Lost Chinatowns explores the destruction, lost vibrancy, and historical erasure of Santa Cruz’s Chinatowns from 1860-1955.  Santa Cruz, now known for being the ultra-liberal “leftmost” city of the US, was once the center of virulently xenophobic anti-Chinese racism in California in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.  In this solo dance-theater work I weave deftly through time, embodying characters spanning a century of Chinese presence in Santa Cruz.  The text draws from the historical archive, including deportation hearings, oral histories, poetry by undocumented migrants, racist newspaper editorials, and political speeches.  These elements are held together and transmuted through embodied rhythms, emotive gestures, and poetic reflection. Lost Chinatowns aims to make connections between the historical othering of Asian bodies and current-day Islamophobic and anti-Latinx xenophobia in the US.

Choreography, script, and performance: Cynthia Ling Lee

Direction: Shyamala Moorty

Dramaturgy: Scott Trafton

Sound Composition: Anna Friz

Lost Chinatowns (solo) has been developed in part through Borders Resurfacing, a long distance creative exchange by the Post Natyam Collective.  It has been developed with the support of 3Girls Theatre Company, San Francisco, California; a Hellman Fellowship; and the Dancers’ Group’s CA$H grant program.