Para Para fitness class this summer in Bloomfield.

The Pittsburgh Dance Center will hold a "Japanese Inspired Dance/Fitness Class" on Sundays from May 19th through August 25th. Says their Facebook event page:

We have created a super fun dance/fitness class using pop music of Japan! They have some really great music!

This class will work specifically with the quirky dance craze known as "Para Para," which is sort of like Japan's version of line dancing. Need a hint about movement style? Check out this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7h0z9IB_hY

This class will only be $5.00 and will be equal parts of Dance-Fitness.

Wikipedia has more about Para Para, and Youtube has an instructional video in Japanese (with German and English subtitles). The multitude of older パラパラ videos available are a fun look at a craze that hasn't completely left Asian pop, but prolonged exposure to that music may eventually make you want to drill a hole through your skull. The Pittsburgh Dance Center is located at 4765 Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield (map), and these classes will run from noon to 1 pm each Sunday.

Big Asian festivals in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus in May.

Ohio is doing Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month a little better than western Pennsylvania, with three large festivals that look worth weekend trips.

Japanese film I Wish in Erie, May 10.

The Japanese film I Wish (奇跡) is part of 2013's Maria J. Langer Film Series at Mercyhurst University, and will be playing on May 10th. There are two showtimes---2:15 and 7:15 pm---and it's playing at the Taylor Little Theater on 38th street, on the northern edge of campus (map). The movie's played in Pittsburgh a few times in recent memory; the Pittsburgh Filmmakers' site summarized on one of those occasions:

The adventure begins with 12-year-old Koichi, whose parents are divorced, and who desperately wants to reunite his family. We see his sullen gaze on the active volcano that touches everything in his new town where he lives with his mother. His younger brother lives with his father. When he learns that a new bullet train line will open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment the trains first pass each other at top speed. Features wonderful, natural performances from the kids.

Kitschy, kawaii tote bags at Giant Eagle.

Cute bags by Blue Q being sold at the Market District in East Liberty (map).



Similar kawaii designs for bags and coin purses are available on the Blue Q website.

Reminder: Kennywood Asian Heritage Day, May 12.

Kennywood Pagoda, copyright Kurt Miller.

Now that it's May and our weather is showing it, it's a better time to think about spring festivities. Asian Day leads off the community day season at Kennywood amusement park on Sunday, May 12, with events scheduled between 12:30 and 4:30. Details are still scant beyond just a generic "there will be food and performances", though Win-Win Kung Fu and the Filipino American Association of Pittsburgh Dance Troupe are two of the groups scheduled to perform. Call 412-498-8411 for ticket information.

Kennywood's Asian Heritage Day and the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival comprise Pittsburgh's two big events for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month.

2013 Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival, Pittsburgh, May 10 - 19.

The schedule for the annual Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival is out, with 31 full-length films playing from May 10th through May 19th. Posters for the 15 most relevant to this blog are shown above, which include four from Korea, three from Japan, and two from China. The movies will show at three venues around the city: The Melwood Screening Room in Oakland, the Harris Theater downtown, and the eponymous Regent Square Theater.

For plot summaries, trailers, and ticket information, visit the Silk Screen website. And we'll have reminders over here throughout the festival.

Miyuki's candy art in Aspinwall, May 2 and 3.

From her official site.

According to Teppanyaki Kyoto Restaurant's Facebook page, Japanese candy artist Miyuki will be at Bella Christie and Lil Z's Sweet Boutique in Aspinwall (map) from 4:00 to 7:00 pm on May 2nd and 3rd.

Build yourself a Sungnyemun.

I was surprised to see this at Barnes & Noble today: a Lego model of Sungnyemun, one of Seoul's gates and better known in Korea and abroad as Namdaemun until it burned down in 2008. The iconic structure is being rebuilt, and you can play along at home. This particular model in the Lego Architecture series was retired earlier in the year, though, is no longer available on the Lego website. It's also listed as a product for girls, so apparently it was off-limits to half the population who might be interested in building a South Korean landmark. However, they still have a couple at the Cranberry location selling for the suggested retail price of $34.99.

If you're interested in building Korean models, you'll find more variety on G-Market, one of South Korea's online shopping portals. Browsing plastic collectibles turns up dragon ships and other old boats, traditional houses, the Blue House, and a whole Royal Palace Series, for starters.


A Sungnyemun plastic model, and the 12-item Royal Palace Series, and the Blue House, available from G-Market. It's the English website, and many of these models are available for international shipping, but the pages are often in Korean.

Cantoy shoots music video in Pittsburgh (it survives).

If it's extremely rare for an Asian band to play Pittsburgh, it's unimaginably so for one to shoot a music video here. Cantoy did both in April: playing Tekkoshocon and hanging around Strip District back alleys for "Ranka".

Find performers on the Japan Artists Information Directory.

Every so often I get questions about where to find a Japanese artist or performer for a cultural event (usually right before said cultural event). One potential resource is the Japan Artists Information Directory, compiled by the Five Colleges Consortium in western Massachusetts. There you can find a directory of performers organized by name, genre, and region. Western Pennsylvania is rather quiet so far, with only three performers, but it has the potential to be a valuable resource. And considering the demand for artists and performers in classrooms, at on-campus events, and at seasonal festivals, if you specialize in a type of Japanese dance, song, or skill, it might behoove you to list yourself on the JAID if you are interested in more work.