Arts

October 11, 2024 0

Tribute: Boston Ballet’s DePrince Remembered as ‘Truly Inspiring’

Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a former dancer for the prestigious Boston Ballet and a champion for diversity in the arts, passed away at age 29 on Sept. 10. DePrince was an inspiration to countless dancers and artists around the world for her exceptional work both on and off the stage. “I personally felt Michaela was a beautiful dancer and truly inspiring in her ability to break through glass ceilings,” Beth Mochizuki, artistic director at the Asian American Ballet Project, told the […]

October 11, 2024 0

‘Join or Die’ Argues Clubs Can Save America. But Is It Just Groupthink?

by Harmony Witte

Is the downfall of Democracy dependent on something as simple as the decline of social clubs? That’s the central theme of “Join or Die,” a documentary film that screened at film festivals in 2023 and is currently making the rounds at community film screenings across the country. “The trend toward greater polarization in America did not begin five years ago. It certainly did not begin with Covid. It didn’t begin with Trump. It began 50 years ago. You can see […]

September 27, 2024 0

‘Most Famous Woman in China’ Visits Hub

by Yuchen Hong

Chinese author and mega celebrity Yue-Sai Kan, while on tour at Boston University’s Tsai Performance Center on Sept. 16, discussed her cross-cultural influence in promoting China abroad, and introduced her aptly titled new book, “The Most Famous Woman in China.” Kan’s journey from a modest start to becoming a global media icon and influential philanthropist coincided with China’s dynamic transformation over the years. Both topics were her focus at the meet-and-greet book event. “I’m both a witness and a participant,” […]

September 27, 2024 0

CineFest Founder Tackles Big Questions on Identity

by Harmony Witte

Sabrina Avilés founded Boston’s only currently operating Latino film festival, CineFest Latino Boston, in 2021, during a time of personal crisis. “I was in a kind of a very pivotal moment in my life at that point, and my father was very ill and close to dying,” Avilés, executive director of CineFest Latino Boston, told the Sampan recently. “And so it just made me reflect about a lot of things. When something like that happens, you just reflect about, you […]

September 27, 2024 0

Filipino Culture on Center Stage in Cambridge

by Ava Belchez

October is Filipino American History Month and to celebrate, the Harvard Square Philippine American Alliance is partnering with Harvard Square Business Association to host the third annual Filipino American Festival in Harvard Square on Oct. 6 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The event will take place along side the business association’s Oktoberfest and the HONK! Parade. Event leader Cathy Uy said the aim of the Filipino celebration is to diversify the Cambridge festivities and “teach everyone about different cultures.” […]

September 13, 2024 0

Dorchester Art Project Set to Honor Vietnamese Diaspora

by Harmony Witte

An art project by a group of Vietnamese Americans in Dorchester will complement a proposed Vietnamese diaspora memorial and aim to become a permanent presence in Boston, say organizers.The “Trưng Bày Mẫu Thiết Kế” show debuts on Sept. 14, from noon to 3 p.m. at the VietAID Community Center at 42 Charles St. in Dorchester, as part of the “1975: A Vietnamese Diaspora Memorial.” The exhibit is lead by artist Ngoc-Tran Vu. “This design showcase is an inclusive and accessible […]

August 23, 2024 0

Artist Kenson Truong Sheds Light on Asian, Gay Identity

by Ryan Lundgren

Artist Kenson Truong was at work in a small nondescript gray building on a steep, hilly road in Roxbury that serves as a studio for Tufts’ School of the Museum of Fine Arts when I met him last week. He was tinkering with some black, glittery cubes at the time – cubes that appeared like props for the background of an episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” of which Truong is coincidentally a fan. The black cubes, however, were part of […]

August 23, 2024 0

Asian Americans’ History in Hollywood Was Anything But Golden. Now, It’s Time to Shine

by DongDong Yang

It is no secret that for years Asian Americans had been sidelined in Hollywood, facing discrimination and disrespect. You might get a brief appearance of a short Asian nerd with the smell of “kimchi” in his lunchbox in school. And the typical Asian character in a Hollywood film was usually never played by an Asian actor, but by a white actor who played an Asian role. Famously, Mickey Rooney played an especially offensive Asian caricature in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” This […]

August 9, 2024 0

Boston Festival Orchestra’s Wang Looks Back on Year That Hit All the Right Notes

by Christopher John Stephens

Boston Festival Orchestra co-founder and conductor Alyssa Wang is having a memorable summer. In her fourth season at the helm, Wang and the BFO continue to bring exactly what its promised: imagination, story-telling, and community-building. Born in the early days of the pandemic, the BFO has grown to continue its free out-of-the-box concerts, collaborations, and educational programs with groups like the New England Conservatory. Just in July, its Summer 2024 Stage orchestral concerts have featured Rossini’s Overture to “Semiramide,” and […]

July 26, 2024 0

Boston’s Silkroad Workshop Makes Music in Hangzhou

by Yuchen Hong

The Silkroad’s Global Musician Workshop kicks off this August with its first dual Boston-Hangzhou performances, welcoming musicians from around the world to both historic cities. “Hosting it for the first time (in the Chinese city) is challenging, but I’m looking forward to our presentation in Hangzhou this year. I hope to introduce this free and creative motivated music education to China,” Silkroad’s pipa player, Wu Man, told the Sampan in a video call from China this week. Man has been […]

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