Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.

-----------------------------------------
Island Mountain Days and Digging Up Our Past: Chinese Communities in Lumbering and Mining in late 19th Century California and Nevada
By Sue Fawn Chung, University of Nevada, Las Vegas*1

"Island Mountain Days: Discovering Nevada's Chinese
> Miners" is a(n) one
> hour education film that will air on KLVX Channel
> 10, Las Vegas' PBS
> station, on Wednesday, July 21st, at 9 p.m. and
> repeat on Sunday, July
> 25th at 11 a.m. It will be offered to national PBS
> stations so you can
> urge your local PBS station to pick it up.*2
>
> The script was written by Shelan Davis, based on
> research done by UNLV
> History Professor Sue Fawn Chung. Reginald LaFrance
> is the producer and
> Mitch Fox supervised the project. The inspiration
> for the program came
> from the Passport in Time volunteer archaeological
> project at Island
> Mountain. During the first year the Wing Luke
> Museum sent volunteers
> who appear in the film with the wonderful
> videography work of John Pai.
> Additional footage was done by Lin Anderson of Elko
> and Alan Solomon of
> Las Vegas. Many Elko volunteers assisted in the
> dig.
>
> The story focuses upon two characters, Emanuel
> Penrod of Illinois and
> Nevada, who founded Island Mountain, and China Lem,
> who ran the general
> store in Island Mountain. The community existed
> between 1873 and some
> time after 1917 (Lem pays taxes for the last time in
> 1916 and thereafter
> the town evolved into a ghost town). In 1875 the
> state census showed
> that the community had 50% Euro-Americans and 50%
> Chinese. By 1880 the
> U.S. census manuscript indicated that 80% of the
> residents were Chinese
> and by 1900 (the 1890 census manuscript was in a
> fire in D.C.) Island
> Mountain probably was entirely Chinese (the counting
> of the population
> merged with Gold Creek, a new town 3 miles away).
> The story of Island
> Mountain could not be told without the
> archaeological excavation.
>
> Historical photographs, recreated scenes, and
> coverage of the
> archaeological dig are featured. A. Maxine Chan
> even does some
> historical cooking. Professor Donald Hardesty of
> the University of
> Nevada, Reno, Anthropology Department, provided the
> graduate student
> leaders for the dig.
>
> Sue Fawn Chung and Hal Rothman of UNLV's History
> Department and Henry Yu
> of UCLA/University of British Columbia's History
> Department provide
> contextual interpretation.
>
> There is a premier on July19th at KLVX and if you
> would like an
> invitation, please let me know as soon as possible.
> After the showing
> the production team will be on hand to answer
> questions.
>
> Sue Fawn Chung
> UNLV Department of History
> National Trust for Historic Preservation Advisor
> Nevada Board of Museums and History
>

