Question: Tell me more about the format of the concert.

Answer: There are definitely distinct Folklorico pieces and distinct Bhangra (Punjabi) dance pieces. There are two pieces where the companies dance together. One is a harvest Bhangra piece that I choreographed, that will feature 26 dancers from both companies, and the other is a wedding Folklorico piece choreographed by Zenon Barron, Artistic Director of Ensambles, with dancers from both companies.We each had to learn a bit of the other's style. Otherwise the companies dance separately in all the other pieces.

There are themes that the performance follows, for example Harvest, Marriage, Discrimination, etc. The theme is introduced by video of Punjabi-Mexican community members that Zenon and I interviewed in early 2010. Here's an example:

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Did you draw your choreography from actual traditions from the original Punjabi-Mexican communities? Or is it new choreography meant to offer a modern-day commentary?

There was no specific dance that the Punjabi-Mexicans created. The performance is traditional Mexican dance, traditional Punjabi dances, and then creations of the choreographers that that draw on multiple dance vocabularies to comment on the complexities and multi-faceted identities of Punjabi-Mexicans.

Have Duniya Dance and Ensambles Ballet performed together before?

We premiered this performance in San Francisco in November 2010. We had two shows at the Brava Theater in the Mission district. One show sold out, the other was nearly sold out.

What is the budget for the performance? How did this production end up in Fresno?

When we created this show last year, we had a budget of $52,000. We received $40,000 from the Creative Work Fund and $12,000 from the San Francisco Arts Commission. We are on a much much lower budget this time of only $3,000. While we don't need as much money to do the show this time, since we already have costumes, the videos for the show have been made, etc, $3,000 doesn't even cover the cost of the theater.

We are really hoping that folks will come and see the show, since we are pulling funds out of pocket to present it in Fresno. We think it's such an important piece, bringing together companies that normally would not be on the same stage together and introducing many people for the first time to the history of this community. Since Fresno has such large Mexican and Punjabi populations, and some of these Punjabi Mexicans lived in the Fresno area, we thought this would be a great place to present the work.

How do you think your specific focus on the Punjabi-Mexican experience can be extrapolated to general issues of identity, discrimination and assimilation today?

While we are certainly celebrating the existence of this community and the joining together of these two distinct cultures, the fact is the Punjabi and Mexican communities came together because of racist immigration laws. Not only could Punjabis not bring wives from America, but many of them had a difficult time marrying Mexican women, because they were judged as incompatible based on the difference in their complexions. They could also not own land, because only white folks were able to own land. In fact, this law, the Alien Land Act, was on the books in some states until very recently!

Immigration is still very much an issue of race, as well as class. Many of these Punjabi men had served in the British military, which was an ally of the United States. They argued that they were citizens of the British Commonwealth and therefore entitled to the right to settle in the United States. While they were allowed to risk their lives for the safety of lives in the west, they weren't afforded the same rights. We see the same double standards happening now. Everyone knows our economy would collapse even further without the labor of immigrants, especially Latinos. Yet, these communities are under attack by Congress and local governments as a threat to American security, American jobs and American identity, when in fact they are exactly the kind of people that comprise the identity of America.

In addition, the limits on who can marry who definitely still exists in the debate around gay marriage. The federal government continues to have a role determining appropriate marriage partners and excluding certain communities from the rights they deserve and are entitled to.

In terms of assimilation, I think this story is so much about survival and what beauty can come out of ugliness. When the U.S. government told these Punjabi men they couldn't bring wives, they thought these men would leave. The government never expected them to marry and create families with other non-white communities! It is so subversive in such a juicy way. They didn't necessarily do it to be subversive, but they had decided that this was their new home and they were determined to stay and to prosper. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to be part of this community at that time. When immigration laws changed and more South Asians came to the U.S., they didn't get it. They thought these early immigrants were too American, too assimilated. I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. I was one of maybe 5 Indian kids in a school of over 2000. You better believe I assimilated. What's the alternative? The alternative is bloody and violent in a very real way. These families helped define what it means to be American. They certainly weren't a part of mainstream society. But they cut their hair, learned English, etc, to survive, to do business, to feed their families. I don't think most folks would do differently, no matter how fiercely they believe in the customs of where they come from.