Kurt Chiang

EMCEE – Main Stage

Kurt Chiang is Artistic Director & Ensemble Member with The Neo-Futurists. As an ensemble member, he has written over 250 two-minute plays since joining the company in 2008. He is the creator of the Neo Prime-Time show Analog (2013). Currently, he is developing the recurring Neo-Futurist storytelling show The Arrow in collaboration with Lily Mooney. He has read his work at various readings throughout Chicago, including Paper Machete, Write Club, West Side School for the Desperate, The Marble Room, and Wit Rabbit. He is also a Company Member with Barrel of Monkeys and has performed in That’s Weird, Grandma, as well as taught and performed in their writing residency programs at Chicago Public Schools. He has taught writing, performance, and Neo-Futurism as a guest teacher for many organizations throughout the city, including Louder Than a Bomb, North Park University, Lake Forest College, National High School Institute, and School of the Art Institute of Chicago. From 2013-15, he was an Artist-in-Residence with Snow City Arts, providing bedside arts & creativity workshops for youth admitted to Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. He originates from the Maryland/DC Metropolitan Area, and has lived in Chicago since 2005.

Peter Kim

EMCEE – Main Stage

Peter Kim is a Chicago based writer, performer, comedian represented by Gray Talent Group. Recent credits include The Second City National Touring Company, and The Second City e.t.c. – where he was nominated for a Jeff Award in the critically acclaimed revue: ‘A Red Line Runs Through It’. He can currently be seen improvising with Baby Wine at The Annoyance, hosting The Moth at Lincoln Hall and The Kiki at The Laugh Factory

Dhaea Kang

SINGER/SONGWRITER – VIP Reception

Dhaea is a singer-songwriter from Chicago. Her music has been featured on WEFT 90.1 FM radio, WNUR-FM 89.3, Chicago Acoustic Underground podcast, Pandora Radio, and Rooftop Sessions Chicago. Dhaea has performed with Beast Women, an all-women variety show, for four seasons, and can be seen performing at various venues around the city. She was the winner of the 2015 Kollaboration Chicago Showcase.

Jennifer Zhang & Yingkai Wang

TRADITIONAL CHINESE INSTRUMENTS – VIP Reception

Jennifer Zhang 張羽琪, specializes in various Chinese wood wind instruments such as the Chinese Transverse Bamboo Flute (Dizi), the Chinese Vertical Bamboo Flute (Xiao), the Chinese Bottle Gourd Silk (Hulusi), the Chinese Reed Flute (Bawu). She is also a singer and songwriter who started her music journey at the age of five under professor Xiaosheng Zhao (Piano), Chunling Lu (Dizi) and Yue Chen (Xiao). Graduated from the Northwestern University, she pursued further study at the Berklee School of Music and the Central Conservatory of Music in China. She has performed in over one hundred shows for major organizations around the world. Having won multiple awards, and as a recipient of 2017 Huaren TV Outstanding Overseas Musician Award, she has been invited as a judge for many talent competitions in the midwest region. She was crowned as 2015 Miss Friendship Ambassador of Chicago, and represented Chicago in the Miss Chinese International Pageant hosted by TVB in Hong Kong.

Yingkai Wang 王颖恺, specializes in the Chinese Zither (Guzheng). She has performed for many shows such as the Loyola Chinese New Year Gala. Her beautiful voice has also won her the third place in the 2016 the Voice of University of Chicago Singing Contest. As a graduate student at Loyola University Chicago, Yingkai is passionate about music. She believes that music has no boundary and she would love to have the beauty of Chinese music heard by more people.

Jennifer & Yingkai is a new band in Chicago. It is comprised of two members: Jennifer Zhang and Yingkai Wang. They are both accomplished performer of their own respective Chinese folk instruments and award-winning singers.

4Chu

DANCE CREW

4Chu is a K-Pop dance crew that has performed at various events all over Chicago including Chinatown Night Market, Chinatown 10/10 Parade, Chicago Korean Festival, Lunar Ball, and many Anime Conventions. They also have many YouTube dance videos under the name “4Chu Dance.”

Moku’aina Hula

HAWAIIAN DANCE

History:

Initially assembled in 2010 to provide entertainment for a birthday party, Moku’aina Hula went on to become an official all volunteer performance dance troupe. The name literally means “Island Dance.” Directed and Choreographed by Ross Rodrigo, the troupe has already performed at various college events, local festivals, fundraisers, parties, weddings and cotillions.

Mission:

Moku’aina Hula’s mission is to present dance in the Spirit of the Hawaiian Culture.  Its goal is to make Hula not only enjoyable by all, but also more accessible to ladies who might consider learning and performing the beautiful dance.

Michigan City Soul Steppers Drill Team

STEPPING

The Michigan City Soul Steppers Drill Team is a nonprofit, performing  arts organization out of Michigan
City, Indiana that travels all year round throughout the country, gaining nationwide recognition for outstanding performances. Their mission is to show others a positive outlook on life by demonstrating hard work through
discipline, respect, commitment, coordination, education, dedication & motivation without hesitation. The vision is to change the negative image youth by promoting positivity through the “Art of Stepping”.

Johnny Huang

CHINESE YO-YO

Originally from Taiwan, Johnny Huang began learning Chinese Yo-yo at a young age. During college, he started a Chinese Yo-yo team at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a group of friends performing for different events throughout the Midwest; by using contemporary music, the team created a unique style mixing the traditional and the modern. He now resides in Chicago and performs with friends in Chicago for different cultural events in the city.

Tsukasa Taiko

TAIKO DRUMS

Tsukasa Taiko, a community program of Asian Improv aRts Midwest, one of the largest taiko groups in the Midwest, offers taiko drum instruction, education, and performances. Its mission is to preserve, develop, and pass on the traditional concepts of genuine Japanese art as a cultural legacy, and to utilize these concepts in expanding and evolving the taiko art form. As a community group dedicated to understanding and strengthening Japanese American, Asian American, and Japanese identity, it strives to respect tradition and develop artistic excellence and connoisseurship. Its director, teachers, and administrative staff are dedicated professionals, all recognized as world class, working artists. As an active performing group, Tsukasa presents over fifty shows a year, both locally and internationally. Tsukasa Taiko offers classes, workshops, lectures, and demonstrations designed to teach how to play taiko, as well as to advance the understanding of how the cultural arts are a reflection of a community’s heritage and legacy.

Yin He Dance

CHINESE DANCE

Yin He Dance is dedicated to exploring, preserving, and celebrating Chinese culture through dance. We work towards this mission through three main programs, the professional performing company, a school of dance, and education & outreach. Through these three programs, we hope to build new avenues of cultural dialogue and most importantly, share the joy of dance with all communities.

DJ JayFunk

ON THE TURNTABLES

DJ JayFunk has been rocking events and tearing down walls since peanut butter met jelly. Representing Chicago, IL, he’s performed events in New York, Las Vegas, Miami, Honolulu, Manila and Los Angeles to name a few. JayFunk showcases every weekend on the #1 station in Chicago, 103.5 Kiss FM and is the official Chicago Bulls In Game DJ. Jay Funk has opened for legendary acts such as The B-52’s, Rob Base and DJ Easy Roc, Grammy winner DJ Jazzy Jeff and was DJ for Snoop Dogg’s 2000 Birthday Bash. JayFunk has been nominated for Midwest DJ of the Year 5 years in a row by Sinternet.com.