> ATTACHMENT part 2.2 message/rfc822
> Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 08:11:58 -0700
> From: Sue Fawn Chung
> To: MARLENE ADRIAN , Holly Fiala
> ,
> Benson Lee , Liane Lee
> ,
> Bill Leaf , Joan
> Mann ,
> Staff of NENM and Amber Johns
> ,
> Donna & Tim Murphy ,
> Timothy Murphy ,
> Pat Warren ,
> Hal Rothman ,
> Henry Yu
> Subject: "Island Mountain Days"
>
> "Island Mountain Days: Discovering Nevada's Chinese
> Miners" is a one
> hour education film that will air on KLVX Channel
> 10, Las Vegas' PBS
> station, on Wednesday, July 21st, at 9 p.m. and
> repeat on Sunday, July
> 25th at 11 a.m. It will be offered to national PBS
> stations so you can
> urge your local PBS station to pick it up. (Please
> note that this is a
> date change from an earlier message)
>
> The script was written by Shelan Davis, based on
> research done by UNLV
> History Professor Sue Fawn Chung. Reginald LaFrance
> is the producer and
> Mitch Fox supervised the project. The inspiration
> for the program came
> from the Passport in Time volunteer archaeological
> project at Island
> Mountain. During the first year the Wing Luke
> Museum sent volunteers
> who appear in the film with the wonderful
> videography work of John Pai.
> Additional footage was done by Lin Anderson of Elko
> and Alan Solomon of
> Las Vegas. Many Elko volunteers assisted in the
> dig.
>
> The story focuses upon two characters, Emanuel
> Penrod of Illinois and
> Nevada, who founded Island Mountain, and China Lem,
> who ran the general
> store in Island Mountain. The community existed
> between 1873 and some
> time after 1917 (Lem pays taxes for the last time in
> 1916 and thereafter
> the town evolved into a ghost town). In 1875 the
> state census showed
> that the community had 50% Euro-Americans and 50%
> Chinese. By 1880 the
> U.S. census manuscript indicated that 80% of the
> residents were Chinese
> and by 1900 (the 1890 census manuscript was in a
> fire in D.C.) Island
> Mountain probably was entirely Chinese (the counting
> of the population
> merged with Gold Creek, a new town 3 miles away).
> The story of Island
> Mountain could not be told without the
> archaeological excavation.
>
> Historical photographs, recreated scenes, and
> coverage of the
> archaeological dig are featured. A. Maxine Chan
> even does some
> historical cooking. Professor Donald Hardesty of
> the University of
> Nevada, Reno, Anthropology Department, provided the
> graduate student
> leaders for the dig.
>
> Sue Fawn Chung and Hal Rothman of UNLV's History
> Department and Henry Yu
> of UCLA/University of British Columbia's History
> Department provide
> contextual interpretation.
>
> There is a premier on July19th at KLVX and if you
> would like an
> invitation, please let me know as soon as possible.
> After the showing
> the production team will be on hand to answer
> questions.
>
> Sue Fawn Chung
> UNLV Department of History*3
> National Trust for Historic Preservation Advisor
> Nevada Board of Museums and History

*********************
Have you ever thought about what it would be like if the community was predominantly Chinese? A 3-year project (1999-2001) with the U.S. Forest Service, UNR, UNLV, Wing Luke Museum in Seattle, and the Passport in Time volunteers provided me with the opportunity to explore life in the late 19th century Chinese mining community called Island Mountain in northeastern Nevada, about twenty-five miles from the Idaho border. Using oral histories, government documents, local records, court documents, photographs, newspapers, and archaeological finds, it has been possible to gain some insight into the character of this transitional Chinatown from 1873 until 1916.*4

In 1873 Emanuel Penrod left his ranch in Genoa in search of gold. He had been one of the original founders of the rich Comstock Lode in Virginia City, but sold out to Henry Comstock before the Lode became a bonanza. He eventually settled down with his wife and children in Genoa and worked in nearby Carson City, the capital of Nevada. When one of his sons died from a tragic accidental death in Carson City, he felt restless and hopped on the Central Pacific Railroad heading east.

The transcontinental, completed in May 1869, opened new areas for mining and among them was the new mining town of Tuscarora, Elko County, which boasted a Chinese population of 2,000, thus rivaling Virginia City and Gold Hill (the Comstock Lode). The Beard brothers had founded the site and brought Chinese workers to help develop the irrigation system needed first for placer mining and then hydraulic mining. The Chinese stayed and mined. There were two Chinatowns and several wealthy merchants, most notably Ah Lee Lake (b. 1855, immigrated 1869, still active 1910), who in the winter wore an ermine lined Chinese silk jacket and who traveled to San Francisco and China regularly to buy supplies for the miners in the area. Ah Lee Lake was the wealthiest Chinese in Elko County and had good relations with both the Chinese and non-Chinese communities. In Tuscarora, Chinese miners worked alone, in groups, or with miners of other ethnic origins. It was a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural community.

