Courtesy Aimee Lucas and Richard Che

Fans of TV talent shows such as “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dancing With The Stars” know that those hoofing it up on stage only constitute half the equation. Choreographers are increasingly—and deservingly—sharing the spotlight with performers, allowing a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into their art and method. For Filipino celebrity choreographer and dancer extraordinaire Shaun Evaristo, that method is often non-verbal—particularly when he’s working overseas, teaching moves to megastars like Korean recording artiste Taeyang.

“We’re able to understand each other through dance alone. Trust is key,” said Evaristo, who choreographed a number of music videos for the K-pop star, including the popular “Wedding Dress.”

Like many of the Asian artists Evaristo works with, Taeyang speaks limited English, and Evaristo doesn’t exactly have an effortless command on the Korean language (though he’s getting there). But words are frequently of little use anyway.

“Taeyang, he’s amazing, such a nice dude. He’s my homie. He works really hard, his work ethic goes over the top,” said Evaristo.

Courtesy Aimee Lucas and Richard Che

Talking to Evaristo, you’d never know otherwise that the 26-year-old Bay Area native has danced for stars such as Omarion and Vanessa Hudgens, and choreographed for artists including NLT, Travis Garland, Korean groups Big Bang (of which Taeyang is a member) and 2NE1 and the “K-pop prince,” Se7en. He thanks me several times during the interview, seemingly surprised that anyone would want to learn more about him, despite the fact that his Facebook, MySpace and YouTube accounts are overflowing with heartfelt praise and gratitude. One says that simply watching Evaristo was inspirational, while another praises Korean record label for making the smart move of hiring Evaristo for choreography. The words “inspiration” and “amazing” pop up in almost every other comment.

It is difficult to properly capture into words Evaristo’s style of dance. More complex than traditional hip-hop, there is a precision, smoothness and intensity to his moves that elude definition. Even he has trouble putting a label on his own technique.

“It’s more than just hip-hop. It’s just my style. At the end of the day, I just love dancing, and that’s what it is,” said the ever-modest Evaristo. “It’s just exciting to do this as a hobby and really make movement our lifestyle. It’s something that made sense to me.”

Dancing has long come naturally to him. Mimicking Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson music videos from the age of five, and forming dance group Gen2 in his garage with his cousins at 10, there was little doubt for Evaristo that dance was in his future.

“By 18, I just knew this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” he said. “I decided that this was my path.”

Courtesy Aimee Lucas and Richard Che

After taking tap, jazz and hip-hop classes in high school (where he was frequently the only male in the class), he gradually crafted his own style of slick moves to call his own, forging an early career in dance and choreography that quickly caught the attention of pop stars here and abroad. And unlike many other Asian American narratives, Evaristo’s parents were supportive from the start.

“My parents are the best. They didn’t second-guess me. Whatever I needed, they would give me,” he said. “Through dance, I want to provide for them. I want to give back to them because I’m forever grateful.”

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2006, Evaristo has been quick to do more than just dance. Aside from teaching workshops and choreographing routines, he is also the president and founder of Movement Lifestyle, a “full-service choreography management company” that represents artists like himself. While the company is still in its infancy, he hopes to build it into a larger entity with healthcare for all its employees.

“I feel like I’m just starting,” he said. “I want to go as far as I can go.”

This seems to be his mindset in business, dance and life—that everything is boundless, with no end to the growth of creativity. His advice to budding performers who are trying to find their own style runs in the same vein.

“If you’re trying to be you, the best thing is to explore,” said Evaristo. “Exploring is key. It’s part of the way. Run as fast as you can in that direction. Find you.”

Check out Shaun’s choreography for Taeyang’s music video “Wedding Dress” and a music video of Shaun’s performance to Miguel Jontel – “Sure Thing:”

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“I took the back of my toothbrush and threw up the pizza in one swooping puke,” said the 5’2”, 120-pound Korean American, who wears a size 2. “It was difficult to silence the gagging noise, but my parents and my brother were at home so I must have been desperate to get it out of my body.”

Grace is not alone. She is one of millions of young women across America who struggle with eating disorders—an estimated one in five women have disordered eating, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, with 90 percent of those between the ages of 12 and 25. Yet even with these numbers, Asian American women in particular may often feel ignored in the national discussion.

Not just a “white woman’s issue”

by Mandy Yeh for MochiMag.com

From Kelly Taylor’s diet pill abuse on “ Beverly Hills, 90210 ” to DJ’s excessive workouts on “ Full House ” to Blair’s bulimia on “ Gossip Girl ,” eating disorders have traditionally been portrayed on network TV as a problem that only affects young, middle- to upper-class, Caucasian women.

