CUPERTINO, Calif. - Models searching for their dresses, dancers running through their routines, and actors reading over their lines created a hectic scene backstage. Peeking through the curtains, the performers of the Vietnamese Student Association (De Anza College) were ready to captivate the crowd, as they have been doing for the past 30 years. VSA’s cultural night “Ve Lai Coi Nguon” or “Our Story,” part of the Asia-Pacific American Heritage month at the Flint Center on Saturday, May 7.

Vietnamese Student Association members wave their flags good-bye at the end of “Ve Lai Coi Nguon” or “Our Story” in the Flint Center. The cultural night is part of the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. (by Marjan Sadoughi)

"Every show in the past was from the Asian perspective. We wanted it to be from our point of view as Asian-Americans," said VSA President Alfonse Pham.

The students of the VSA worked hard to achieve this long-awaited show. The show took around four months of planning.

"It took a lot of cardboard, duct tape and a lot of heart," Pham said.

The annual show was produced to help Asians discover their identity in American society and to help promote Vietnamese culture.

While working up to the event, the most challenging part was gathering the sponsors according to VSA officers. With sponsors such as Lee's Sandwiches, Madison Nguyen, The California Wushu Academy, make-up artists and faculty and staff, the VSA was able to pull off the financial stability needed for the performance at the Flint center.

As the curtains were opened, the show began with "Con Rong Chau Tien," a dance carefully choreographed by Andrew-Brian Nguyen, VSA treasurer.

"The dance is about the creation of the Vietnamese people. The children were fairies, surrounded by dragons and it was basically the representation of Vietnamese people in ancient times," Nguyen said.

As main character of the story, Nguyen's part was to "show everyone that even though some of us may be lost, identity wise, we can still find ourselves in the end."

Throughout "Ve Lai Coi Nguon," scriptwriter Kim Mai Nguyen and video clips by Hoang Thao, incorporated the typical Vietnamese-American as a college student growing up in a diverse community.

Footage of club day and other scenes done outside of the show were shown between the acts.

The purpose of the story was to point out that while fellow De Anza students may feel like they do not know their backgrounds. It takes just one person to convince a few people that it is worth knowing who they really are as an Asian-American, according to Nguyen.

(from lavozdeanza.com)

The collection includes modernized versions of the famous "ao dai," a traditional Vietnamese dress.

"I went to the fabric store and picked up every flower on the wall. I had three different seamstresses working with me who I had to meet up with the day of," Do said.

Members of the De Anza community also came and gave their appreciation for the show.

"I was surprised that both Chancellor Martha Kanter and Dr. Brian Murphy, who came to give a few words of welcome. [That is] always a treat to the community," said VSA advisor K.D. Le.

http://www.lavozdeanza.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/05/16/428810dee6d92