Wisconsin Life

Dance, through movement, through martial arts, how to be creative, how to be clear-minded. Peggy draws from the wide world of Asian dance and martial art forms. Snap. Okay, but that also ends with a stillness. Do you feel that? All of these forms take a lifetime to study. But all of them are also connected to this energy. This energy called "chi" in Chinese or "ki" in Korean and Japanese. Inner life force energy. Peggy's inner life force is evident in her teaching. So life is like that, right? You have to change direction suddenly, because something's going to crash into you. You change, but life goes on. Life for Peggy began in Hawaii, descended from Koreans forced to flee their home. -During the Japanese occupation, my grandfather was part of the underground effort for Korean independence. As Korean-Americans, Peggy and her family added their own flavor to the great cultural diversity Hawaii had to offer. All of these cultures are bumping up against each other. But it was after coming to Wisconsin that Peggy began expressing her culture in dance. That was my awakening. When I discovered my Asian-American identity was in Wisconsin. And it was here in Madison that I created my first Asian-American dance, and it was called "Picture Bride." So it was inspired by the Korean women that came to Hawaii as picture brides to marry Korean plantation workers. Since that first piece, Peggy has continued to work with Asian forms of dance, as well as other traditions in cross-cultural works with a social conscience. "Wild Rice" was inspired by efforts to fight mining near the waters the Ojibwe have traditionally harvested. "Thirst" is based on a long-forgotten labor uprising on a tiny Caribbean island. The stories are often tied to struggles for people striving for justice. Wanting change, wanting transformation. So I've come a long way from feeling that dance is peripheral to life and that it's really just entertainment or a hobby. But her most ambitious work honors an American icon. Muhammad Ali connected boxing with the art of dancing. I wanted to create a homage to him. It was an on-site dance performance at Gleason's Gym, where Muhammad Ali himself had trained. He was colorful. He was funny. He was just unafraid of speaking out. His courage crossed over into the Asian-American world. He said, "Ali is my Asian name." And he refused to go to Vietnam. His ability to tap into the need for Afro-Asian solidarity was something very important to the development of my political consciousness. It was a very tough, very challenging project for me that required all the strength I could muster. I gained the sense of strength that has made me fearless in many ways. Fearlessness and strength that has shown Peggy that dance can make a difference. It's through my vehicle of dance that I can help to maybe transform the world into a better place. This is why I'm here.