Dance Mission Theater: A Bridge to Now / Un Puente hacia el Presente

Asian Improv aRts and API Cultural Center present the U.S. premiere of
A Bridge to Now / Un Puente hacia el Presente
A multimedia experience by the award-winning Lenora Lee Dance
in collaboration with Moyra Silva Rodríguez.

March 28 – 30, 2025 at Dance Mission Theater
Fri-Sat 8pm, Sun 3pm
Box Office: https://abridgetonow.eventbrite.com/

Lenora Lee Dance presents the U.S. premiere of A Bridge to Now / Un Puente hacia el Presente, a multimedia dance collaboration between U.S. and Peruvian dancers expanding perspectives on immigration in the Americas by looking at the legacies of racialized labor exploitation and anti-immigrant sentiment in both countries. Through dance, video, archival images, and interviews with the descendants of Chinese indentured servants in Peru and the U.S., this 50-minute piece honors the struggles and lasting cultural contributions of Chinese immigrants to Peruvian and U.S. societies, uplifting the perseverance of these communities made up of multiracial descendants today.

This piece is in honor of Julia Wong Kcomt (1965 – 2024), writer and cultural manager of Chinese Peruvian heritage.

Co-artistic directors of this international collaboration are Lenora Lee (San Francisco) and Moyra Silva Rodríguez (Lima / London). The performers / dance collaborators of Lenora Lee Dance also include José Avilés (Lima), Peter Cheng (New York City), Lynn Huang, SanSan Kwan, Johnny Huy Nguyễn, and Catalina O’Connor (San Francisco). Music collaborators are Tatsu Aoki and Francis Wong.

“Many of the Chinese when they arrived in Peru were quite stigmatized, racialized, as well as objectified, treated as pack animals, as objects. They were sold and transferred from one owner to another, regardless of their humanity.” – Marco Loo, Art historian and designer, Lima, Peru

“Unlike anti-miscegenation laws in the U.S. which criminalized inter-racial marriage until 1967, Peru had no anti-miscegenation laws. Children born of marriages between Chinese and Peruvians become important factors in assimilation of the Chinese. Approximately 10% of Peruvians have some Chinese ancestry.” – Lenora Lee, Co-artistic director, SF

“I think Chinese have everything. They have courage first. They have tenacity and they have the fight for life.” – Jorge Black Tam, performing artist and poet, Lima, Peru