Penrod decided to search for a new placer mining site and headed in a northeastern direction after disembarking at the major Central Pacific roundhouse town of Carlin. Instead of heading toward Tuscarora, he went further to the northeast, about 75 miles, near the mining town of Bruno City that quickly became a ghost town. He came upon a 8,000 feet loaf-shaped mountain surrounded by clouds and called it ¡§Island Mountain.¡¨ There, along with two friends, he discovered a rich new source of gold. He realized he needed water for more placer mining so he turned to Chinese workers, noted for their irrigation systems in China and in the Carson Valley, especially in Genoa, as well as Tuscarora. Eventually they brought in hydraulic mining equipment. A monitor had a force of 5,000 pounds under water pressure. A ¡§Little Giant¡¨ monitor could blast 16,000 gallons of water a minute and wash away 4,000 cubic yards of earth in a 24-hour period. Penrod and his two associates struck it rich. With his newfound wealth, he ran for State Assembly and won a seat for one year in 1874-5. But his real success was at Island Mountain, where he, his wife, and children had settled and where he lived until 1897. Penrod estimated that during his 24 years at Island Mountain, he took out a quarter of a million dollars. He also set the precedent of allowing law abiding Chinese to remain relatively unmolested.

According to the 1875 state census, 50% of the population of Island Mountain was Euro-American and 50% was Chinese, a total of 50 people. Some of the ditch diggers and miners had come from nearby Tuscarora, Mountain City, and Placerville, Elko County. By 1880 there were 71 inhabitants of Island Mountain: 54 (76%) Chinese, of whom 45 (83%) were miners and the remainder: 4 cooks, 2 woodchoppers, 2 merchants, 1 laundryman, 1 loafer, and 1 prostitute; 6 Native Americans (2 women, 1 child, 1 medicine man, 2 hunters); and 11 Euro-Americans (2 women, 1 farmer, 2 teamsters, 6 miners), including William Allen Penrod and his wife, Rebecca. Nevada attracted the Chinese because its constitution allowed resident aliens to buy, own, and sell land. By 1897 the character of Island Mountain changed because Penrod had sold his interests to the Gold Creek Mining Company, and the company decided to develop a new town named Gold Creek about 3-5 miles away on flat land instead of hillside. There the Euro-Americans resided in their new buildings, but the local hotel had a Chinese cook (Ah Bing, b. 1854, immigrated 1880, single, replaced in 1920 by Charlie King, b. 1874, married). By 1900 there were only five Chinese officially living in Island Mountain. The Gold Creek Mining Company recognized the need to have a larger water supply and built the 137 acre Sunflower Reservoir (821/310 million gallons of water), employing approximately 200 Chinese workers and 89 other workers. Some of these Chinese workers probably remained in the area and a few moved into the recently abandoned houses in Island Mountain, now called Gold Creek¡¦s Chinatown between 1897 and 1900. The Reservoir controlled the water from the canal system that the Chinese had built earlier and improved it to the point that it was maintained by a little boat that sailed along the canal system. Mining was possible only from approximately March to September/October, so most of the Chinese miners had other jobs or spent the winter elsewhere. According to the local newspaper, the average income from a season was $9,000 during peak years, so it was possible for miners to rest upon their laurels on a good year.

In 1903 Doctor and Mrs. Mathey visited Island Mountain and Gold Creek. A professional photographer, Hilda Mathey provided a visual of the town filled primarily with Chinese miners. Two notable residents stood out: Hong Lee and Hong Lem, two brothers who ran the local store on Peking Street for a total of 40 years. When one brother died, the other moved from Tuscarora to take over the business. When the U.S. government required a registration of Chinese businesses, the Hong Lee Store was duly recorded. They sold goods to the local population: Chinese, Native American, Euro-American. They carried American products such as sugar, maple syrup, bullets, and clothing as well as Chinese products, such as silks, rice wine, and preserved vegetables. The Hong Lee Store advertised in the newspaper. They welcomed visitors to the community and this was publicized in the newspaper, in particular, when a reporter traveled through the area and stopped at Hong Lee¡¦s for the traditional shot of whiskey to fend off the freezing cold. Hong Lee¡¦s was on the main route between Carlin/Elko (major Central Pacific/Southern Pacific stations) and Boise until the 1920s. The Chinese also shared their Chinese New Year¡¦s celebration with everyone and ladies were often rewarded with silk handkerchiefs. Lem, as the merchant was called, purchased toads from the children, pickled them, and sent them to China. He probably collected pine nuts from the Native Americans and sent these back to China too.

