Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month - Spotlight on Rosemary Le

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! We are excited to share short interviews with our Asian American artists. This interview is with Rosemary Le, who plays the Nightingale in The Nightingale.

Tell us about your Asian Heritage.

My parents were born in Vietnam. They immigrated to the United States in the early 1980s among the boat people who fled after the Vietnam War. My mother's family is ethnically Chinese, so I identify as Chinese-Vietnamese. I was shaped by both these cultures -- through the languages, values, and delicious food :)

How has your Asian Heritage played a part in shaping you as an artist?

The first style of dance I learned was classical Chinese dance. I find that this movement quality -- one that emphasizes picturesque shapes & graceful pathways -- is what comes most naturally to me now, both on the ground and in the air.  

Are there aspects of your Asian heritage that have played a part in your creation of "The Nightingale"?

Very much so. I get to revisit Chinese fan dancing in this production which has been very nostalgic. I love the expressivity it adds to the Nightingale's movements and it somehow feels very second nature to be a bird with fan wings. 

It also feels special to incorporate aspects of Chinese dance into contemporary circus, especially since so much of circus in the Bay Area (and beyond) has been influenced by Chinese acrobatics. Thankful for this opportunity to weave Chinese dance with circus theatre <3