Chameleon residency at Utahloy International School

No words can describe how extremely proud I am of the students from Utahloy International School that participated in my workshops and performed in their version of Chameleon, the Experiences of Global Citizens adapted from the professional production. Their honesty, openness, kindness, maturity, and willingness to try something different really touched me. I was very moved by their enthusiasm and commitment to sharing their life stories of being global citizens with me, their peers, and in a live performance in front of the student body and teachers.

Its all a very humbling experience working with these young Third Culture Kids who are straddling among different worlds on a daily basis. Their home life, their school life, and living in a host country. I remember when I was in their shoes, I am also reminded that I am constantly an evolving Adult Third Culture Kid who is still trying to find a place in this world. I am me, and I am a TCK for life.

This video was shot during the workshops I taught that week and I quickly edited it to show it prior to the performance that some of the students performed in.

Chameleon workshops at Utahloy International School from Alaine Handa on Vimeo.

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.