Hong Lem¡¦s store was well-constructed and branches of willow trees were used for the panes of the air-tight windows. There were at least two rooms in the store and in another building or room was three cooking areas ¡V probably for the different temperatures needed to boil hot water for tea, high heat for wok cooking, and lower heat for slow cooking, such as making soups. Shortly after 1903 Lem had made enough money to enter into the middle-class and put a middle-class wooden front on his store. His shop was a gathering place for many of the community members, most of whom had turned from mining to ranching as the years passed.

Nearby there was gambling in one of the buildings and the Chinese welcomed Native Americans and Euro-Americans to the gaming tables. Although there was one prostitute counted in 1880, it was more probable that women came to the town on a wagon from Tuscarora as the population decreased. Most of the Chinese miners were unmarried and many spent most of the lives away from women. A few probably married or lived with Native American women from the nearby Shoshone tribe.

Franklin Jesse Baker, a teamster, was among Lem¡¦s close friends and they helped each other in time of need. For example, when Mrs. Baker¡¦s sister was snowed-in and out of food, it was Lem who came to the rescue with provisions for the stranded family. One day Baker testified in court when two men tried to swindle Lem by selling him over $100 worth of goods for his store with the intent of never producing the products. By custom, Chinese testimony in court against whites, especially in criminal cases, were not regarded with any validity so Baker¡¦s testimony was crucial in recovering the money for Lem. The Bakers, like the Martin family, invited Lem and his room mate to dinner and, according to Della Baker Johns, the daughter, ¡§Mother served what she would normally serve to the family with the exception of always including rice when they came for dinner.¡¨ When Lem was ill, the Bakers and Martins often took him to the doctor in the neighboring town, either Tuscarora or Elko.

As isolated as it might seem to be, the Chinese of Island Mountain were concerned about larger issues. When the 1906 earthquake and fire wrecked San Francisco¡¦s Chinatown, the Chinese in Elko raised money to help their brethen and Lem was among them. From a fragment of a book in Chinese found at the store, it was evident that someone read Chinese and was concerned with the newly established republic (post 1912). Undoubtedly it was Lem since he could sign his name in Chinese.

Lem¡¦s roommate was known as China Joe. In 1910 he sent $1,000 back to his family in China -- $700 more than the average $300 sent to families in China. On the morning of August 2, 1910, he went duck hunting with Bob McKenzie and accidentally drowned in Sunflower Reservoir. Attempts to rescue him had been unsuccessful until the next day when they found him, a duck clutched in his hand. He was buried next to his brother in the local Chinese cemetery and from his headstone, it was revealed that the brothers came from western Guangdong. Thus differences that probably had existed in their homeland were obviously forgotten in their new homeland. Lem observed important Chinese traditions including the Qingming festival every year for the two brothers until his own death.

