Our dancers have engaged with the community on a regular basis at numerous community events over the decades, notably during the traditional cultural festivals significant to the Lao community such as the annual New Years Festival, Boun Phravate, and special occasions with different organizations such as the Lao Assistance Center, Asian Media Access during events such as dance and cultural South East Asian festivals and community galas. These events typically have an audience of 300-600 people of many generations, including youth, edlers, and adults, many living near or below the poverty line, and many have disabilities and cultural/language barriers. These events are also open to the public so non-Lao Minnesotans are also regularly included. Our performances are specifically between 30 minutes to an hour on average, and also include bi-lingual conversations with Minnesotans on the meaning and history of each dance, and opportunities for questions and answers later. We also share many of the best results of our work with Minnesotans on-line because we know that in the moment of performance, people may not realize what questions they have until they get home, so we find this is effective for us to continue long-term conversations with everyone..
I am a traditional dancer, fashion choreographer and instructor of lao traditional culture performing arts. My main focus is classical dancer, I have experience & knowledge in 3 different categories: performing and teaching youth classical dances, directing beautiful lao traditional & modern customs fashion show and produced Miss Nang Sangkhan beauty pageant show. The main reason & my passion is to preserved my lao rich culture & heritage to pass on to the youth to keep our wonderful arts for the future generations. I love teaching and performing with my students. We performed in different venues throughout the twin cities and metro area.
Niphone "Birdy" Phommaras
Lao Culture Dance fashion MN
Executive Director