“It’s meaningful that a white woman can turn on a TV and find a broad range of characters, but Asian Americans are portrayed the same way over and over again,” said Dr. Teresa Mok, a clinical psychologist who treats a lot of college students. “For someone struggling with self-esteem issues, this reinforces the feeling of invisibility.”

Eating disorders are often seen as a “white woman’s issue,” she says, a stereotype reflected in the lack of research on this topic among women of color. And interestingly, race not only ties in to how eating disorders are portrayed, but also how they develop. From the Asian American clients she sees at her private practice in Urbana, Ill.,Mok discerns a common theme that lies at the root of many eating disorders, albeit subconsciously.

“It’s not just about weight. There’s always a racial component to it,” she said. “There’s a general body dissatisfaction with eye shape, hair color, breast size, nose,” but, she added, “No client [overtly] says, ‘I want to be white.’”

The pursuit of Western beauty ideals often plays a large role in the development of disordered eating habits, with the media subliminally urging women to want all of the aforementioned physical features – the image on most magazine covers at the checkout aisle.

Dr. Sand Chang, a clinical psychologist who teaches intercultural awareness development at the California School of Professional Psychology, said people who don’t seem themselves “reflected in what is seen as ‘normal’ ” are propelled to work even harder to fit into that mold.

And that mold can be a tight fit even by Asian beauty standards, in which women stereotypically are seen as being naturally “petite,” with porcelain skin and angular features. Grace, a second-generation Asian American, said she wasn’t as affected by American media as much as she was by images of Korean pop groups with 90-pound girls. “I would be thinking, ‘Wow, I’m 30 pounds overweight,’ when I was a healthy 120 pounds,” Grace recalls.

Stuck between cultures – and classification

While mainstream American media tends to gloss over the issue of body image in minority communities, so do mainstream research methods. “Most psychological research [to date] has been done on affluent white populations, usually college populations, and a lot of the research has only looked at the two major syndromes – anorexia or bulimia,” said Chang. “A lot of clinics won’t even look at you if you don’t meet the criteria.”

Although the common perception is that eating disorders only fall into two categories, the majority of people dealing with disordered eating actually fall into a third category called ED-NOS, or Eating Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified, according to the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This category would include someone who binge eats without purging or starves herself without losing her period, i.e. someone who has all the symptoms of an eating disorder minus the extreme effects.

Grace may have begun purging the summer she was 19, but she had started exercising rigorously months before that, sometimes going to the gym up to three times a day, and keeping a strict watch on her calorie intake.

“I had always been self conscious about my body and had low self-esteem,” she said. “Rather than concentrate on consuming food like I’d done the first 19 years of my life, I concentrated on not consuming it, and when I felt like I had lost control, I concentrated on un-consuming it.” The step between not consuming and un-consuming is a small leap, but one that distinguishes between not having an eating disorder and actually qualifying for a diagnosis.

Grace said she knew she had to get help when she was “bingeing and purging four to five times a day.” What she didn’t know was that her behavior leading up to “full-blown” bulimia is also considered as disordered eating. As Dr. Mok asserted, “Part of the problem is that the [current] definition excludes culture, the preoccupation with food, weight, binge eating.”

And food is such an integral part of Asian and Asian American culture. Particularly in immigrant communities, food is culture, a way to connect with unique pasts and histories. Curry, kimchi, char siu bao – these words break down the umbrella term “Asian American” into its distinct roots using nothing more than lunch dishes.

“The significance of eating or not eating has complicated meaning,” said Chang. “Food is used as love. Take the image of the Asian mother saying, ‘Eat, eat, eat.’ Meal times are frequently the only times to connect [with family].” For someone with an eating disorder, the battle between control and culture can be as stressful as the disorder itself.

“We have to start asking what’s wrong here”

Grace, now 23, has been dealing with bulimia now for “four years and counting,” but had a hard time initially revealing her struggle to her strict Korean parents.

“For me, my identity as the eldest child of immigrants has everything to do with my eating disorder,” she said. “Bulimia is about control. I control the amount of food I consume. I control the amount of food I purge. I abused [my eating habits] to cope with feelings I couldn’t express because of cultural differences in my family.”

These differences often make it difficult to talk about sensitive topics like mental health, especially in cultures that see such issues as bringing shame to the family.

“[Being] a second generation Asian American brought about enormous amounts of pressure and an unfulfilled desire for independence,” Grace said. “I wanted to make my own life decisions, but [I somehow believed] that going against my parents was a slap in their faces, as if I was turning my back on the hardships they experienced. I internalized guilt through self-destruction.”

Grace finally told her parents about her bulimia – two years after her first purge – and eventually went to see a therapist. But she said the first step long before that was telling a friend, and she has since gotten a handle on her eating disorder by slowly tearing down the “wall of lies and deception that [she] had built up.”

“I stopped sneaking around for my next fix of food and throwing up,” she said. “I was open and honest. I wasn’t ashamed to speak about my self-esteem and my relationship with food.”