By 1916 the Hong Lee store disappears from the county tax rolls and one can presume that Lem either died or moved away to spend the last years of his life. With his departure, Island Mountain gradually became a ghost town and then disappeared. Gold Creek burned down in the 1920s and also became a ghost town with a sidewalk that leads nowhere. The Chinese community of Island Mountain thrived during a period of anti-Chinese movement elsewhere in the American west. The residents could establish positive relations with the larger community because of mutual economic benefits, the positive attitude of the community leaders toward other races and ethnic groups, and a frontier spirit that allowed positive interracial interactions.*5

--------------------------------------------------
References

*1. Dr. Sue Fawn Chung is also Fellow and Director of the Cultutre Institution (CI) of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI).
*2. Chung, Sue Fawn. "'Island Mountain Days: Discovering Nevada's Chinese Miners' is a one hour education film that will air on KLVX Channel," (June 10, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: UNLV Department of History.
*3. Ibid.
*4. Chung, Sue Fawn. 'Digging Up Our Past: Chinese Communities in Lumbering and Mining in late 19th Century California and Nevada,'
"An e-mail to Dr. Tony Lei from Dr. Sue Fawn Chung," (June 4, 2004), Las Vegas, Neveda: UNLV.
*5. Ibid.

Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.

-----------------------------------------
Chris Ho appoints Adjunct Instructor of Chinese Brush Painting at GSBPA of Washington Business and Technology Institute
By Cheryl Moss and Tiffany Chang

"Through the recommendation by our several faculty members including District Judge (of the Family Court) Cheryl Moss, Mr. Chris Ho has been appointed Adjunct Instructor of Chinese Brush Painting at the Graduate School of Business and Public Administration (GSBPA) of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) on June 1, 2004," announced Dr. John Wang, Spokesman of WBTI, on June 2, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chris Ho, born 1952 in Taiwan, moved to Los Angeles in 1984. His credits include vice president of the Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Association; Instructor of Chinese brush painting at North Orange Chinese School and Irvine Fine Arts Center; founder-CEO of the Wildlife Art Fund; director of the Bowers Museum Chinese Culture and Art Association; and guest artist at Pasadena City Library, Cal. Lutheran University and Irvine University.*1

Chris has shown in more than 40 art exhibitions in Beijing, Taipei, Tokyo, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And recently at the California State Gallery, Sacramento, at the behest of State Assembly Member Dr. Judy Chu. In 1998 and 2000, He was invited to display over a hundred of his signature tiger and eagle subjects in the National Gallery, Taiwan.

He has a brush painting show on Chinese television beamed locally and on satellite. Dedicating his art to the endangered species he paints, he has become expert on them, writing more than 14 articles, most notably on the tiger and eagle. He has also introduced outstanding Southern California Chinese artists in his columns on art and life in four Chinese magazines.

In 1999, the California Asian American Republican Party presented his symbolic painting of eagle soaring to the moon to President George W. Bush. One of his tiger paintings was chosen as the painting for the 1998 California Lottery Bureau calendar.

Traditionally the Chinese brush painter is a master poet. Hence it is not surprising that also he holds a 1997 38th Chinese Literature & Art Award. Nor that in 1998 in a nationwide contest, the U.S. Postal Service selected Mr. Ho¡¦s Chinese title for their ¡§Stamp by Mail¡¨ program as the most apropos. In 2004, the U.S. Dept. of Treasury Chose his poem to grace their 88,888 (8 being a lucky number) collector¡¦s New Year Prosperity Note packages. In the same year, his monkey paintings appear on the first day cover issued by the Sino-American Philatelic center and on the front page Chinese New Year¡¦s edition of the Los Angeles Times-Chinese Daily News and of The Epoch Times.

Chris Ho is currently an instructor of Chinese Brush Painting at Saddleback College and gives private lessons in many places.*2

"As a teacher of such a selective course for the students in this School, I am challenged with my talent and knowledge in having them enjoy the arts of real lives," Chris Ho said at the time when he was informed by the Graduate School of Business and Public Administration(GSBPA) of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) of his appointment.

-------------------------------------
*1. Ho, Chris. "Resume of Chris Ho," (May 30, 2004), Yorba Linda, California: Chris' Work Shop.
*2. Ibid. Please take a view of some Chinese brush paintings by Chris Ho as in the following flier.

