he Indo-American Arts Council is proud to announce the First Annual Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance to be held in New York City from August 18-21, 2008. The IAAC Dance Festival will present Indian dance through its multiplicity of forms and expressions, exploring its complexities of aesthetics, sensibilities, issues and perspectives while celebrating its rich tradition and nurturing exciting new dimensions developing in the Indian, American and global contexts. The style of dance presented will range from classical Indian dances such as Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi to contemporary choreographies, modern and post-modern works by South Asian dancers and choreographers.

Blanc de Chine hosted the pre-party for Pretty to Think So which debuted at the Asian American International Film Festival this past weekend. Pretty to Think So, directed by Francis Hsueh and Steven Hahn, tells the story of newfound love and the past which haunts us. From the corporate world of white-shoe law firms to the streets of Chinatown and the Bronx, Pretty to Think So is a journey to a place where romantic passion and human frailty violently collide. It has been making the Asian American Film Festival Rounds and is worth checking out. See the trailer below.

Now more than ever Ethnic voting patterns have been a major theme in this election cycle. Historically, the 15th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits federal or state governments from infringing on a citizen’s right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”. The United States Congress generally considers the Voting Rights Act, adopted initially in 1965 and extended in 1970, 1975, and 1982, the most successful piece of civil rights legislation ever adopted. The Act codifies and effectuates the 15th Amendment’s permanent guarantee that, throughout the nation, no person shall be denied the right to vote on account of race or color. Read on for a great report from Ethnic Technologies and the Asian American vote!

Dance Crews are the hottest things going right now and nothing is hotter than seeing Quest Dance Crew practice for the Far East Movement video, “Dance Like Michael Jackson”. The video, produced by Wong Fu Productions, will be out August 1, 2008. Click to watch the video and see the incredible resemblance to Michael Jackson’s dance moves.

On Tuesday, June 17th, The Sulu Artists Network suffered a serious blow when Derek was struck by an intoxicated driver while crossing the street on his way home. Although they caught the individual who did this horrific thing, Derek remains hospitalized in a comatose state. For those who don’t know who Derek is, he is a talented photographer who has supported Sulu from its very inception. He has helped document what we’ve been doing with Sulu through his skill with a camera. And although we love him for his talents we love him even more because he’s our friend. Through his talent, his loyalty and through his friendship, Derek has given us so much, and now it’s our turn. We dedicate this month to Derek and give back to him by making this show a benefit to help him and his family in their time of need.

In preparation of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai Restoration Project will be performing two shows in early August, one in Los Angeles and one in New York City. The Shanghai Restoration Project joins select tracks of music and synchronizes it to video footage of historical and modern day Shanghai. Shot in high-definition format, the clips were produced by Mark E. Lee Productions and filmed by Aasulv Wolf Austad, whose most recent collaboration, Jennifer Phang’s “Half Life“, was an official Sundance selection and received favorable reviews in Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. The evening will feature Shanghai Restoration Project producer Dave Liang on keyboard accompanied by vocalists Amos Winbush, Di Johnston, Heath Brandon, Natural Fact, and Shayna Steele. Read on for venues and a clip of this work of art.

For years, there wasn’t much mainstream media outlets for dance crews and choreographers to highlight their work and gain respect. However, that has changed even to the point of red carpet photographers noticing and taking photos of these crews due to the popularity of MTV’s “Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew”. The show’s judge, Shane Sparks agrees with this observation. “We’re bringing that recognition. Dancers should be respected just like singers, just like actors in the entertainment industry. From Basketball players to football players, we work just as hard. It’s time right now to walk the red carpet have them shout out Jabbawockeez, Shane Sparks, Dave Scott. It’s time for them to yell out those names and interview them and what’s going on in their life instead of Tom Cruise. You don’t see Tom Cruise everyday. You only see him in movies”, states Sparks. Read on to find out what Shane has to say about Asians representing in Dance.

Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos, the contemporary art center of the Bronx Council on the Arts, proudly presents OTHER, OTHER…curated by Wanda Raimnudi-Ortiz. OTHER, OTHER… is open until August 7th. It features works by 18 artists of African, Asian, Latino, and Native American ancestry working in drawing, installation, mixed media, painting, performance art, photography, sculpture and video, and represent a sampling of 2007 and 2008 Urban Artist Initiative Grant (UAI/NYC) recipients visual arts and media. Participating artists include established and emerging artists like Konrad Aderer, Karina Aguilera-Skvirsky, Keith Anderson, Tomie Arai, Cat Chow, Nicolás Dumit Estévez, Edwin Gonzalez-Ojeda, Skowmon Hastanan, Wennie Huang, Janelle Iglesias, Duron Jackson, Teru Kuwayama, Jessica Lagunas, Alfonso Muñoz, Juan Sanchez, Dread Scott, Shen Wei, and Injoo Whang. The Longwood Art Gallery @ Hostos is located on the campus of Hostos Community College at 450 Grand Concourse and 149th Street.

The history of Asians and Asian Americans in American popular culture has been a topic long neglected. Opening her family history, Jodi Long documents the show business careers of her parents, Lawrence and Kimiye Long, who adopted the stage names Larry and Trudie Leung and were vaudeville performers in the 1940s and 50s. Although long time acquaintances, Christine and Jodi came to collaborate on this project through a chance meeting at a nightclub downtown..Jodi asked Christine if she was still making films and would she be interested in putting together hours and hours of unedited film into a cohesive documentary. The result is Long Story Short. Christine Choy is now the Chair of the Graduate Film and Television Department at New York University and is definitely someone you want to know if you are an aspiring filmmaker. Interesting piece of information: One of their film friends from the “old days” is director John Woo. We have a great interview coming up with Jodi Long. In the meantime, you can read more about her film after the jump.

Twenty seven years after its initial publication, “Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie has received yet another accolade: on Thursday it won the Best of the Booker prize, based on an online poll in which it was pitted against five other shortlisted titles. The prize was created in celebration of the 40th anniversary of one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards. (NYT)

Number 35 is pleased to present White on White (July 11 - August 8, 2008), a group show organized around the color white. From a blank piece of paper and a glass of milk, bathroom tissue and Fruit of the Looms to porcelain vases and newly fallen snow, white permeates our lives. However, the notion of white art seems somewhat familiar yet a bit anomalous. To many, it brings to mind the history of achromatic abstract paintings, denying subjective representation such as Malevich’s Suprematist Composition: White on White or Philip Guston’s White Painting or Robert Ryman’s various permutations of all-white canvases.

Congratulations to all the winners of the 72 Hour Shootout! The 72 Hour Shootout is a tough contest, writing, shooting and editing a short film within 72 Hours.(Above: Team PrettyFaceSixPackAbs) Read the winners below.