A psychologist can be a useful resource in preventing problems from erupting. Because Asian Americans under-utilize mental health resources available to them, researchers and health administrators may be led to believe that the community doesn’t need them at all, which is far from the case.

“Asian Americans tend to underreport mental health issues,” said Dr. Szu-Hui Lee, a clinical psychologist and director of training at the McLean Hospital at Harvard Medical School. “There’s a big stigma with seeing a psychologist. [Asian American] parents are more likely to send their kids to an academic counselor than a psychologist.”

“Asian American women have one of the highest suicide rates,” said Lee. “People really have to start scratching their heads and asking what’s wrong here.”

The key to prevention is talking about it. To those who still struggle in secret, Grace advised, “Talk to someone. It sounds easier than it is. Eating disorders make you secretive and distrustful of everyone. But choose one person that you can confide in, and at least hear someone else other than your brain that’s tearing you down enough to punish your body.”

* Names have been changed.

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by Elaine Low for MochiMag.com

Dorm Pantry Essentials

Before you head to Target or Ikea to pick up a food processor and muffin pans, check with your RA to see what appliances are allowed in your residence hall. Most colleges don’t allow anything but a microwave and a mini-fridge, so make sure you aren’t bringing in toasters or hot plates where they aren’t approved.

If a fridge the size of a mailbox is the only sanctioned appliance in your would-be culinary arsenal, head over to your dorm’s community kitchen to see what it offers–this may range from a full kitchen with a microwave, oven, stovetop and sink to just a microwave and nothing else. Also ask if it’s okay to bring your own appliances and use them in the common area kitchen (a blender or rice cooker could be your best friend for the next four years).

Only stock non-perishable, re-sealable items in your pantry and don’t go crazy with the Costco or Sam’s Club portions (I know it’s a better value, but where are you going to put a gallon of mustard?). Try to buy fully cooked meat strips in refrigerated bags from the grocery store, which will save you time and trouble, and always observe expiration dates. It’s easy to mix and match most sauces with meat or veggies–the noodle chili sauce listed in the first recipe below also makes a great marinade for chicken wings–so play with your options and get creative. You don’t have to have the resources of Kitchen Stadium to cook like an Iron Chef!

*Note: Always be prepared to tweak recipes to your liking. I usually add a dash of this and a dash of that, and eventually recipes become more like guidelines than strict rules.

Pantry Must-Haves:

• canola or olive oil
• soy sauce
• oyster sauce
• rice vinegar
• hot sauce, like Sriracha
• ketchup
• yellow mustard
• sugar
• rice
• ramen noodles
• canned mushrooms, water chestnuts or other veggies
• spatula
• wooden mixing spoon
• mixing bowl
• baking dish or muffin pans
• microwave-safe, heat-resistant bowls and dishes

RECIPES

Chili noodles and tofu (serves one)

1 pack of ramen noodles

Half package of tofu

2 cups of water

1 tablespoon ketchup, or more if desired (same goes for all the sauces)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Sriracha (rooster) hot sauce

1 heaping teaspoon oyster sauce

dash of oil

1. If using instant ramen noodles, boil water in microwave and pour over noodles as directed on package. If using a stovetop, heat 3 cups of water in a small pot on high until it comes to a roiling boil, then add noodles and boil until tender, about 8 minutes. (Toss out the pre-packaged seasoning; that stuff always makes me feel like I’m eating spoonfuls of salt). Set noodles aside.
2. In a heat-resistant or microwave-safe dish, mix ketchup, soy sauce, oyster sauce and hot sauce. Add a dash of oil to the mix so that the noodles don’t stick together.
3. Drain water from tofu package, and cut tofu into bite-size cubes. Place in microwave dish with chili sauce mix, and drizzle some of the sauce over tofu. Cover dish, and heat in microwave for 3 minutes on high.
4. Toss noodles with chili sauce and tofu, and serve.

Asian Chicken Salad (serves two)

6-ounces fully cooked, grilled chicken breast strips

14- to 16-ounce package pre-washed salad greens

1/2 cup crushed, dry chow mein noodles

1/2 cup water chestnuts, drained

1/2 cup canned mandarins in light syrup, drained

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1. Place chicken strips in a microwave-safe dish, and heat as directed on the package.
2. Mix rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and oil to make dressing.
3. Rinse salad greens and toss in mixing bowl with crushed noodles, water chestnuts and chicken strips. Add dressing and toss. Top with mandarins.

