Bharatanatyam dancer Arno Kamolika will perform to Bangladeshi music. Vietnamese dance troupe V3 will show off traditional garb. | Photo courtesy of Arno Kamolika

A trip around Southeast Asia might normally take weeks, months, or even years but Vancouverites will soon have a chance to do it in a single evening. On October 25, performers from around the world will gather for an evening of song and dance in support of The Multicultural Helping House Society, a local charitable foundation. Asian Breeze: A Whirlwind of Culture, will raise funds and share the culture of seven countries of Southeast Asia.

A journey through Southeast Asia

Performers come from a range of styles and genres. Included are: an opera singer from Singapore; representatives from the Dramatic Arts Council in Thailand; a traditional conical hat dancer from Vietnam; a romantic duo from Laos; an Indigenous dancer from the Philippines; and spiritual dancers, with musical accompaniment from Bangladesh. To unify such a broad array of styles, the show will feature visual imagery and music to carry the audience from one performance onto the next.

“What will make this program different is that it will be a journey. You will feel like a backpacker or a traveller, going from one country to another. You will feel that you are in each country yourself,” explains Joseph Lopez, event organizer.

Diverse performances reveal culture

Each performance has been chosen to represent different aspects of culture, from geography to history to ideology. For example, Arno Kamolika will perform a specially assembled number with musical accompaniment representing Bangladesh. Trained in Bharatanatyam, a Southeast Asian classical dance, Kamolika’s career has involved discovering and sharing Bangla culture. For Asian Breeze, she will perform a piece inspired by the poems of Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, the first Asian poet to win the Noble Prize in literature.

Vietnamese dance troupe V3 will show off traditional garb. | Photo courtesy of V3

The performances will also demonstrate the way that culture evolves over time. Dancers from V3, a nonprofit youth dance society, will wear traditional costumes representing the three regions of Vietnam, but will also incorporate modern elements into their performance.

“We will show our traditional costumes and dances, and we will also have a dance featuring hip hop moves,” says Tran Pham, president of V3.

Pham hopes that the group’s performance at Asian Breeze will help showcase Vietnamese culture for others, and help to build connections to other communities.

“Our group is not just for Vietnamese people; it is for anyone who wants to learn about our culture. We want to do something to give back to the community and help,” explains Pham.

Benefitting newcomers in Vancouver

All proceeds from the event will benefit The Multicultural Helping House Society, a registered non-profit society and charitable organization dedicated to helping newcomers succeed in Canada. In its 15-year history, the MHHS has assisted thousands of new immigrants – from diverse ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds – with settlement, employment, social services, skills enhancement, respite housing, legal assistance, and education services.

“The key words are ‘multicultural’ and ‘helping.’ We are geared to help any culture: Asians, Africans, Europeans, even Canadians. We’re busy. We are multicultural, multi-age, multi-background. You name it, we accept it,” says Lopez.

Lopez explains that Asian Breeze is an opportunity to not only raise funds for the society, but also to highlight the diversity of the Southeast Asian communities in Canada.

“Our goal is first of all, to have a good show. To celebrate culture, and to see behind the dance, behind culture, that we all belong to one humanity, we all have the same dreams for the future,” he says.

Asian Breeze: A Whirlwind of Culture

Friday, October 25, 7 p.m.

Michael J. Fox Theatre, Burnaby

For tickets, call 604-879-3277, ext. 232 or email asianbreezemhhs@gmail.com.

Tickets also available at the door.

$20 and up. Discounts available for groups, students, and seniors.