Advisory Board: Governor Kenny Guinn, Chairman; U. S. Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign, Vice Chairmen; U. S. Representatives James Gibbons and Shelley Berkley, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Executive Directors.
U. S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao
Chairperson
Dr. Tony T. Lei
President
District Judges Mark Denton and Valorie Vega
Vice Presidents
Dr. William N. Thompson
Director of Public Administration Institution
Dr. E. Lee Bernick and Dr. G. Keong Leong
Deans of Graduate School of Business and Public Administration
Dr. Sue Fawn Chung
Director of Culture Institution
Justice of the Supreme Court William Maupin, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, and District Judge Stewart Bell, Honorary Chairmen of Clark County District Attorney and Police Civil Commission (CCDAPCC)
District Attorney David Roger and Clark County Sheriff Bill Young
Chairmen of CCDAPCC
(702) 255-9058
*It's our pleasure to pay a tribute to the above officials who dedicate to the civic and community service spects of our organization in an honorary or adjunct capacity.

-----------------------------
Dance and Romance ---
the romantic ballet 'Giselle'
By Ken White and LVRJ*1

The Cuture Institution (CI) of Washington Business and Technology Institute (WBTI) would like people enjoy some romantic ballet in classics. It's good to post the following news of arts here in Las Vegas:

Friday, May 14, 2004
Copyright @ Las Vegas Review-Journal

Dance and Romance
Nevada Ballet Theatre presents the romantic ballet 'Giselle' this weekend

By KEN WHITE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

***Natalia Chapourskaya performs the title role in Nevada Ballet Theatre's season-finale production of "Giselle."

Nevada Ballet Theatre's production of the classic romantic ballet "Giselle," first performed by the company in 2001, returns this weekend to the Judy Bayley Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.*2

As in 2001, Natalia Chapourskaya dances the title role while Kyu Dong Kwak is the male lead, Albrecht.

To date, Chapourskaya has danced the "Giselle" lead in only two productions, the first time seven years ago while a prima ballerina with the St. Petersburg Company in Russia, and the Nevada Ballet Theatre.

This will be Kwak's second full-length production of "Giselle" -- he had only danced the second act while with the Universal Ballet in South Korea before dancing Albrecht three years ago with the local ballet company.

Featuring the original libretto by Theophile Gautier and librettist Vernoy de Saint-Georges on a theme by Heinrich Heine, with music by Adolphe Adam and choreography by Nevada Ballet Theatre artistic director Bruce Steivel, "Giselle" is based on choreography by Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa.

The ballet had its world premiere more than 160 years ago at the Theatre de l'Academie Royale de Musique in Paris, with an original cast consisting of Carlotta Grisi as Giselle and Lucien Petipa as Albrecht.

"Giselle" was created for Grisi because Gautier was in love with more than just her dancing ability.

The original production was such a success that a style of hat and a type of fabric were named after it.

In the story, Albrecht is a prince who dons a disguise as a commoner and seeks the love of a peasant girl, Giselle, against a rival suitor, Hillarion. Eventually, Albrecht is exposed for what he is, Giselle finds out he is promised to another woman, and she goes mad, collapses and dies.

The second act takes place in a woodland inhabited by the Wilis, girls who have been jilted and died before being wed. Any mortal who enters is doomed to die.

Albrecht does so, and the Wilis attempt to dance him to death, but Giselle rescues him.

The ballet wraps up with a dose of irony when Giselle dies again with Albrecht looking on.

It's a very physical role, Chapourskaya said of Giselle. "You must be calm but very light."

Kwak likes it for its drama. "I love a story ballet, you can really get into it. We both enjoy it very much. You don't just pretend, you get into the ballet. It's one of the most famous pure, classical ballets."*3
-------------------------
PREVIEW
what: Nevada Ballet Theatre's "Giselle"
when: 8 p.m. today; 2 p.m., 8 p.m. Saturday; 1, 4:30 p.m. Sunday
where: Judy Bayley Theatre, UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway

---------------------------------------
References

*1. Through the courtesy of Las Vegas Review-Journal.
*2. White, Ken. 'Dance and Romance --- the romantic ballet 'Giselle',' "Las Vegas Review-Journal," (May 14, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: reviewjournal.com.
*3. Ibid.