Spicy vegetable fried rice (serves three to four)

2 cups brown or white rice, or packaged pre-cooked rice

12-ounce package frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce

2 tablespoons oil (keep handy because rice sticks to the pan easily)

Uncooked rice:

1. Rinse uncooked rice and soak in water.
2. Place frozen veggies in microwave dish and cover in entirety with water. Heat in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Heat oil in skillet on low heat, then add drained rice and two cups of water and cook on medium-high until soft (and when all liquid is absorbed), about 20 minutes (time may vary depending on pan size). Add more oil if rice begins to stick to pan. Lower to medium heat.
4. Add soy sauce and use spatula to mix with rice. Add hot sauce, adjust amount depending on desired spiciness.
5. Mix in cooked vegetables and simmer on low-medium heat for a few more minutes until ready to serve.

Pre-cooked rice:

1. Place frozen veggies in microwave dish and cover in entirety with water. Heat in microwave on high for 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat pre-cooked rice as directed on package. Add soy sauce and hot sauce, and toss in large microwave dish until evenly coated.
3. Mix in cooked vegetables with rice. Heat overall dish again for 1-2 minutes and serve.

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Even though singer-songwriter Vienna Teng has been making music since she was five, it was only a couple of years ago that the sultry songstress was a software engineer working a nine-to-five in a cubicle by day and uploading her acoustic mp3s to the web by night.

Classically trained in piano and composing original pieces since she was six, Vienna (born Cynthia Yih Shih) put her musical aspirations on hold while she attended college. At Stanford University, Vienna was originally on the pre-med track, but later switched to pursue computer science because she considered a career in music impractical.

Three albums and several tours later, Vienna, presently 29 and a veteran of the indie music scene, can now safely acknowledge that her talent and creativity trumped practicality. But like many other Asian American artists, she initially wavered between the seemingly tethered life of socially acceptable career paths and the growing tendrils of her own creativity.

“My dad was the one who encouraged me [to pursue computer science in college],” said Vienna, “but my parents were surprised that I chose it. They thought I’d go into history or English or something.” She chose computer science precisely because it was a field that she could pursue, but also leave at any time.

“I knew all along it wasn’t what I wanted to do,” said Vienna. “I thought maybe I had a real shot at doing music.” Vienna describes her sound as “chamber folk,” which is “anchored in the pop world and the ‘70s music” that she listened to as a child.

She joined an A-Cappella group at Stanford, composing original music during her free moments away from classes and exams. Continuing to straddle her creative and professional ambitions after graduation, Vienna took on a job as a software engineer at Cisco Systems, creating and playing music whenever she could in her downtime.

“I was working during the day in a cubicle, doing open mics at night, and putting my mp3s on the web,” she says. “Like a lot of people, I worked my day job until I got a break.” That break came along in 2002 when Virt Records, an independent record label based in Seattle, approached the sultry-voiced musician to join the label and go on tour. Having spent two years as a software engineer, she decided it was finally time to pursue her dream full-time.

Since then, Vienna has never looked back, and her family has been more than supportive.

Although her parents worry about her well-being as an independent musician living in New York City, Vienna said, “My parents were just sort of resigned to the fact, like, ‘We kind of saw that one coming, and we know that you’re happy, so that’s the important thing,’” As a female artiste and a minority, being a musician can sometimes come with added obstacles. However, in Vienna’s case, she says that has never been a problem.

Describing the mainstream response to her music as “overwhelmingly positive,” she said being Asian American “has never ever been a liability.”

“I was surprised because there’s nothing particularly Asian American about my music,” she said. “I don’t talk about Asian American issues or cultural heritage, but mainstream readiness to see minorities is here. And within the Asian American community there are enough pioneers for it to be legitimate to go into the arts. It’s something that has got enough visibility where you can tell your parents about it.”

Having completed her eco-friendly Green Caravan Tour last April, Vienna is currently working on her fourth album with co-producer and percussionist Alex Wong.

Tracks on this new album will push the envelope and vary more than her jazzy 2006 album, Dreaming Through The Noise, though it will include the usual classical and chamber influences. It is set to be released in early 2009 by Zoë/Rounder Records, after which, who knows? Vienna might consider going back to academic grind after all, especially after her efforts on her 2007 tour.

“[The tour] wasn’t just about music and playing shows, but getting involved in the community,” she said of the Green Caravan Tour, during which she and her bandmates volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and sold organic products such as organic cotton totes and t-shirts, and other products made of recycled material.

“I’m hoping to go back to school and study sustainable development and environmentally friendly solutions,” said Vienna. After the promotional cycle for the upcoming album, she is interested in possibly returning to her alma mater in California for business school and focusing on social entrepreneurship.

This is likely relieving news for her grandmother. “[She] worries about me a lot, since I work in an uncertain field,” said Vienna. “It’s not something her generation considers a real career.”

Vienna is currently working on a track called “Grandmother Song.”

“My grandmother tells me to go to grad school and find a man. At first I sort of rolled my eyes, but then I realized where she was coming from,” she said. “So I turned it into a song. I hope she doesn’t kill me.”

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