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Issue: 1133 Date: 5/10/2012
Become A Fan, Like St. Louis Chinese American News
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Gitana Productions names Francis and May Yueh as 11th Annual "Extraordinary Ordinary Persons of the Year"
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| Francis and May Yueh, Gitana Productions 11th Annual "Extraordinary Ordinary Persons of the Year" |
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ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI (May 4, 2012) - Gitana Productions has named Francis and May Yueh of Clayton to receive their prestigious 11th annual "Extraordinary/Ordinary Persons of the Year Award." The couple will be honored on May 11 during opening night of "Muddy River," an original dance theatre performance by Gitana Productions that explores such iconic St. Louis racial events and issues.
Gitana Productions works to increase cross-cultural awareness in the St. Louis region through international music, dance and drama. "Muddy River" runs May 11 and through May 19, 8 p.m., at Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Drive at Laclede Station Road.
"Francis and May have generously supported Gitana Productions since 2000, when they promoted our event at Powell Symphony Hall featuring the China National Orchestra," said Cecilia Nadal, executive director of Gitana Productions. "They help Gitana engage with the Asian community in St. Louis on an ongoing basis. In many ways they are like family to Gitana!"
Francis and May immigrated to the United States in 1986 from Taiwan. In 1988 Francis graduated from University of Illinois with a Master degree in Computer Science. He is chief editor of the St. Louis Chinese American News and an employee of Wells Fargo Bank. Francis serves as a commissioner of the Missouri Botanical Garden Subdistrict Commission and serves on numerous boards. He works with St. Louis City, St. Louis County, International Institute, the World Trade Center, and various local Chinese and American companies and organizations to increase the awareness, visibility and credibility of Chinese-Americans in the St. Louis region.
May Wu, is an educator, entrepreneur, and dedicated community service worker. She is owner and director of the St. Louis Chinese American News. After graduated from National Chung-Hsing University in Taiwan, May established a kindergarten in Taiwan to fulfill her late mother's wish. She also taught Chinese at Sin-Ming High School in Taiwan for five years. Prior to her role as director of the St. Louis Chinese American News, she was an administrator at the St. Louis Chinese Cultural Center of Taiwan, Republic of China. May has received numerous awards for her editorial and community work.
Francis and May have been married for thirty years and have one son, Rich, who is a PhD student at University of Arizona.
"Muddy River," a collaboration of St. Louis playwright Lou Robinson and director/choreographer Vivian Anderson-Watt, contrasts the human qualities that unite us - love, acceptance, empathy, hope - with iconic racial events in St. Louis history.
One dramatic dance segment in "Muddy River" exposes the "spectacular
domination celebration" of the 1904 World's Fair Living Displays, where African
pygmy families and a thousand Filipino natives were caged and exhibited as
"primitives" in makeshift 'natural' environments.
Another dance depicts the 1917 East St. Louis race riots, during which white rioters burned the city and shot African American residents as they fled the flames. In one poignant scene, a mother and her four children escape the violence on a hastily built raft, only to fight the mighty Mississippi River for their lives.
Tickets are $15 and $12 for students and seniors and may be reserved at
http://www.gitana-inc.org/muddytickets.htm or by contacting
info@gitana-inc.org or 314-721-6556. Special rates are available for groups of 15 or more.
Gitana Productions, Inc. is a not-for-profit arts and education organization dedicated to increasing cross-cultural awareness and collaboration by bringing international music, dance and drama to the St. Louis community. Gitana events present a rarely seen diversity of international and local artists exhibiting an array of traditional and innovative artistic expressions. For more information, visit
http://www.gitana-inc.org or call Gitana Productions at (314) 721-6556.
Gitana is supported by the Regional Arts Commission, Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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