88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%88%

------------------------------
Culture Affair

Fifth annual Asian Art Now exhibition features art, events and entertainment*1

By KEN WHITE
REVIEW-JOURNAL

***G. S. Kabir's "Rejection of Earth" is one of the works featured in Asian Art Now: 2004 at the Las Vegas Art museum.

***"60th Birthday Series" by Kamol Tassananchalee is a mixed media work with acrylic on handmade paper.

***The exhibit shows a wide range of work, including "Woman at the Bazaar" by Kenji Tajima.

The Las Vegas Art Museum presents its fifth annual Asian Art Now exhibition of contemporary art with a variety of events and entertainment.

Today, from 6 to 9 p.m., a fund-raiser reception and exhibition preview will be at the museum. Attendees are expected to include Honorary Consul General of Japan in Las Vegas, Wayne Tanaka, plus artists and representatives of the Asian Cultural Exchange Association from Japan.

Food and beverages will be provided by Roy's, Panda Express, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, DeLuca Liquor & Wine, Nevada Beverage Company and Lee's Discount Liquors.*2

Entertainment will include a traditional Chinese lion dance performed by the Lohan School of Shao-lin; taiko drumming performed by Las Vegas Kaminari Taiko ("kaminari" is Japanese for thunder); modern koto performance by Shose Yanagimachi and students; Kahiko, an ancient Hula and Hawaiian chant blessing; and demonstrations by members of the Asian Cultural Exchange of chado (tea ceremony), ikebana (flower design) and bokki (calligraphy).

Admission is ... per person. (Please call for information.)

On Saturday, a special opening for members of the Las Vegas Art Museum will be from 2 to 4 p.m.

And on Sunday it's Asian Pacific American Community Day at the museum from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free.

Among the more than 14 artists on display this year are Kamol Tassananchalee, Hirofumi Ohkuma, Letsu Sugiyama, G.S. Kabir, Koichi Terai and Kenji Tajima.

They work in an array of different media: oil, acrylic, watercolor, printmaking, fiber, ceramics, sculpture, digital images and mixed.

One of the exhibit's best-known artists, Tassananchalee, born in Bangkok, Thailand, earned an MFA in 1977 at the Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles and currently lives in West Hollywood.

Founder of the Thai Art Council in Pasadena and the Thai Art Center in Los Angeles, Tassananchalee has exhibited in Asia and the United States.

"To me, art is a universal," Tassananchalee has said. "Concepts, and ideas are infinite. Therefore, I feel comfortable incorporating ordinary things around me into my artwork. A good foundation with deep cultural roots has, without limiting me unduly, provided me with the security and strength to pursue my creativity."

Tassananchalee said the themes in his work "are developed from my life experience, which is a balance between two hemispheres of the globe. With the stable mind of the Thai artist, I am on my own journey, combining East and West together in my work. Since I have been on this path for a long time, I have discovered that the basis for creating quality art is rooted in an artist living a candid and honest lifestyle. The goal is to express the values of mankind in works of art that will endure forever. The pursuit is both a continuing challenge and its own reward."*3

Organized by the Asian Cultural Exchange Association of Japan, the exhibit is designed to promote international understanding and cultural exchange.

Admission is .... children 12 and younger are admitted free when accompanied by an adult.

what: Asian Art Now: 2004
when: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 1-5 p.m. Sundays (through June 20)
where: Las Vegas Art Museum, 9600 W. Sahara Ave.
tickets: Please ask for information. (360-8000)

-----------------------------
References

*1. White, Ken. 'Fifth annual Asian Art Now exhibition features art, events and entertainment,' "Las Vegas Review-Journal," (April 29, 2004), Las Vegas, Nevada: reviewjournal.com.
*2. Ibid.
*3. Ibid.