Raks Inferno to Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

In honor of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the bellydancers and fire performers of Raks Inferno are teaming up with singer-songwriter Dawn Xiana Moon to present a celebration of Asian-Americans in the performing arts: The one-night cabaret show will feature live firespinning and bellydance at Uptown Underground on Thursday, May 3 from Chicago-based dancers who have performed all over the world, as well as premiere Moon's latest music video, an original arrangement of a traditional Chinese folk song.

Raks Inferno is a project of Raks Geek, the bellydance and fire performance company that has made waves nationally and internationally on MSN, The Daily Mail, WGN-TV, and UK Channel 4 TV through their commitment to blend a high degree of artistic and technical mastery with fun and creativity. Rare for a variety arts group, they're majority Asian-American and include both immigrants and performers born in the US representing various parts of the Asian diaspora.

"Representation matters," says Dawn Xiana Moon, also the founder/director of Raks Geek. "If you see Asian-Americans onstage telling our own stories, suddenly it becomes possible to imagine Asians as something other than stereotypes of math-obsessed nerds, submissive women, or Dragon Ladies. We become real people in the public imagination rather than cardboard cutouts labeled 'other' or 'foreigner.'"

As a singer-songwriter, Moon has performed in 10 states and released two albums; with influences ranging from traditional Chinese music to modern American folk, she bridges the musical traditions of the East and West. Her latest album is a musical brew in several languages that draws influences from sources as disparate as Han Dynasty literature and Americana. In Spaces Between, traditional Chinese melodies hover on top of lush layers that take a cue from Philip Glass. The two-thousand-year-old guzheng (zither) punctuates alt folk guitar. Erhu (Chinese violin) joins an understated piano trio, adding a melancholy, haunting note.

Raks Geek showcases the talents of bellydancers and object manipulators who are each stars in their own right: They've performed everywhere from Germany to Morocco and dance for hundreds of people every week. Company members include Lee Na-Moo, winner of the 2010 Chicago Oriental Dance Competition, member of modern/contemporary company Joel Hall Dancers, and touring cast with Bellydance Evolution; Kamrah, who has taught and performed at Tribal Fest (the largest tribal bellydance festival in the world); Michi Trota, Hugo Award winner and board member of the Chicago Full Moon Fire Jams; Gaea Lady, who recently won "Best Debut" and "Most Classic" at the Burlesque Hall of Fame; and director Dawn Xiana Moon, who performs 100 shows a year with Read My Hips tribal bellydance and Acrobatica Infiniti Circus in the US and Canada.

Directed and Produced by Dawn Xiana Moon

Performed by Kamrah, Lee Na-Moo, Dawn Xiana Moon, Michi Trota, Gaea Lady, and Jezebelly

Raks Inferno

One Night Only: Thursday, May 3 at 7:30pm (doors at 7pm)

Uptown Underground: 4707 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640

Runtime approximately 60 minutes, no intermission

Ages 21+

Tickets: $22-$39 reserved seating - raksinferno.com, 773.867.1946