Produced and Directed by
Kathryn Golden & Ashley James
DANCING WITH SAIGON, is an hour-long documentary film about Vietnamese- American dancer and former “boatperson” Danny Nguyen. Professor of Dance, Artistic Director of the Nguyen Dance Company, and the first Vietnamese in America to receive a Masters Degree in Modern Dance,
It is a classic story of the immigrant’s dream: a young person leaves a war-torn country via a harrowing journey Settling in California, years of struggle and creativity follow before he begins to be recognized as a gifted choreographer. But just as he begins gaining international attention, an internal struggle emerges between his passion for success and his desire to reconsiliate with the country he left behind. Nguyen realizes that he will never be fully complete as an artist until he can return to Vietnam, share the liberation of his dance and make peace with the homeland he left so many years ago.
“So outstanding is the Nguyen Dance Company’s dancing that a mere five years after Nguyen joined the Laney College dance faculty and started his company, they journeyed to Paris for the 27th International Choreographers’ Showcase. Complimented for their freshness, brilliance, and high level of technique, they were invited to Barcelona for the thirtieth International Choreographers’ Showcase.”
Jason Victor Serious – East Bay Express