Nguyễn Thủy Tiên
With the month of May coming to an end, it’s important to remember that May is not the only month where celebrating Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders is allowed. Welcome authors of AAPI heritage into your bookshelf, listen to musicians from AAPI backgrounds, and take time to enjoy films by AAPI creators. On May 18th, I sat down with Leyna Vu, a freshman from BISFA’s Dance Department to discuss art from a Vietnamese perspective.
Hi, BISFA! My name is Tien Nguyen, and I’m here with Leyna Vu.
Hi!
Hi! For the month of May, The Phantom will be covering Asian American and Pacific Islanders in media and at BISFA. Let’s just jump right into it! Leyna, introduce yourself!
Hi, I’m Leyna Vu, and I’m Vietnamese. I’m a freshman dancer at Barbara Ingram.
Alright, so to start us off, I wanted to discuss not only what dance as an art means to you, but also just, like, the way art -- or your art -- is perceived from an Asian American experience through western eyes.
For dance, a lot of people don’t expect me to do it. They mainly expect from me that I’d be playing an instrument or I would be studying a lot. They don’t really expect me to be a dancer! For example, I like to talk to people online a lot, and whenever I say I’m Asian they’re like, “Oh! Does that mean you have good grades? Does that mean you study a lot? Do you really not do anything outside?” and I say, “No, I’m a dancer,” and they’re all surprised.
Yeah, and that’s interesting because when you say online, my mind goes to, like, the whole world. Not even just, like, in America.
Mhm. Even in Europe.
Yeah, so it’s really interesting but sad how these expectations and stereotypes are pushed onto Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Y’know, to bounce off of that, I’m assuming you’re familiar with the Model Minority Myth?
Yeah.
And if you’re comfortable with discussing it… how has your experience been with that myth?
It’s been… rough. Like… in middle school, I remember I would always, like, try my hardest because I wanted to make my parents proud, but then again… that really reflected off on all of the other students because they would always instantly assume I had really good grades. They would always come to me, they’d be like, “Can I have your answers? Can you do my homework?” etcetera… or if I was on the bus and I was coming home, they would all connect me towards Kung fu, and they would say, “Everybody, let’s Kung fu fighting,” every time I walk home. And it- it was just not fun.
I’m really sorry. As another Asian American, another Vietnamese American, I can really resonate with that story, and I can resonate with how, like, as a child that really screws up your life. It screws up your perception of, like, your own identity. And with that, how do you feel that dance helped you find yourself? How is it part of your identity?
For me, with dance, I’m really able to express myself, and it allows me to enter a different reality rather than having to deal with an actual reality where there’s people who see me and perceive me differently than who I am. So with dance, I just let out all my emotions. I can tell a story through dance, and it’s just really been helpful.
Yeah, I think that’s really interesting, too because when people think of dance, they just think, “Oh, it’s just movement. It’s just this choreography that has no meaning to it,” but honestly? Here at BISFA, we take that into a whole new, like, way to use dance. Like you said, the dancers here tell stories while dancing. Just curious, do you have a style for dance? Or a favorite?
My favorite style would either be contemporary or hip-hop. (laughter) Um, mainly contemporary because of how flowy all the movements are. It’s very easy to tell a story through all the movements because with contemporary, you can add so much more emotion.
I love that! I’m a creative writer, so I have zero knowledge of dance, but it’s nice to hear how people, like, form a connection with their art. Follow up question, is there anyone who motivates you?
Definitely my sister!
Wanna give her a shoutout?
(laughter) Katelyn Vu! Um, she’s been dancing for as long as I have, but she’s older, and watching her dance has really… it really inspired me. The way she moves, the way she puts so much, like, effort and emotions into her dancing. Whenever she just improvs, she really does so well. I’m able to tell that there’s a story behind it.
I think that what you just said was beautiful. Just to conclude this interview, what are any lessons you’ve learned here at BISFA? I mean, you’re still a freshman, but just so far have you learned anything in life or as a dancer you’d like to share?
Honestly, I learned here and in life to not really care about how people see or think of you. Because whenever you do, it really holds you back from doing what you could do even more or what you originally did.
Amazing advice! Thank you, Leyna! It was so nice to talk with you today!
Thank you!
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