Toronto's Panasian Jazz Quartet Perform at Calgary Asian Night Market 2008

A mixture of hot sun and thunderstorms met the crowd gathered at the Calgary Olympic Plaza to end off a month of Asian Heritage Month celebrations on Friday May 30th that began with the banging of a fat golden drum on May 2nd.

The Panasian Jazz Quartet features award-winning musicians Bobby Hsu on alto sax, Teppei Kamei on trumpet, Tim Shia on drums, and John Poon on bass.

They led a parade of performances that night including singer Cecile Pham with her rendition of Bonjour Viet Nam, the Bollywood Blast Dance Troupe from Montreal and local indie pop group Axis of Conversation.

Discover the pleasure of Maple Salsa Theatre

The combination has proven to be a bold and intriguing mix. The last production they did was Neruada Nude in 2005. Adapted from the sensuous poetry of Nobel Prize laureate, Pablo Neruda, the performance was a raw celebration of sex, body, and movement.

After a two-year hiatus, they returned this spring with Macula. The story pulls from the rituals and mythology of the Pre-Hispanic world to tell the tale of an earth goddess who gives birth to a winged creature.

"Separated shortly after his birth, he is given the task to look for elements to create a majestic cloak made of petals. In his path, he discovers a fantastical world that represents the deep connection between mother and son, portraying through mystical symbols the timeless veneration of the mother figure."

- Maple Salsa, 2007

The shows ran from May 2-6 and continues this week from May 9 to 12 at the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts.

I'll be attending the performance on Saturday, so with luck I'll be able to set up an interview with them in the near future.

Here are some links to check out:

Maple Salsa Theatre

http://www.maplesalsa.com/

Pablo Neruda

Biography
Poetry
Brief Commentary

Pre-hispanic

Aztec mythology

Welcome

Welcome

This is the first official post
I have many ideas about how to start this off, but I should just introduce myself. My name is Jeanne Kwong and I am a journalism student and community radio broadcaster.

Through JKStar88 Review, I intend to showcase the cultural and social life of Calgary.

One question I will try to answer in my postings is how the artistic landscape of the city is changing as a result of multiculturalism.

Not only is this blog about arts and entertainment, this is about understanding artistic expression as a reflection of a place that has attracted people from all over the world.

I encourage community members and artists to submit articles, commentary or images.

Along with this being an academic exercise, I want to use this as a tool to reach out and encourage community involvement in reporting, news/information gathering and media development.