view the world around them. This session is a short screening of the film with a short discussion to address the issues that might happen when moving to a new country or returning "home" and the ways to cope.

SAVE THE DATES!

A.H. Dance Company will be performing at the 60x60 Festival at the World Financial Center on Nov. 13, 2009 at 12 pm and 7 pm. 60 choreographers & 60 composers are paired at random for 60 seconds of collaboration.

Holiday Fundraiser for this project will be at Stone Creek Bar & Lounge on Dec. 5th, 2009 from 7-10:30 pm. There will be amazing raffle prizes. More details coming up soon!

Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) conference in New York City. A.H. Dance Company will be doing a short segment of this project (Dance & film) at Dance New Amsterdam on Jan. 8, 2010 from 9-9:30 pm

A.H. Dance Company & University Settlement will present this project on May 13-15, 2010.
More details will be added at a later date.

Enjoy the pictures from our performance at the Long Island Pirate Festival in September 2009!

Photography is copyright of Di Zhang (http://www.dizhangphoto.com)