Ho-Shia Aaron Thao Returns To Twin Cities For His Hmong Ballet 'Diaspora'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The co-president and founder of New York's Hudson Ballet Theatre held a special workshop in St. Paul Saturday.
Ho-Shia Aaron Thao, originally from Minneapolis, gave the workshop at St. Paul's Center for Hmong Arts & Talent Saturday, and he will soon perform a five-act ballet he wrote and choreographed called "Diaspora: A Mother's Elegy." It's the story of his mother and her family set against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and immigration to the United States.
Thao says this is the first Hmong ballet about Hmong people. The ballet performance will be Saturday, August 28 and there will be two shows at the Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts in Minneapolis.
"I think this ballet is coming at a great time because I'm seeing a lot of Hmong Americans in my generation really struggle with how to communicate with their parents, and how to pursue their dreams and their goals without disappointing their parents," Thao said. "For us, I think it's really important to continue to see ourselves on stage and to see our stories being presented to us, and at the same time being able to see an example of how a mother and her daughter can overcome the challenges and adversity to find love."