A ballet firm brings Asian folktales to the stage

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When dancer Lauren Huynh informed her mother she was choreographing a ballet based mostly on a Vietnamese folktale, her mother was very excited.  Huynh is a second-generation Vietnamese American and the story she selected is known as “Tấm Cám.” “My mom grew up hearing it from her mom,” she said.

Some would call “Tấm Cám” a variation on the Cinderella story. A virtuous and pure-hearted girl named Tấm endures abuse and harsh treatment from her stepmother and stepsister, Cám.

Huynh’s interpretation of the folktale is one of four ballets included in the Asian American Ballet Project’s fourth annual concert, “Once Upon Our Time.” Performances will be held on June 27 and 28 at Boston Center for the Arts’ Calderwood Pavilion.

Huynh’s mother traveled to Vietnam to select traditional clothing to use in the ballet. When she arrived, she told friends and relatives about the production.

“Putting this story on a stage,  all of my aunties were like, ‘That’s something we’ve never heard of,'” said Huynh. “For me, I’ve never seen a Vietnamese story on stage.  I’ve also never seen a [dance] space where there are solely Asian Americans.”

This is likely one of the explanation why “Once Upon Our Time” is so necessary to Elizabeth Mochizuki, who based the Asian American Ballet Project in 2022. Mochizuki, who was featured in our 2024 Makers collection, talked in regards to the lack of numerous illustration in ballet.

“ The ballet canon is a lot of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ and European folktales,” stated Mochizuki. “There isn’t much Asian folklore in it. But now that ballet has spread around the globe, we can continue to pass on our traditions through ballet.”

The group, and this manufacturing, is a substitute for among the Eurocentric tendencies within the dance world, Mochizuki stated.  ” It’s actually necessary that we’re embodying our personal tales and I feel there’s one thing particular about being an Asian American in these ballets.”

The different ballets embrace “Suho and the White Horse,” which follows a shepherd boy and his horse in Mongolia. “Gabi sa Gubat” explores legendary Filipino beings and creatures. “Lon Po Po” relies on the Chinese story stated to be the unique Little Red Riding Hood.

While folktales could seem to be fables or parables we be taught as youngsters, they assist inform and form our tradition and our means of ourselves and one another. Often handed down orally, folktales carry reminiscence. These tales change into an archive of what being human means to completely different folks. They are a option to join the previous and the current.

But being part of a diaspora implies that geographic distance generally interferes with passing down culturally vital tales. “We’re not hearing the grandmas so much,” Mochizuki stated. “We might be separated from that so it’s us finding our past and bringing it to life in a way that’s meaningful to us.”

Huynh by no means acquired to satisfy her grandmother, the one who shared  “Tấm Cám” together with her mom. But by choreographing the folktale, Huynh seems like she’s in a position to join together with her. “It feels healing in a way,” she stated. “And liberating at the same time.”

Mochizuki and Huynh hope the tales in “Once Upon Our Time” draw folks collectively and remind them of their similarities whereas fostering an appreciation for the variations.

“ There are a number of people of all backgrounds who come up to us after performances,” stated Mochizuki. “And they feel connected with our work. It goes beyond ‘Oh it was cool to see something different’ and instead, it’s more like ‘I relate to that. I can see myself in the story’.”